New York Giants Official Website

An Evening with the Mannings
QB Eli Manning raises money for Eli Manning Children's Clinics at the Blair E. Batson Hospital
By Mike Eisen, Giants.com

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JUNE 27, 2008

JACKSON, MISS. - Eli Manning is only 27 years old, so he has a lifetime of fantastic experiences ahead of him. But for milestone achievements, extraordinary opportunities and sheer enjoyment, it will be hard for the Giants' quarterback to top the first half of 2008. Since the beginning of the year, Manning has...well, let's hear what he told a crowd of about 800 people here last Saturday night.

"What a wonderful year it has been for me," Manning said. "Obviously, I won the Super Bowl, I got a Super Bowl MVP trophy. I got married to my beautiful wife Abby. I got to go to the White House and meet the president. And then tonight I got to cook with Emeril. It just does not get any better than that folks. It does not get any better at all."

Manning's most recent highlight - a cooking demonstration/competition with famed New Orleans chef Emeril Lagasse - was the feature event at An Evening with the Mannings at the glittering new TelCom Center in downtown Jackson. There were also live and silent auctions, delicious food and entertainment by the Pat Patrick Band. It was the second of five annual events to raise $2.5 million to build the new Eli Manning Children's Clinics at the Blair E. Batson Hospital for children - the only facility in Mississippi devoted exclusively to the care and treatment of sick and injured children.

More than 75,000 children are treated in the hospital's children's clinics every year. The new Eli Manning Clinics are expected to open in the fall.

"Mississippi is a relatively small state, a population of only about 3 million people, and a rural state, and so we serve the entire state of Mississippi," said Dr. Dan Jones, the vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the school of medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. "We see thousands of children every year with a broad range of illnesses ranging from cancer to diabetes to trauma from accidents. This is going to be the primary place that we see our children in the outpatient area and it is going to bear Eli's name and we are just really proud to have the affiliation with Eli."

Eli - who was joined by Abby, his father Archie, mother Olivia, brother Cooper and sister-in-law Ellen - helped raise approximately $700,000 for the clinics, almost double what last year's inaugural event brought in. More than 200 host committee members have committed to donate $5,000 over the five-year period. Those not on the committee paid $250 to attend.

An Evening with the Mannings was the social event of the year in Jackson. The Manning family is deeply committed to Mississippi and the state, in turn, reveres the Mannings. Archie and Olivia grew up in the state and still have a home in Oxford, site of the University of Mississippi, where Archie was a star quarterback from 1968-70. Eli was Ole Miss' record-setting quarterback prior to joining the Giants.

"It's somewhere in the range of deity," Dr. Jones said of the feelings for the Mannings in Mississippi. "Really, they are held in such high esteem. There are all kinds of ways to describe the affection for the Manning family. My favorite is the speed limit signs on the Oxford campus are 18 miles-per-hour, because Archie's number at Ole Miss was 18. That is a pretty strong affinity with a family."

The Mannings retain close ties with Mississippi in part through their relationship with BankPlus, one of the state's leading banks.

"We signed Archie and Eli on as endorsers just before the NFL draft in 2004," said David Dumeyer, the senior vice president and director of marketing for BankPlus. "We're on our second three-year contract with them and it has just been a great deal for us. Archie, unlike anybody I have ever worked with as a celebrity endorser, will call when he is passing through town just to make sure everything is okay. Eli is very much the same way.

"About a year into our relationship, Archie said that he would really like to establish some type of an event fundraiser that would be a legacy for Eli and give something back to the state of Mississippi. Initially, we talked about maybe a pro celebrity golf tournament and several different things. We kind of noodled it around for a little over a year. We talked to Bill Ray (the CEO of BankPlus), whose wife (Sara) is on the board of the Friends of Children's Hospital, the nonprofit group that supports the Batson Hospital, which is on the campus of the University Mississippi Medical Center. We found out that they were going to completely revamp and enlarge and rebuild their children's clinic and it just seemed like a perfect fit. So we approached them and asked them if they would be interested."

They hardly had to ask. Everyone in the Manning family was eager to help the children of Mississippi.

"We have lived in New Orleans now for 37 years, but we are neighbors to Mississippi," Archie said. "Both of us still have a lot of family in Mississippi, lots of friends, we have a place in Oxford, we still get back for Ole Miss games, I get back to Mississippi for so many things."

"Mississippi and the people there have been such an important part of my life," Eli said. "I have strong ties and they have been wonderful to me and I have a strong feeling toward Mississippi. When I look back on my life some of my fondest memories are being at Ole Miss. I'm just trying to give back to the children's hospital and do what I can. I especially like doing stuff with children and the hospital needs a new wing. It is for a children's clinic. It just timed out perfectly. I said, 'We're in. What do we have to do, what do we need?' They said we have to raise this much money (and could we) try to raise half of that for them. That is $2.5 million over five years. That has been our commitment. And it is going really, really well."

