Home » Central Kentucky Heart Ball to honor Tom Hammond and pay tribute to the late Carol Barr

Central Kentucky Heart Ball to honor Tom Hammond and pay tribute to the late Carol Barr

Funds raised will support the American Heart Association

LEXINGTON, Ky.More than 500 medical and corporate professionals and special guests will celebrate the mission of the American Heart Association at the 33rd Annual Central Kentucky Heart Ball, on Thursday, June 10. The virtual event will celebrate the AHA’s lifesaving mission, the donors and volunteers and most importantly, the lives saved and improved because of the Association’s efforts.

The event will honor Lexington native and NBC sportscaster, Tom Hammond, as well as local heart disease survivor, Matthew Varga, and feature a performance by Dr. Everett McCorvey, director of opera at the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts, and his wife, soprano Alicia Helm McCorvey, as well as a performance from actress and singer Laura Bell Bundy. 

The event will also pay tribute to Carol Barr, who passed away last June due to complications of a heart condition called mitral valve prolapse. To honor Carol’s legacy as a volunteer with Go Red for Women, the American Heart Association worked with Carol’s husband, U.S. Congressman Andy Barr, as well as Carol’s friends and family to create the Carol Barr Fund. The fund will support research as well as STEM programming for young women in Eastern Kentucky. 

The event will also feature both live and silent auctions, the latter of which the public can bid on at event.gives/centralkyheartball/items. Silent auction items include tickets to the 2022 Breeders’ Cup; Derby tickets including breakfast with Bobby Flay; vacation packages, including Kiawah Island, Isle of Palms, Montage at Palmetto Bluff, Miami and Cabo; and rare bourbons, including bottles of Pappy Van Winkle.  

Proceeds from the Central Kentucky Heart Ball support the American Heart Association’s research, education and advocacy efforts. Research funded by the association has yielded important discoveries such as CPR, life-extending drugs, pacemakers, bypass surgery, surgical techniques to repair heart defects and more. Advocacy efforts have also resulted in the passage of the CPR in Schools graduation requirement and the stroke systems of care bill statewide.

Last year, the Central Kentucky Heart Ball raised more than $400,000, which allowed the association to fund research and educational programs throughout Central and Eastern Kentucky.

For tickets or to donate, call (859) 317-6874 or visit event.gives/centralkyheartball