It was a beautiful STAR-filled night Wednesday, October 23rd in Chicago, with plenty of laughter, good food, drink and award-winning constellations.

On that night, the Mutual Fund Education Alliance (MFEA) announced the winners of the 2013 STAR Awards, the organization's 17th such extravaganza.

The event, held at the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago, was hosted by Morningstar, which also served as the host of the MFEA's Integrated Marketing Summit for fund executives at the Morningstar headquarters.

The festivities started first with an hour long reception at the tony, yet rebellious, Hard Rock Hotel, which offered guitars for musically inclined guests as well as featured examples autographed by musical legends such as a Fender bass signed by Sting.

During the reception, mutual fund executives nibbled on sliders, Mandarin chicken salads and shrimp wontons.

Afterwards, attendees were ushered into the dining room where they feasted on salad, then beef medallions, mashed potatoes and savory vegetables, and then desserts consisting of molten chocolate cakes with ginormous white chocolate stars.

Party favors included chocolate guitars and CDs (which attendees were encouraged to swap to promote conversations).

Then came the awards, a whole galaxy of them. Among the luminaries who either presented, spoke, joked or all of the above with the audience were Joe Mansueto, Kimber Lintz, Brian Smith, Ken Williams, Andy Seibert, and Jim Stueve.

The awards were presented to the buildup part of Katy Perry's anthem Firework.

There were dozens of awards presented, but among the top winners were Aberdeen Asset Management, Fidelity Investments and U.S. Global Advisors, who each garnered multiple Overall Communications awards for their work. Other firms receive Overall Communications awards were Nuveen Investments, Franklin Templeton Investments, Putnam Investments and Vanguard. The Overall Communications award recognizes a firm’s all-around, cohesive effort in communicating with a specific audience. Five companies received the Overall Digital/Technology award for outstanding achievement in areas such as Website, Mobile App and Online Innovation: American Century Investments, John Hancock Investments, Natixis Global Asset Management, The Royce Funds and Aberdeen Asset Management.

Hennessy Funds of Novato, California, was presented the industry’s prestigious Community Investment Award, for its philanthropic efforts,

A full list of winners can be found here.

As usual, Hennessy founder and chairman Neil Hennessy stole the show, and he wasn't even there.

Speaking via a pre-recorded message, he had the audience rolling.

"I am under house arrest -- I always wanted to say that," Hennessy declared to the audience. "I hope that elicited laughter."

He went on to declare that this one of the top three awards the firm has received in its 25-year history.

Explaining his absence, he noted that most of the people in the room were usually in "the asset gathering business, not the asset giving business."

But, after 34-years of marriage, if he cancelled a trip with his wife to New Zealand, he'd join the category of "asset givers." (Waah Waah!)

The subject of Hennessy's ongoing philanthropic efforts is the Okizu Foundation, which helps families deal with childhood cancer. Okizu has provided peer support, mentoring, respite and recreating programs to meet the needs of all families in Northern California affected by childhood cancer.

It also runs a summer camp, said Hennessy EVP Terry Nilsen, that allows kids to "just have memories."

In typical Hennessy fashion, Hennessy invited everyone to "belly-up" to the bar with Nilsen (who continued the festive area with a followup speech) and his son A.J., AVP for Corporate Administration.

Afterwards, attendees and award winners had their photos taken, cheered each other with drink and spread throughout Chicago celebrating their honors.

Some stayed to enjoy the rousing electro-honky tonk performed in the hotel's own bar. 

Correction: A prior version of this story misattributed on Okizu's summer camp. The quote was actually from Terry Nilsen.

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