Two hundred marketing and communications professionals from the Midlands recently met for ‘Go East for Dave’, a special event for the Birmingham Publicity Association to remember Dave Hodgson, former Marketing Director of Marketing Birmingham. Dave was just 41 when he died last December after a difficult battle with metastastic melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer.
The event raised over £8,000 on the night through an auction hosted by talkSPORT presenter Ian Danter. Many people chose to attend in Middle Eastern fancy dress in honour of Dave who had worked in the Middle East and Dubai.
Money raised from the event, held at Villa Park, will be split between the BPA’s adopted charities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and the Skin Cancer Research Fund (SCaRF).
Dave’s wife Natalie said: “It’s just been a great night and one that Dave would have loved and really enjoyed. I’m overwhelmed by the generosity and energy shown in celebration of my husband.”
Sian Roberts, Account Manager at the NEC and friend of Dave, added: “I’m unbelievably overwhelmed by what we have achieved. Dave was the life and soul of Birmingham – everyone knew him and he did some fantastic things for the city. When he moved to Dubai it was a massive loss and when he announced his illness the whole city was behind him and supported him on his journey. It’s this passion that helped us to plan such a fantastic event in his honour and I am so happy that we were able to deliver something that I know he would be proud of”.
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