Manning has a long history of giving back. He was the Giants' NFL Man of the Year in 2007 for his many charitable and community endeavors. Manning is the Giants' leader in supporting the NFL and American Heart Association's campaign, What Moves U, a national youth movement and awareness initiative designed to promote physical fitness and healthy living to an increasingly inactive generation of children. He is a fundraiser and spokesperson for St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center in New York City, where he regularly visits pediatric patients. He is also a spokesperson for The March of Dimes and appears at numerous dinners and fundraisers, including the March of Dimes Cartier Fundraiser, the Giants Foundation Golf Outing, BGC Partners "Charity Day" on 9/11, Ronald McDonald House Dinner, Jay Fund Pigskin Ball, the Taste of the Giants dinner, the Guiding Eyes golf event for the seeing impaired. He is a Red Cross celebrity board member, and he has made a financial contribution to the Giants Players Holiday Collection, which assists in funding the annual Jingle Jam and supports the Bowery Mission for Thanksgiving.

And he does it all in relative anonymity, never seeking credit or publicity for his good deeds.

"Eli is not pretentious," Sara Ray said. "He is just like, 'Hey, how are you doing? I'm going to sit down and I'll visit.' He is just a great guy."

"You can tell Eli is not a whole lot about taking credit for much," Cooper Manning said. "Slip in and slip out is kind of his style. But I think now having had some success, he recognizes that the more you lend your name to things the more it helps and it is the right thing to do."

Eli frequently visits sick children in hospitals. Last month, Abby and he spent hours at the children's clinic in Jackson, playing with and talking to the patients there.

"Olivia and I are very proud of Eli and Abby and what they are doing with this," Archie said.

"There are easier ways that Eli could take care of this part of his life," Dr. Jones said. "I think his commitment to come back here to be a part of something that is so special for the university and so uniquely special for the state says a lot about his character and a lot about his family's character."

The Manning brothers take their charitable cue from their father, who has long contributed to good causes in New Orleans and Mississippi.

"Dad sets the tone," Cooper said. "I think more than just doing it he wants to get his hands dirty and be there. It is one thing to kind of put your name there, it is another thing to be there and to be involved and I think that is what we are trying to do and what Eli is trying to do. He wants to be here and have his friends here and a children's hospital is an easy, rewarding sell."

Eli is the second Manning with his name on a children's hospital. Last year in Indianapolis, the St. Vincent Children's Hospital was renamed as Peyton Manning Children's Hospital. Peyton Manning, who won the Super Bowl MVP award a year before Eli, has had a close relationship with the hospital since joining the Colts in 1998.

"I told a group the other day that everywhere I go people just say, 'Golly, to have two sons win back-to-back Super Bowl MVPs must be great,'" Archie said. "Peyton has been involved with a hospital there for 10 years and last year, the day before they played the Saints in the opening game, they named the hospital Peyton Manning Children's Hospital. I told this group that you all think that (the MVP awards) is the most important thing, but when I see the Peyton Manning Children Hospital and Eli Manning Children's Clinic - I mean that is about as good as it gets as a father as far as pride in what they are doing."

Last year's inaugural fundraiser for the children's clinic in Jackson was held at the Mississippi Museum of Art, drew 500 people and raised approximately $400,000. The headline event was a cooking competition between Eli (aided by a chef from New York) and Archie (helped by a New Orleans chef), which the elder Manning found humorous because, "Eli and I need help boiling water."

This year Emeril, arguably the nation's most famous chef, stepped in to cook off against Eli. At adjacent stoves - donated by Viking Appliances, a Mississippi company - the two cooks - wearing monogrammed chef jackets - made several New Orleans-style dishes, including friend chicken, crabmeat remoulade, etouffee, stuffed catfish and lemon pudding cake. The event was emceed by Jim Henderson, the voice of the New Orleans Saints. Each cook was aided by one of Emeril's chefs.

Wearing microphones, Eli and Emeril entertained the crowd with a continuous and humorous banter. Manning, so often guarded when he speaks to the media, was relaxed and funny in front of the large crowd.

When Eli quickly finished making a sauce, Emeril asked, "How did you put that together so fast?" Eli said, "I'm a natural." As Eli continued to work at a quick pace, Emeril said, "He's definitely cheating over there." Eli's response? "It's my event." When Emeril tried to demonstrate the proper technique for folding crabmeat, Eli said, "You do it your way and I'll do it my way."

Sitting just off the stage were eight people who paid $1,200 to eat (taste test?) the food prepared by the celebrity chefs. So when the culinary delights came out of the ovens, the reigning Super Bowl MVP and the star of "Emeril Live" carried the platters over to the tables like waiters at your local family restaurant.

"You're in for a treat," Eli said as he served his etouffee. "Mine's the good one."

