Lighting Up the Night for Whole-Person and Whole-Family Health Care Together

On Friday, October 16, 2026, InterCommunity Health Care came together with partners, stakeholders, staff, friends, family, and supporters for our most successful gala in history. It was a memorable evening filled with connection, fun, and huge impact for the communities InterCommunity serves. Thanks to the incredible support of our donors, sponsors, and guests, we are able to continue expanding access to primary care, mental health services, and addiction recovery care to individuals, families, and children across Greater Hartford.

"At InterCommunity, we understand that overall health and well-being is about more than what happens in an exam room or a therapist's office. It is about caring for the whole person, the whole family, and the whole community," said Tyler Booth, InterCommunity President and CEO. "We are dedicated to treating physical and mental health, fostering recovery, strengthening connections,  advocating for the disenfranchised, and helping individuals, children, and families find hope and healing in every stage of life and through whatever path they are on. Every employee, donor, partner, advocate, and friend who supports InterCommunity helps us reach more people and create healthier, more connected communities. Generosity like what we saw at our gala allows us to continue growing our services and provide compassionate and affordable care regardless of a person’s ability to pay."

A very special thank-you to our amazing and generous Sponsors, whose partnership and commitment helped make this unforgettable evening possible:

Presenting Media Sponsor

NBC Connecticut/Telemundo

Gold Sponsors

Reid and Riege Attorneys

Mr. Ethan and Mrs. Kim Reid

Silver Sponsors

Access Health CT

Beacon Bank

Genoa Healthcare

Smith Brothers Insurance

Bronze Sponsors

Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR)

Gilead Sciences

Harriott Home Health Services

Kainen, Escalera, and McHale Law Firm

UConn's Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering

Roth Financial Group

Whittlesey Advising

St. Francis Hospital at Trinity Health of New England

TD Bank

Plus many others! Check out all of our Sponsors and Supporters, including advertisements from nearly 30 of our trusted business vendors and organization partners, in our 2026 Gala Digital Program and Ad Book here. We are also grateful to the many InterCommunity staff members who contributed to this year's gala; from purchasing tickets and entire tables for their teams, to donating several sought-after raffle baskets, to volunteering their time and talents behind the scenes on our planning and day-of teams, we could not have done it without you!

The evening was expertly guided by NBC CT Morning News Anchor Eddie Randle, whose infectious energy and commitment to community effortlessly made way for a powerful, meaningful program. In addition to ensuring the night moved right along as our host, Eddie also kicked things off as our Keynote Speaker, sharing his story as a person in long-term recovery. Eddie calls his sobriety one of his greatest accomplishments, and loves telling stories centered in the recovery community to do his part in helping to break the stigmas often associated with addiction. We were honored that Eddie chose to share his story with the nearly 230 attendees in the room, something that aligns so deeply and fondly with InterCommunity's mission and values.

We were also proud to honor our 2026 Awardees, three remarkable and inspirational community champions:

Heart of the Community Award

Tracy Stefano, K-12 Supervisor of Health & Physical Education for East Hartford Public Schools

Leadership and Advocacy Award

Professor Sir Cato Thomas Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., K.C.S.L., University Professior and CEO of the Cato T. Laurencin Institute at UConn

Guiding Star Award

William Young, LPC, NCC, Nonprofit Consultant, InterCommunity Board Member & Former Chairperson, Former InterCommunity Staff Member

Lastly, we would like to thank East Hartford Mayor Connor Martin for joining us and giving remarks highlighting our partnership and efforts in East Hartford, as well as Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam who provided a congratulatory message to include in the evening's program book in lieu of his inability to attend. Light Up the Night was a celebration of compassion in action, and a joyful reminder of what we can achieve when our community comes together with purpose. Thank you for joining us!

Missed the event? You can still make a donation! Give a gift today at: https://www.intercommunityct.org/giving-opportunities.