With more than $1.3 million raised and more than 600 people in attendance, FIT and the FIT Foundation honored Saks Fifth Avenue and FIT Trustee Edwin A. Goodman at the college’s annual gala, held on Monday, June 15, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York. The event was hosted by actor Debi Mazar.
The funds raised will benefit the FIT Educational Development Fund, which helps FIT cultivate the next generation of creative leaders through enhancing programs, developing new initiatives, and providing scholarship funds to the college’s most promising students. As FIT Board of Trustees Chair Liz Peek noted, “These funds will help even more creative and ambitious young people follow their dreams at FIT.”
Fern Mallis, creator of New York Fashion Week, presented the award to Saks Fifth Avenue President Marc Metrick, saying, “It is with great thanks and a very worn-out Saks card that I present this award to Marc Metrick.”
Metrick commented on the enormous changes occurring in retail. “Retailers are undergoing a seismic shift,” he said. “Digital, data, lines blurring between marketing and commerce, my team and I face this seismic shift every day. We need the next generation of leaders to help figure it out, and FIT is training those future leaders.”
When Peter G. Scotese, chairman emeritus of the FIT Board of Trustees, introduced Goodman, he noted that “the best decision I ever made as chairman of the board was asking Ed Goodman to replace me.”
Goodman spoke about his family history in the retail business, saying he was taught many things by his family, including the obligation to give back, which he has always taken seriously. He also echoed Metrick’s sentiments about FIT and the next generation. “Since I’ve been on the board at FIT, it’s granted more than 60,000 degrees, and 85 percent of these kids find employment within the first 12 months,” Goodman said.