The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society recently announced that P.J. Rizvi, Penny Bradley and Visse Wedell, all Wellington residents, will co-chair the third annual Polo for a Purpose event, while lymphoma survivor Brandon Phillips, also a resident of Wellington, will serve as honorary chair.
The event will take place Monday, Jan. 18 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach, located at 3667 120th Ave. South in Wellington.
“Polo for a Purpose promises to be a signature event with talented and dedicated people at the helm,” LLS Executive Director Pamela Payne said. “We are privileged that they have chosen to accept this leadership position and support the lifesaving mission of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.”
In addition to being the mother of four children with her husband Suhail, Rizvi is an accomplished, award-winning Grand Prix dressage rider, both domestically and internationally. She began riding in 1992 as a form of emotional therapy, after losing her sister Penny to a blood cancer. She began competing in her 30s and has since taken over the reins to fulfill her lifelong dream of riding her first Grand Prix. She won the East Coast Riders Cup FEI Grand Prix in Saugerties, N.Y., and then continued her winning streak in Florida.
Bradley, an entrepreneur and real estate developer, spent her early life in Yorkshire, England. A former corporate banker in London, she earned her undergraduate degree in banking and finance from the Institute of Bankers. She moved to New York in 1997 as a member of the credit team with Coutts and Co., a British private bank. She obtained her master’s degree from Columbia University and opened her real estate development business in 2000, purchasing townhouses and developing them into luxury single-family homes.
Wedell, a Realtor associate, has immersed herself in knowing every detail of the real estate transaction, bolstered by her passion for building and creating beautiful spaces of her own.
During his almost 20 years as a professional polo player, Phillips has captured some of the sport’s most coveted trophies. Even though he has realized his dream to play at the top of his sport, he credits surviving stage four lymphoma as his greatest accomplishment. Diagnosed at 14 years old, Phillips was initially given six weeks to live. He endured five grueling months of intensive chemotherapy sessions, beat the odds and went into remission. Once recovered, he vowed to dedicate his life to doing what he loved — playing polo.
All proceeds from Polo for a Purpose will benefit LLS’s mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. While this event will raise funds for lifesaving blood cancer research, it will also help support local patients and their families by providing critically needed financial aid.
For more information, contact Payne at (561) 616-8682 or pam.payne@lls.org.
ABOVE: Brandon Phillips, Bruce Steinberg, P.J. Rizvi, Piper Apfel and Visse Wedell at last year’s event.
