Wednesday Round Robin: Flora Patron Party, A.W.A.R.E. Shoe Sale And St. Philip’s Roasting Of Mayor Mike Rawlings

Last Wednesday was filled with activities benefiting everything from the Texas Discovery Gardens, A.W.A.R.E. to St. Philip’s School throughout Dallas.

TEXAS DISCOVERY GARDENS’ FLORA AWARDS PATRON PARTY

Libby and Al Allred, Barbara Hunt Crow, Herbert and Nancy Hunt

Sisters are definitely great. Especially when they’re Libby Hunt Allred and Barbara Hunt Crow. Because Barbara is being honored at the Flora Awards dinner on Thursday, November 1, at Texas Discovery Gardens, Libby and husband Al hosted a patron party Wednesday evening at their picture-perfect home.

Billie Leigh Rippey, John Marston, Elsie Dunklin and Sue John

The red-brick house with a marvelous collection of Boehm porcelains was perfect for the Discovery Garden supporters including Carol Seay, who is co-chairing “Illuminating New Perspectives” at the Dallas Country Club Tuesday, Sue John and Susan Lebowitz comparing notes on the recent 45th reunion of the Highland Park High School class of ’67, Elsie Dunklin in an appropriate floral shawl, Billie Leigh Rippey just back from Shreveport, where she was feted by old friends and plenty of Hunts (Libby’s and Barbara’s parents, Nancy and Herbert Hunt, big brother Doug Hunt, cousin Lyda Hill and aunt Caroline Rose Hunt).

EMY MACK TRUNK SHOE BENEFITS A.W.A.R.E.

While Bill Seanor had a great time at the family estate watching the family’s two afghans racing across the lawn, wife Karen was having a jolly good time inside with shoe lovers and A.W.A.R.E. supporters. The occasion was a trunk show of Emy Mack Shoes. The handmade Italian shoes were as varied as the group trying them on. Everything from booties with stud tips to python-print flats with buckles in all sizes filled the dining room and entry hall.

A.W.A.R.E. President Kay Hammond was beaming with the turnout, knowing that a portion of the sales would benefit A.W.A.R.E., thanks to hosts Emily Jamison and Carmaleta Whiteley.

Among the crowd shoe-perusing were designer Lynn Dealey, who is working on the April 5th A.W.A.R.E. luncheon logo featuring keynote speaker Larry Hagman, Sally Blanton preparing for another trip, and James Shackelford talking about Friday’s Burgers and Burgundy event for DIFFA at Anne and Steve Stodghill‘s new mansion.

ST. PHILIP’S SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY CENTER ROAST OF MAYOR MIKE RAWLINGS*

Meanwhile, over at the Omni Dallas Hotel, more than 410 guests got a kick out of roasting Mayor Mike Rawlings at the 25^th Annual Fall Event benefiting St. Philip’s School and Community Center.

Elaine Agather*

With Elaine Agather serving as emcee, Candace and Jim Krause serving as chairs, and country star Charley Pride and his wife, Rozene, as the evening’s honorary chairs, the roast titled “Schooling the Mayor” featured a parade of local luminaries who were eager to tweak Mike for a great cause.

There was City Council member Dwaine Caraway, for example, recalling that when Rawlings emerged on the Dallas mayoral scene, “He just popped up like a Pop Tart.” Then, Caraway said, “First thing he did, he blocked me out of the mayor pro tem. OK. I’m down with that.” But now they get along, the councilman said, noting that he and the mayor are both ex-football players: “I still do some blockin’ for him.”

Tom Karol of CIC Partners, where Rawlings was managing partner before becoming mayor, read a long funny poem about Mike that ended with: “There’s not every city that has their own ‘Mr. Big.’ ” (That was a reference to Rawlings’ physical resemblance to the TV character from “Sex and the City.”)

Mayor Mike Rawlings and Tom Dunning*

Businessman/former mayoral candidate Tom Dunning recalled vacationing one time with Rawlings and others in Greece, where Mike, “eager to show off his athletic ability,” agreed to try water-skiing, much to his eventual embarrassment: “The boat took off and yanked him right up—and yanked his pants right down! … Then, he just sunk!”

After the laughter died down, a hilarious video was shown featuring former Dallas Cowboys QB Roger Staubach. Among other bits, the video showed side-by-side comparisons of both Roger and Mike sporting moustaches, back in the day. Staubach claimed that his was the more “macho” of the two, by far.

Stephen Jones, Dwaine Caraway and Mayor Mike Rawlings*

Dallas Cowboys executive Stephen Jones came to the podium following the video, calling Rawlings, “nothing short of a jock-sniffer. But, we’ll forgive him for that.”

When the mayor took the stage at last, he had his revenge. He called Dunning “the most charismatically challenged individual I’ve ever known. It’s really sad.” Of Jones, he added: “To be a good sport, you have to learn how to lose. And this is the maestro … Come on, win a game!”

Dr. Terry Flowers*

Turning to St. Philip’s Headmaster Dr. Terry J. Flowers, Rawlings said, “I’m so honored to have been a scapegoat to help raise money for you.”

And, raise money did they did. In addition to all the event-sponsorship funds, Agather drew on-the-spot pledges of around $120,000 during the Sponsor-A-Child presentation.

* Photos and post by Glenn Hunter