Even Emeril conceded that Eli had acquitted himself well in the kitchen.

"Eli stepped it up, he brought a lot of guts with him tonight," Emeril said. "He did a great job. I had to bring my A game tonight. Look at me, I'm sweating bullets."

While the catfish was cooking, Eli and Emeril auctioned off the first two prizes of the night, including a cooking class for six at Emeril's Homebase in New Orleans, followed by a dinner at the kitchen table at Emeril's New Orleans. After Emeril threw in a few incentives, it went for $7,500.

"I am delighted to be a part of this," Emeril said. "I think what Eli is doing for the folks here in Mississippi and the children of Mississippi, that is what I am all about as well. I wouldn't miss this for the world, particularly being with him and the Manning family. I'm so proud of what he's doing for the children of Mississippi."

After the competition ended, the attendees ate, danced and bid on the silent auction items, which featured a large assortment of signed photos, helmets, balls and jerseys, many - surprise - autographed by one or more of the Mannings.

Then it was time for the live auction, which was the entertaining and hilarious Cooper's opportunity to step on the stage - where the successful stockbroker seems most at home. "I have never been uncomfortable in front of a microphone, which is good and bad," Cooper said.

On Saturday it was good, because Cooper was the star auctioneer. He is the older brother of Peyton and Eli who was a terrific football player in his own right at Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans (when Peyton was a sophomore, Cooper, then a senior, was his favorite receiver). Cooper enrolled at Ole Miss, but before ever playing a collegiate game he was diagnosed with a congenital condition called spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal. Cooper eventually endured three surgeries and never played football again. He is his brothers' biggest supporter and confidant.

The first item was a football signed by Peyton and Eli, the last two Super Bowl MVPs. Eli joined Cooper on stage and said, "Peyton and I agreed we weren't going to sign many of these. I signed two for him and he signed one for me." To which Cooper responded, "I've got six in my trunk." Cooper soon elicited a bid by pointing to a man in the audience and saying, "Hey, you in the rent-a-tux."

At Cooper's prompting, the bidding became so competitive that three of the balls were sold - at $12,000 apiece. He is indeed a friend of children's hospital.

The other items included a genuine Viking outdoor grill, dinner for 16 with the Mannings at Archie and Olivia's home, a four-day trip for four to Napa Valley and an original painting by Mississippi artist William Dunlap (Eli started the bidding at $10,000, half of what it went for).

But the big item was a package that included two tickets to the Giants-Cowboys game on Nov. 2, airfare, three nights hotel accommodations, tickets to "Late Night with David Letterman" and "The CBS Morning Show" and the opportunity to meet Eli after a game. Eli was on the stage when a woman upped the bidding to $15,000, prompting Cooper to say, "She wants to see the Hudson River. Can you blame her?" When the action slowed down, Cooper tried to push it along by promising, "I'll give you a massage at halftime."

The package eventually went for $21,000 to Michael and Katie Howard, the same couple who purchased a similar prize last year. With good reason. The youngest of their three children, Abigail, was born in May 2005 with a congenital heart defect. The Howards credit the children's hospital with saving their daughter's life and want to do what they can to give back.

"She survived because of the hospital," Michael Howard said. "This is the only children's hospital in Mississippi and if it was not here, we would have had to have gone somewhere else and she may not have lived through the trip there. She flew by chopper, so this is very special to us. They have been special for supporting our daughter and we just want to help. God has definitely blessed us. We really appreciate the hospital and the Mannings."

His desire to put a similar happy ending on such stories is a big reason Eli is so committed to Batson Hospital, and why what is perhaps the most vital medical facility in Mississippi will soon bear his name. The event was An Evening with the Mannings, but it was clearly Eli's show. So it's only fitting that he get the last word.

"Tonight has been unbelievable," Eli said. "It has been a great night, and I hope everybody has had as much fun as I have had. Thank you all for being a part of this, thank you for being here." After thanking BankPlus, the other sponsors, the host committee and Emeril, among others, Manning said, "Thank you to everyone here, and this is from the bottom of my heart, and for your contribution to the new children's clinics at the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children. When Abby and I visited the hospital last month we had the privilege of meeting Dr. Batson and it was just a thrill for me. Obviously, the Blair E. Batson hospital is a wonderful legacy for an outstanding, remarkable man. I am just honored to be a part of it and to help build the children's clinics."

Because of everything Eli and his family mean to the people of Mississippi, they were honored to help him.

Those wishing to contribute to the Eli Manning Children's Clinic at the Blair E. Batson Hospital may send donations to:

Friends of Children's Hospital

Department of Pediatrics

2500 N. State Street

Jackson, MS 39216-4500

Please designate the contribution in honor of Evening with the Mannings.

Donations may also be made online at www.FOCH.org. The phone number is 601-984-5273.