Last year’s Evening Under the Star had to be moved upstairs at Cowboys Stadium because the Jumbotron was having issues. It was a great event and no one knew the difference. . . until this past Friday, when the annual St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital benefit took over the field with Jumbotron on best behavior overhead.
Around 1,000 guests staggered around the field. No, not because of over indulgence of refreshments. They were simply in awe of the place. As massive as the stadium is, it’s an entirely different experience when you’re on the field itself. No one has come up with a word big enough to capture the feeling of the First Wonder of the Football World.
Being on the field transformed guests from proper type folks to wannabe athletes. Redhead Lisa Doney (pictured) took up the football toss and was not going to give up until she got that dang thang through the tire.
Across the way, Dan Gray and Brad Nall (pictured) took turns attempting to kick the football through the goal posts. For some reason, that goal post just seemed to get further and further away.
On the other hand, Host Committee Chairs Sherice and Tim Brown (pictured left with Sherice Brown) looked down right at home on the playing field thanks to Heisman Trophy winner Tim’s years playing for Notre Dame and in the NFL.
However, the two most popular pre-show activities on the field were the buffet line and the silent auction.
The rows of Taste of the NFL featured cuisine ala major NFL flavors including:
- Atlanta (Southern Comfort Food) — Classic green bean casserole, southern fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits with honey butter, Georgia peach cobbler and vanilla bean ice cream
- Dallas (Served Up Texas Style) — Cowboy cole slaw, smoked beef brisket, Dr Pepper BBQ sauce, jalapeno cornbread, chocolate decadence bites
- Chicago (Windy City Selections) — Caesar salad, Chicago-style pizzas (pepperoni, spinach and baby portabella, BBQ chicken Hawaiian)
- San Francisco (Pacific Temptations) — Skewers from the Pacific Rim, lemongrass tenderloin of beef, Asian chicken, ginger shrimp, fried rice, vegetable spring rolls and fortune cookies
Over toward the silent auction, Margo (pictured) and Jim Keyes were proving to be old hands at the St. Jude’s silent auction and headed straight for it. BTW, Margo looked rather fabulous courtesy of others. Her turquoise necklace, black pants suit and stilettos were picked out by Jim and her turquoise earrings came from jewelry designer DiAnn Malouf. And speaking of designs, it seems that Jim’s submission for this year’s The Catholic Foundation Plaza was a finalist. . .Leaving the stilettos at home and buying into the whole western motif was Gail Fischer. Why the metal on her boots alone would set off any metal detector. . . Honorary Chair Aileen Pratt didn’t have a chance to check out the silent auction because she was trying to track down husband Jack and her daughter (“She looks so cute in her fringe”). It’s easy to see why Aileen and Jack were selected as the honorary chairs. Aileen is so articulate and committed to children in need — “Children don’t understand the economy going badly. They understand pain and need and we have to help them regardless of the financial situation.” As Party Co-Chair Lydia Novakov said, “Their (the Pratts) devotion to the mission of St. Jude has helped so many precious children in their toughest hours. Their efforts parallel those felt by numerous others in the Dallas community. Aileen (pictured) and Jack are true angels in our midst.”
Then folks settled down for a live auction conducted by Mike Jones followed by a concert with Jo Dee Messina.
Before the live auction and concert started, Toni Brinker and Isabell Haggar (pictured right with Toni Brinker) were spotted standing on the star at the 50-yard line. When asked about their luck in not having the event on the same night as the World Series next door at the Ballpark, Isabell said, “St. Jude was watching over us, I guess!”
Evidently Isabell was right. St. Jude must have been keeping a watchful eye on the project to raise funds for his hospital. The evening raised a whopping $700,000. That’s $100,000 more than last year. Guess it really did pay to move the party down to the field of dreams.
Sarah Harmeyer says
Ms. Prejean,
You are always so kind and articulate, and are so sweet to come to the party. Friends like you help the kids at St. Jude – thank you for helping provide HOPE to each of them!
Sarah