In the world of fundraising, few names carry the weight of Letitia Frye.
Known as America’s foremost “Auctiontainer,” Letitia is celebrating more than 20 years in the fundraising industry and over $1 billion raised for charities across the country. She has performed at more than 2,000 events worldwide. She has mentored 52 auctioneers. She is the only auctioneer to have worked with two different U.S. Presidents. During the pandemic alone, she pivoted to more than 65 virtual fundraisers across the globe, raising more than $15 million during an uncertain economy.
She has redefined what it means to fundraise. She has changed the way organizations entertain and connect with donors. She commands a room with energy, precision, and memory that feels almost superhuman.
But when Letitia steps onto the stage this spring as the auctioneer for the Era of Hope Alzheimer’s Gala this month, the cause is not simply another event on her calendar.
It is personal.
“Yes, my grandmother, who was my absolute hero and one who I turned to through all of my childhood and young adult life, had Alzheimer's,” Letitia shares.
“She called me crying during my final exams at USC in my senior year and told me she had two days to live, and I must drop everything and fly to her home in AZ to see her immediately. I dropped everything and went and spent 2 days immersed with her in every intimate detail of her life and mine.”
Those two days would become sacred.
“Three days later she did not die physically but rather Dementia kicked in and took her entire memories like lightning over the next few months. Within a year she would not even know who I was. Alzheimer's was fast and furious with her and although physically she held on for several years, the woman I knew and loved did die after those two days and somehow, she knew it.”
The disease that would later define one of the most important events she will auction this year first entered her life inside a family home, during what felt like borrowed time.
But memory loss would not be a single chapter.
“Now, Alzheimer's and dementia have worked in the opposite direction for me,” she explains.
“My mother, who has struggled all of her life with mental and addiction issues, who I was estranged from and did not speak to for over 10 years, has reappeared in my life as she can no longer remember why she hated me so much.”
There is no tidy way to explain that kind of reversal.
“We have repaired our relationship and now spend time together just holding hands and remembering the good that seems to be all her mind can remember these days. She is 88, incapacitated, and although dementia has taken many things, it has also allowed us to stop and smell the roses together based on what we both see in real time today.”
In one generation, Alzheimer’s took everything she knew. In another, it softened something that once felt permanently broken.
And then came a third experience.
“In addition to all of this, I was hit by a car while running on 11/27/14 and had my head split open and suffered a traumatic brain injury. I had no short term memory and struggled terribly the first year after the accident which left me with an enormous respect and compassion for those entering memory loss through Alzheimer's and dementia.”
For someone whose profession depends on instantaneous recall, sharp timing, and total command of detail, losing short-term memory was more than a medical event. It was identity-shifting.
“Truth is anyone can walk out their door and have a life event that can enter them into this world regardless of age or diagnosis, and most believe it can not happen to them.”
It is that truth that gives weight to April 24.
When Letitia takes the stage at The Arizona Science Center for the Era of Hope Alzheimer’s Gala, she will do what she has done more than 2,000 times before: energize a room, move a crowd, and inspire generosity.
On stage, she can feel almost inhuman. The speed. The recall. The rhythm. The way she wraps a room with grace and pizazz and utter impressiveness. She memorizes names, stories, lot numbers, donor histories. She reads a crowd in seconds. She moves millions of dollars with voice and presence alone.
It is performance at the highest level.
But she is not a performance.
She is a granddaughter who watched Alzheimer’s arrive “like lightning.”
She is a daughter who found reconciliation through memory loss.
She is a survivor of traumatic brain injury who once could not rely on her own short-term memory.
When Letitia Frye steps onto that stage in April, the audience will see the commanding Auctiontainer.
What they may not immediately see is the woman carrying every one of those stories with her.
And that is what makes her extraordinary.
Not simply the billion dollars raised… but the humanity behind the voice.
ERA OF HOPE GALA
Friday, April 24, 2026
The Arizona Science Center
The Era of Hope Alzheimer’s Gala returns this April for an unforgettable evening dedicated to advancing research, awareness, and critical funding in the fight against Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Hosted at The Arizona Science Center, the gala gathers philanthropic leaders, medical pioneers, families impacted by memory loss, and community advocates for a powerful night of purpose. The evening will be emceed by PVCL’s Nadine Bubeck, guiding guests through a program that blends compelling storytelling with meaningful fundraising.
Tickets & Sponsorships available: e.givesmart.com/events/KMO/
“My mother has reappeared in my life because she can no longer remember why she hated me so much.”