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UPDATE October 15: Rescheduled
With the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving looking as busy as the State Fair’s Midway, a couple of November fundraisers are shifting their plans to better dates on the calendar. Ironically, both evening, in-person events were originally scheduled for Thursday, November 4.
- March of Dimes‘ Signature Chefs Auction scheduled for Thursday, November 4, at VenueForty|50 has been rescheduled to Wednesday, December 1
- Ability Connection‘s Vine And Dine scheduled for Thursday, November 4, at Hall on Dragon has been rescheduled for Thursday, February 24.
Check your calendars and see if these new dates fit into your schedule.
JUST IN: Katy And Kyle Miller Gift $5M To Create Courtyard For SMU Cox School
If it’s Friday, it must be SMU good news day. The latest Mustang blast is a $5M gift to the university’s Edwin L. Cox School of Business from Katy A. and Kyle D. Miller.
The monies will be used to “establish the Katy and Kyle Miller Courtyard, part of the future Cox School renovation and expansion project.”
Plans call for the Courtyard with enhanced landscaping and seating area to be located along Bishop Boulevard just west of the new Commons, where people can come together for “lunch, study sessions, discussions and formal events.”
According to Silver Hill Energy Partners LP Founder/President/CEO Kyle, who earned his Bachelor of Business Administration at SMU in 2001, “We felt it was a privilege to give back to a place that has given us so much. The Cox School gave me the skills I needed to succeed in my career, and Katy and I are excited to pay that gift forward and empower future entrepreneurs and business leaders. We can’t wait to see what future Fortune 500 companies get their start over coffee in the courtyard.”
Supporting SMU runs in the philanthropic Miller family. In addition to providing millions of dollars to the university over the years, Kyle’s father, David B. Miller and his wife Carolyn Miller, provided an historic $50M gift two years ago this month to the Cox School.
Upon the announcement of the gift, Cox School Dean Matthew B. Myers commented, “The Miller family has been integral to the growth of the Cox School. We are very proud to count Kyle and his father David ’72, ’73, among our illustrious alumni.”
In addition to their support of SMU, Vanderbilt grad Katy and Kyle are on the boards of Children’s Medical Center Foundation, Goodwill Industries of Dallas Inc. and The Senior Source, as well as having served as honorary co-chairs along with their three children (Avery Miller, Emerson Miller and Harris Miller) for Community Partners of Dallas’ 2019 “Change Is Good”.
With this gift, the Cox School’s renovation is now $90M closer to its goal of $120M for a spring 2022 groundbreaking and “is part of SMU’s multiyear, $1.5 billion campaign for impact, SMU Ignited: Boldly Shaping Tomorrow.”
* Rendering provided by SMU
Korshak’s Crawford Brock Was Back From The High Seas To Host Chick Lit Patron Party
While North Texas Giving Day was heading to the final hours of its 2021 fundraiser on Thursday, September 23, the 2021 Chick Lit Luncheon patrons were getting revved up for the next day’s fundraiser for Community Partners of Dallas.
As luxury vehicles were in the conga line at Korshak’s valet, Korshak owner Crawford Brock was manning the door and greeting guests like Presenting Co-Sponsor Lara Tafel, Pam Busbee, Shelle Sills, DeeDee Lee, Rhonda Sargent Chambers, and Knoxie Edmonson. He was glad to be back at the store. During the pandemic, Crawford has spent 11 weeks getting to know his newest acquisition — Jack Nicklaus’ yacht. He admitted that after selling his “Tie Breaker,” he thought his boat ownership days were dry docked. But being so grounded during the stay-in-place, he started getting homesick for the deep blue sea. however, the pickings were slim. That is until his broker called with news of Nicklaus’ ship getting ready to be listed. That’s all it took to get Crawford back scuba diving and spear fishing.
Speaking of fishing, 2021 Chick Lit Luncheon Chair Claire Emanuelson reported that husband Dwight Emanuelson was returning home after fly fishing in Wyoming. Her had been due back October 1, but came back early to celebrate the Emanuelsons’ 34th’s anniversary and to support Claire’s appearance on stage the next day.
Christie Carter and Angie Kadesky had had just enough time to change shoes after attending the Dallas Woman’s Club luncheon.
All too soon the party ended because the ladies had a big day ahead of them — the first major in-person gathering in months… not make that more than a year.
Grovel Alert: 2021 Cattle Baron’s Ball
If you had your heart set on two-stepping back into the Texas swing of major fundraising at the 2021 Cattle Baron Ball presented by Texas Oncology, you’re running out of time. CBB Co-Chairs Diana Hamilton and Heather Randall have just sent word that there are only two tables left for the American Cancer Society of North Texas’s fundraiser at Gilley’s on Saturday, October 23.
Thanks to the pandemic, this event was two years in the making and evidently folks are just busting to pull out their cowboy boots and Stetsons.
And speaking of COVID, Andrews Distributing Main Stager Dierks Bentley is raring to get back in the saddle to “double down against cancer” after being off the road in September due to a member of his touring party testing positive.
According to the CBB evening’s protocol, “Service personnel, such as food and beverage servers, will be wearing masks.”
In the meantime, the CBB Digital Auction Book has gone live online. The Big Board Auction and Silent Auction are available for bidding tomorrow morning (Friday, October 15) at 9 a.m. You can get a head start on bidding by registering now!
