The Pioneer Tradition

 

WHAT IS THE PIONEER OF THE YEAR DINNER?

Since 1947, the Foundation of Motion Picture Pioneers has staged an annual fund-raising gala at which a worthy recipient is honored as an industry pioneer. This year the Pioneer of the Year Award Dinner will be celebrated at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. The event has become a mainstay in the motion picture industry and attracts members from all aspects of the entertainment community.

Past honorees have included legendary industry leaders such as Cecil B. DeMille, Jack Warner, Darryl F. Zanuck, Dr. Jules Stein, Frank G. Mancuso, Jack Valenti, Terry Semel, Sumner Redstone, Robert Shaye, Sherry Lansing, Michael Eisner, Alan Horn, Jeff Blake, Dick Cook, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Tom Sherak, Jim Gianopulos, Donna Langley and last year’s honoree, Cheryl Boone Isaacs.

WHAT IS THE PIONEER LEGACY?

The Pioneers Assistance Fund (PAF) has traveled a rewarding path since its inception in New York in 1939. The PAF unofficially began as a group of industry personalities who gathered once a year to meet old friends socially.

In 1951, the group officially took the name the Foundation of Motion Picture Pioneers and broadened its scope to seek out veterans of the motion picture industry who needed financial aid and assistance. Throughout the years and to this day, the PAF has believed in keeping its acts of generosity quiet while respecting the anonymity and dignity of those receiving assistance.

In 2002, the Foundation of Motion Picture Pioneers merged with the Will Rogers Memorial Fund to create the most meaningful charity in the motion picture industry, the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation. Today, the Fund assists approximately 80 clients a month, providing short-term support during a recovery or adjustment period as well as long-term assistance to senior industry veterans.

HOW DOES THE PIONEERS ASSISTANCE FUND HELP INDUSTRY VETERANS?

The PAF is a program with five levels of assistance offered to industry veterans in need. Assistance can range from a monthly stipend to medical rehabilitation, equipment aid, emergency grants or vocational retraining. The funds raised from this event are restricted to the Pioneers Assistance Fund.