2013 Honoring the Promise Gala Raises A 'Kool' $1.5 Million For Susan G. Komen For The Cure

All photographs by Jaye Callahan for REVAMP.com.

NORTHWEST -- It was decidedly a celebration at the Kennedy Center on Friday evening, as Susan G. Komen for the Cure hosted its annual 'Honoring the Promise' black tie gala.

The celebrities in attendance were abundant (Bob Schieffer, Dorothy Hamill, Fran Drescher, etc.), but were quickly (and happily) outshined by the year's awardees.

Senator Patrick Leahy helped present Victoria Reggie Kennedy and the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy with the Betty Ford Lifetime Achievement Award. And the Caterpillar Foundation was recognized for its Global Leadership in making sustainable progress possible around the world.

Dr. Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, an international leader in cancer genetics, received a thunderous ovation as the year's scientific and medical honoree. The University of Chicago Medicine-based hematology oncologist specializes in cancer risk assessment and individualized treatment by examining familial forms of cancers and genetic and epigenetic factors, among many other innovative approaches.

Co-hosted by CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer and CNN anchor Zoraida Sambolin and featuring live performances by Kool & The Gang and The Swon Brothers, Friday's general program was the clear main draw.

But attendees were quick to board the elevators to the Kennedy Center's terrace level post performance, for a cheery after party where the color pink reigned supreme.

Altogether, the weekend's festivities raised some $1.5 million in the fight against breast cancer. And a promise continued to be kept.