Los Angeles Dodgers owner and real estate executive Frank McCourt Jr. served as keynote speaker at the 12th annual George Smith A-T Luncheon to benefit research, treatment and education programs at City of Hope as well as the work of the Ataxia-Telangiectasia Medical Research Foundation (A-TMRF).

Held April 17 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles, the event drew more than 1,500 real estate executives.

Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is a rare but deadly neurological childhood disease. In 1984, industry leader George Smith, a longtime City of Hope supporter, and his wife, Pam, founded the A-TMRF, a private, nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to fund medical research that may lead to a cure for A-T. The George Smith A-T Luncheon was established in 1995 to fund research into the disease, which claimed the life of the Smiths’ daughter, Rebecca, in 2006. George Smith, who also passed away in 2006, was the founder and chairman of George Smith Partners Inc., a leading, national real estate investment-banking firm.

“There can be no greater tribute to George and Rebecca than to continue the search for causes of A-T and related cancers,” said Pam Smith. “The A-T Medical Research Foundation is very grateful to be partnering with such an amazing research and treatment institution as City of Hope.”

McCourt is the fourth owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, officially taking the reins in 2004 to become the second person in club history to solely own the franchise. In 1977, he founded The McCourt Company, which specializes in the development of major commercial real estate projects. A Boston native, he left a positive and lasting impact on the city, revolutionizing South Boston’s waterfront by acquiring 35 acres of land and spurring new economic growth in an area now known as the Seaport. Today, this area boasts a new convention center, hotels, offices, residential buildings and numerous commercial, government and cultural facilities. The McCourt Company moved to Los Angeles in 2006.