Will Flannery was an avid poker
player; so in the months since the
Fox Cable Networks exec died
suddenly in September 2009, at 38, his pals
figured a poker game would
be a good way to raise money
for Flannery’s daughters’ college
fund.
But over a couple of lunches Flannery’s
last two bosses, Fox Networks President of
Affiliate Sales and Marketing Mike Hopkins
and DirecTV Executive VP of Entertainment
Eric Shanks, along with Fox Soccer
Channel Exec VP/GM David Nathanson,
realized that Flannery’s fan club extended
beyond the Texas Hold ’Em crowd.
So the execs formed an organizing committee
along with four other friends of Flannery
and are mounting a broader fundraising
event in Los Angeles on May 10, the
eve of NCTA’s Cable Show.
Within days of sending an Evite late last
month to the “Will Flannery Casino Night,”
some 150 attendees had already RSVP’d.
Hopkins tells B&C he’s hoping for 300 guests
but that they can accommodate twice that.
“He had a lot of friends in the industry all
over the country. We looked at the calendar,
NCTA stood out and the stars aligned,” Hopkins
says. “It will be fun—not a memorial,
just a party in his name. Will would have
gone to this.”
For info on admission, corporate
sponsorship and making
tax-deductible donations, go to www.flannerycasinonight.com.