* Graphic courtesy of 2021 Cattle Baron's Ball
Brooks And Dunn ‘Play Something Country,’ Helping Boost Fundraiser To A Record Net
Looking every inch like a slimmed-down Brand New Man, event Co-Chair Steve Stodghill stood onstage in The Statler Hotel’s ballroom, welcoming guests to the first-ever All for the Hall Dallas fundraiser supporting Nashville’s non-profit Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
The Sept. 22 event at the downtown hotel was the climax of a two-day benefit for the museum’s educational initiatives, like its flagship Words And Music program for school-age kids — including students in 10 classrooms in the Dallas Independent School District (DISD).
All the previous All for the Hall benefits had been held in Nashville, Los Angeles and New York. So, when organizers asked him initially whether the museum would be able to raise money in Texas, Steve told the Statler crowd of nearly 300, he had an answer at the ready: “Oh, you have no idea how much money you can raise in Texas! Dallas’ philanthropical spirit is unsurpassed in the nation.”
The musical fundraiser had kicked off the night before with an acoustic patron-party performance by country star Trisha Yearwood at the home of Steve and his wife Anne Stodghill, who co-chaired the two-day shindig along with Katy and Lawrence Bock, Terri and Kurt Johnson, Jonika and Corky Nix and Sunie and Steve Solomon. The Statler event 24 hours later included a reception, a dinner, silent and live auctions and a performance by Country Music Hall of Fame members Brooks And Dunn, aka Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn. (They donated their time to the benefit, as did Yearwood.)
The iconic Brooks & Dunn duo, touring nationally for the first time in a decade, transported their full-on “REBOOT 2021” show to the hotel’s ballroom, stirring up a crowd that included the likes of Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife Angela, DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa with wife Kitty, Mary and Joe Parker, Amy and Corey Prestidge, Nidia and Adam Olivas, Alison and Harry Hunsicker, Holly and Stubbs Davis with daughter Landry Davis (she’s the reigning Miss Texas Teen USA), Kittie and John Buchanan with their kids Cornelia Buchanan and John Buchanan Jr. and Dallas entrepreneurial types Doug Deason, Edwin Cabaniss and Ron Johnsey (“This is a bucket list item for me,” Ron said enthusiastically).
Among an Austin-based contingent in attendance were Brendon Anthony, director of the Texas Music Office; BMI’s Mitch Ballard; and Joe Ables of the Texas Heritage Songwriters’ Association.
Following remarks by the Nashville museum’s Lisa Purcell and then the live auction — businessman Johnsey, for example, ponied up $15K for an autographed Gibson 335 guitar — Brooks & Dunn hit the stage with their 1991 hit, “Brand New Man.” Then they segued into another smash, “Working On My Next Broken Heart.” Noting the crowd’s reaction — or, rather, its lack of one — Kix unleashed a gentle tweak: “How ya’ll doin’? Man, it’s quiet out here! You all scared?” That may have been just the prod they needed, because after that things got more animated.
How could they not have, though, in the face of such rollicking, honk-tonk classics as “We’ll Burn That Bridge,” “Red Dirt Road,” “Lost and Found,” “Hard Workin’ Man,” “Play Something Country,” “My Maria,” and “Rock My World (Little Country Girl)”? “Neon Moon” brought out a few buckle-rubbers, and Kix’s soulful version of “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” was a highlight of the evening. After the night’s final tune, “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,” the stars ended the evening on a no-nonsense note — “That’s it! We love you!” — before vanishing backstage.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum must love North Texas now, too. All for the Hall Dallas presented by Winston & Strawn LLP ended up netting more than $415,000 for the museum, making it the venue’s most successful benefit outside of Nashville to date.
* Photos by George Fiala for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
UPDATE ALERT: Dallas CASA’s Champion for Children
Even though the torrential storms hadn't hit the DFW neighborhood earlier today, Dallas CASA CEO/President Kathleen LaValle and her crew aren't taking any chances with their Champions for Children fundraiser at The Rustic Thursday night. Instead of building a ho-hum ark, they're "erecting a tent … Read More...
Baylor Foundation VP Cynthia Krause Knows All-Too-Well The Danger Of Postponing A Mammogram
In North Texas fundraising circles, it seems like everybody knows one of the Krauses. There’s David Krause, whose resume includes fundraising for Baylor Health Care System Foundation (1987-1995), Children’s Medical Center of Dallas (1996 to 2005) and Parkland Hospital Foundation (2005 to 2019), … Read More...
Thanks-Giving Square Adds Two New Board Members
There must be something in the air. Non-profit boards are adding to their flocks of directors like monarch butterflies in area gardens. Thanks-Giving Square, the 55-year-old landmark in downtown Dallas, has increased their board by two for 2021-2022. Thanks-Giving Board Chair Chris … Read More...
Change Of Plans Alert!: Klyde Warren’s Party In The Park Is Being Transported To The Meyerson
The next few days are going to be loaded with rain for North Texas. The good news? We need the rain. The not-so-good news? Trying to figure that one out, but do we really need a Noah’s Ark type flood? However, there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This weekend (aka the end of the 2021 … Read More...
Deadline For 2022 Crystal Charity Ball Grant Applications Nears
The clock is ticking down for Dallas County children’s non-profits to submit their applications to be 2022 Crystal Charity Ball beneficiaries. 2022 CCB Chair Susan Farris and CCB Charity Selection Chair Suzy Gekiere are greeting the postperson each day as s/he delivers applications. But … Read More...
United Way Of Metropolitan Dallas Welcomes Aboard New Directors
United Way of Metropolitan Dallas’ (UWMD) ranks of leadership are growing. In addition to United Way with its Aspire United 2030 in its sights to “improve education, income and health,” its foundation — United Way Foundation of Metropolitan Dallas (UWFMD) — is adding to its own board. According … Read More...