The Julep Ball is proud to announce the group of dedicated volunteers that are making the event happen. An Official Event of the 140^th Kentucky Derby®, The Julep Ball will be held at the KFC Yum! Center on Friday, May 2, the night before the Kentucky Derby.

“Our organizing committee is putting together a fantastic evening of entertainment,” said Sarah Mitchell, director of The Julep Ball. “It takes creativity as well as dedication to make The Julep Ball the premier Derby Eve Party with a Purpose, and we are excited to have this group of talented and committed individuals working with us.”

Organizing the gala are: Sarah Hughes, Janal Prybys and Lauren Brown, Auction; Natalie Officer, Décor; Tonya Abeln, Public Relations; Holly Meadows, Sponsors; Risa Yacco, Volunteers; Lisa Dahlem, Celebrity Guests; Carrie Syberg, Stage Production; Candy Thompson, Transportation; Megan Vogt and Alice Baron, Registration; and Amelia Smith, Social Media.

Long established as setting the standard for Derby-related galas, The Julep Ball provides a celebrity-studded night to remember with a multi-course seated dinner, a knock-your-socks-off auction, multiple open specialty bars, complimentary valet parking, and dancing until the wee hours of Derby morning.

Approximately 1,300 party-goers are expected to attend. But as big a party as The Julep Ball is, it has an even bigger purpose: to support the clinicians, researchers and patients of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville.

The 2014 Julep Ball will again feature all the fun and excitement of past years – with a few new surprises being planned. Once again, party-goers should arrive dressed ready to party in cocktail attire, which means attendees are welcome to come straight from the track.

Local and national business leaders, horse industry professionals and celebrities from sports, music, cinema and television again will be on hand. The celebrity red carpet entrance will return, as will dancing throughout the evening. Special moments of The Julep Ball again will come when the physicians, scientists and most importantly, patients at the forefront of cancer treatment and delivery are honored and saluted for their efforts.

The event sells out early each year, Mitchell said, so party-goers should get their tickets now. The full evening’s entertainment is $600 per person, $5,000 for a table of 10, and $100 per person for dance-only tickets. To get tickets, go to The Julep Ball ticket website, bidpal.net/julepball.

The Julep Ball is sponsored in part by Advanced Cancer Therapeutics, Ashton Advertising, Boutique Serendipity, Dillards, Headz Salon, Heaven Hill, InGrid Design, Kroger, Jaust Consulting Partners, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Louisville Magazine, Maker’s Mark, Bob Montgomery Dixie Honda, Morgan Stanley, MPI Printing, Nfocus, Tito’s Handmade Vodka and WHAS11.

About the James Graham Brown Cancer Center:

The James Graham Brown Cancer Center is a key component of the University of Louisville Health Sciences Center. As part of the region's leading academic, research and teaching health center, the cancer center provides the latest medical advances to patients, often long before they become available in non-teaching settings. The JGBCC is a part of KentuckyOne Health and is affiliated with the Kentucky Cancer Program. It is the only cancer center in the region to use a unified approach to cancer care, with multidisciplinary teams of physicians working together to guide patients through diagnosis, treatment and recovery. For more information, visit our web site, www.browncancercenter.org.