1. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fifth annual Halloween Masquerade Ball to celebrate
first anniversary of the Capital Region office of
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
FBI Special Agent David Fallon will be keynote speaker
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y., October 23, 2012 – Gallant ghosts and heroic
hobgoblins will once again haunt the 5th
annual Halloween Masquerade Ball benefitting
the new Capital Region office of The National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children/New York Branch on Friday, October 26, at Prime at Saratoga National.
The annual Halloween fundraising event is dedicated to supporting the recovery and
prevention work of a myriad of law enforcement and other professionals locally and
around the state who work on missing children cases specific to the 11 counties of the
Capital Region, including Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer,
Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington counties.
This year, the gala’s keynote speaker is FBI Special Agent David Fallon, a member of the
local NCMEC advisory board whose work includes the apprehension of online child
predators. Fallon’s presentation will include real-life examples of predatory actions on
the Internet, and how the FBI works to stop those crimes.
The gala will additionally be celebrating the contributions of Sam and Linda Palazzole,
the NCMEC/NY Capital Region office Advisory Board Chair and Gala Committee Chair,
respectively, who were presented with The 2011 Director’s Community Leadership
Award presented by the Federal Bureau of Investigations on March 16 of this year at the
FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.
“It was our privilege to be given this prestigious award by FBI Director Robert S.
Mueller III for opening the first NCMEC office in the Capital Region,” said Sam
Palazzole, who is also a principal at Saratoga Builders. “But truthfully, this award
belongs to all of the dedicated people who believed, as we do, that it was vital to have a
local office of NCMEC working toward the prevention of missing children. We couldn’t

2. have done it without their commitment of time and donations over the last five years. The
award will be on display at the gala, as it is shared with all who have made this dream
come true.”
Approximately 2,300 children are reported missing in the Capital Region every year, and
over 20,000 children in New York State. NCMEC’s recovery rate is 97.5 percent, up
from 62 percent in 1990.
“Since establishing services in the local office, we have conducted over 200 education
programs for over 18,972 children and adults so far,” said John Kelly, Community
Educator for the NCMEC/NY Capital Region office and retired Saratoga Springs police
officer, “and we’ve participated in law enforcement trainings for over 1,220 law
enforcement officers. Using the Child ID kit that was purchased for us through the
generosity of Price Chopper, we have fingerprinted and photographed hundreds of
children, while providing safety information to them and their parents. Already the office
is making a world of difference in the Capital Region in its first year, which is exactly
what we set out to do.”
All proceeds from the evening benefit the Capital Region office of NCMEC, whose
mission is to help prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation; help find missing
children; and assist victims of abduction and sexual exploitation, their families, and the
professionals who serve them.
The grand event will have a masquerade theme, silent and live auctions, dining stations
and dancing. Costumes are encouraged but not required. Awards will be given to the best
couple; most original; scariest; and funniest costumes.
The evening will also include a live and silent auction. The live auction will be emceed
by Reel Seafood Company owner LeGrande Serras who has raised more than $12 million
for local non-profits through his volunteer efforts as one of the area’s most accomplished
auctioneers.
Auction items include an opportunity to be a fighter pilot for a day, with training & aerial
combat in a fighter jet. The winning bidder will experience speeds of up to 700 miles an
hour and learn to execute head-spinning corkscrews in pursuit of “enemy” aircraft under
the tutelage of an experienced pilot. The package includes transportation for one with a
two-night stay, and ground school training. Additional auction items include an infrared
sauna; skiing equipment; hotel packages; jewelry; and more.
The 5th
annual Halloween Masquerade Ball benefitting the Capital Region office of The
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children/New York Branch will take place on
Friday, October 26 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Prime at Saratoga National. Tickets are
$175 per person or $1,500 for a table of 10, and may be purchased by contacting Linda
Palazzole by phone at 518-587-7771 or by email at gala@ncmecnycr.org, or they may be
purchased online at www.ncemecnycr.org.

3. For more information about the Capital Region office of NCMEC and the gala, please
visit www.ncmecnycr.org.
About the Capital Region Office of The National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) mission is to help
prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation; help find missing children; and assist
victims of abduction and sexual exploitation, their families, and the professionals who
serve them.
The Capital Region Office of The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
was opened in the summer of 2011 following three years of successful local fundraising
and volunteer efforts. The office serves the children, families and professionals of the 11
counties of the Capital Region: Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery,
Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington counties.
For these counties, the office provides abduction and sexual exploitation prevention
education programs for parents, children, law enforcement, and other professionals;
Netsmartz Internet and Real World safety education programs for children (grades K -12)
and parents, (including state-of-the-art “train the trainer” program for educators); and
expert training for law enforcement and professionals serving missing and sexually
exploited children and their families. To arrange a program presentation, please contact
NCMEC/NY Capital Region Community Educator John Kelly Jkelly@ncmec.org.
NCMEC is a model charity, having received four stars from Charity Navigator,
America’s premier independent charity evaluator. Ninety-three percent of revenue raised
goes to program services. NCMEC meets all standards of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance,
and all funds raised by the New York Branch remain local.
Support for the office and its programs comes from private donations, including an
annual Halloween Masquerade Ball held in October of every year since 2007 that
includes dinner, dancing, silent and live auctions, presentations by law enforcement and
families of missing children, and an update on that year's work of the Capital Region
office. For more information about the Capital Region office of NCMEC, please visit
www.ncmecnycr.org.
About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization. Since it was established by Congress in 1984, the organization has operated
the toll-free 24-hour national missing children's hotline which has handled more than
3,372,730 calls. It has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 163,330
children. The organization's CyberTipline has handled more than 1,152,250 reports of
child sexual exploitation and its Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and
analyzed more than 52,919,360 pornography images and videos. The organization works
in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention.

4. To learn more about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or
visit its web site at www.missingkids.com. The headquarters of NCMEC is located in
Alexandria, VA. Other offices include Tustin, California; Lake Park, Florida; Rochester,
NY; Utica, NY; Buffalo, NY; and Austin Texas.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Norreida Reyes
Media Relations Volunteer
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children/NY Branch/Capital Region Office
Gala Committee
Cell: (518) 477-0281
Email: Norreida@gmail.com