Wharton Club Of DC

52nd Annual Gala Joseph Wharton Award Dinner Honors Leading Wharton & Penn Alums, Celebrates Club's 55th Anniversary!

Click here to reserve your place(s)

Click HERE to learn more about the exceptional honorees in our "Wharton Award Class of 2023!

 

Schedule:

• 5:45-6:30 pm:  VIP Reception for Honorees with past Award Recipients, Lifetime Members, Table Purchasers, and Everyone in Sustainer, Benefactor, Supporter & Friend Categories

• 6:30-7:30 pm:  Reception for All Attendees

• 7:30-8:30 pm:  Welcome, followed by dinner with the outstanding cuisine of the popular Blue Duck Tavern, one of Washington's premier fine dining landmarks.

• 8:30-9:30 pm: Program:  

• Brief Report: State of the Club
• Presentation of Joseph Wharton Awards to all Honorees

(To learn more about our outstanding Honorees - CLICK HERE. to be added soon!):

• Register now for what is one of the most popular events in the Club's calendar, and one of the DC Area's top business events as well. 
  • This year, especially with our Club's 54th Anniversary, the 51st Annual Joseph Wharton Awards Gala Dinner, promises to be no exception with our exceptional, highly accomplished Honorees.  We are expecting many of the past Honorees to attend and bring their colleagues and friends.
• Anywhere from 125 to 200 or more Club members and guests, including prominent Washingtonians and diplomats typically attend for the reception and dinner. With this year's honorees, we expect that this year will be at the upper end of that range, as we expect tickets to sell quickly. 

Click here to reserve your place(s) (Thank you!)

• If you have any questions not answered on this webpage or have any trouble registering online, please call our Club at 301-365-8999.  Vegetarian, Kosher and Gluten-free dinner options can be noted in your online registration.
• We are again at our favorite venue for this gala event, the Park Hyatt Washington. Besides honoring six outstanding alumni while giving Members an opportunity to get together, the dinner generates funds to support our Club's exceptional programming - the most extensive of any B-School Club in our region - and attendance at some of our major events, such as our Summit and the Dinner.
  • Special guests / Dignitaries: We are expecting as honored guests dignitaries, such some of the Ambassadors and other diplomats who have hosted our Club in recent years, at our reception and dinner.
• Tables: Rounds of 10.
  • Sponsorship opportunities: Please call us directly if your company would like to consider becoming a sponsor with one or more tables. You will have a listing in the program and many other potential benefits, including more favorably located tables, depending on the category you choose, to increase your exposure to and contact with the high caliber audience we attract.  And we have options for you whether you can attend or not.
  • To learn more: Just call Alan Schlaifer, our Club's President, at 301-365-8999, to discuss the benefits and options.

​​​​The Blue Duck team led by renowned Chef de Cuisine, Tomas Ortiz, and Pastry Chef Colleen Murphy, will create our dinner in the same Michelin-starred kitchen used for all meals at the Park Hyatt, whether for Gala Dinners, such as ours, or fine dining in the restaurant itself. Their team, including Chef de Cuisine Tomas Ortiz, created the fabulous selections on last year's Gala menu and will again create delectable delicacies this year.

• The Blue Duck Tavern has received rave reviews underlining its theme of "serving creative American cuisine from the region's best seasonal Best Purveyors.. These are a few of many "tastes" of what awaits you - just a sample of many positive reviews and awards - how apt for an award gala - since the restaurant opened, and more recent ones have simply confirmed the earlier praise:

Every “outstandingly original” dish is “a winner” declare fans of this “wonderful addition” set in the Park Hyatt hotel that showcases regional New American cuisine; the “chic” Tony Chi-designed space boasts a “stunning” open kitchen with a cobalt-blue, state-of-the-art, wood-burning Molteni range....”

  Click here to reserve your place(s) 

• * Michelin recognized, as one of DC's top 100 restaurants (Michelin Washington, DC Dining Guide)
  • "On the surface, the Blue Duck Tavern is an oasis of up-to-the-moment sophistication...at heart though, [it] is a tribute to local farmers and growers...the food is at once straightforward and elegant...the Blue Duck gives fresh meaning to the word tavern." - Tom Sietsema, The Washington Post
• U.S. News & World Report, Best Hotels in Washington, D.C. & USA
• Forbes Travel Guide, Four Stars
• AAA Four Diamonds
• GBAC STAR(TM) facility accreditation
• Condé Nast Traveler, Gold List, Best Hotels in Washington, D.C.

Click here to reserve your place(s) (or make your donations)!!! (Earlier signups and premium seats (600+ up) get better seating. +Premium seats get private VIP Reception)

Please note any non-standard dietary preference on your online registration.

• Here is one of our recent menus, with four delicious courses (this year's menu, to be selected soon, will be similar in culinary and aesthetic appeal)
  • With vegan, vegetarian, kosher, halal, non-seafood and gluten-free options available as needed; please indicate in response to questions when you register.
  • Also indicate whether you prefer the fresh chicken or fish entrée; both are delicious:

• Starter

    Crab Cake with Frisée, Radish, Remoulade

or

Roasted Squash Soup, Spiced Pepitas, Arugula Pesto, Micro Arugula

 &.    &.    &.    &.    &

 

• Salad

Frisée, Spinach, Roasted Squash, Roasted Pear, Candied Walnuts, Goat’s Milk Feta,

Pomegranate Dressing

&.    &.    &.    &.    &

• Entrée - Your Choice of One (Please indicate when you reserve):

18 Hours-Braised Short Ribs, Chimichurri, Celery Root Mash, Roasted Carrots

or

Seared Ocean Trout, Confit Potatoes, Creamy Cabbage, Bacon, Apple, Petite Chard, Cider Jus

&.    &.    &.    &.    &

Vegetarian/Vegan Option:

Squash Risotto with Arugula Pesto & Parmesan

&.    &.    &.    &.    &

 

• Dessert:

   Pumpkin Crème Caramel with Chocolate Sauce on bottom, and Chocolate Chair Whipped Ganache and Dark Chocolate Crunch

& 

• Beverages:

    Compass Regular and Decaffeinated Coffee, Cellar Teas

&.    &.    &.    &.    &

 

• Wines with Dinner:

    Hayes Ranch Chardonnay, California

Hayes Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, California

 

• Important: When you register, please respond to the survey questions so that we can respond to your dietary preferences and other needs. This must be done in advance, so that we can serve your own and your guests' dietary needs. Thank you.
•   Click here to reserve your place(s) 

Directions: see the map below
If you have any questions, please call the Park Hyatt at 202-789-1234. Parking & Metro: Foggy Bottom (Blue, Orange, Silver Lines)

Parking: Valet parking is available (included only for each Honoree and VIP Sponsors @ 1,000+ per reservation)

Questions: Please call us at 301-365-8999. The best way to reserve is online by clicking below through our secure website; you may then print out your receipt. You may also fax your reservation to the Club at 866-283-0900. No refunds after December 6, 2021. 

Tax deductibility: To the extent permitted by law (please check with your tax advisor):
--Business: Full amount may be deductible as a business expense; consult your tax advisor
--Individual: Full amount of extra contributions (to support the Club's programming) plus the amount in excess of $150 per person for the dinner (for anyone who attends the dinner) as a charitable contribution (as the Club is a Section 501(c)(3)) nonprofit organization). (Full amount may be deductible as a charitable contribution if you do not attend, although we hope you can join us. For best seating, reserve early, whichever method you choose for reservations - online, mail, fax, or phone.)

--In view of substantial expenses incurred in producing this high caliber dinner, all reservations are final, as we hope you can understand. Those who are unable to attend should be able to get full tax deduction, in view of lack of meal or other benefit received.

 

  Click here to reserve your place(s) (or make your donations)!!! (Earlier signups get better seating)

    Thank you for your support!