It must be the new in-thing to do — host two parties for two different groups on consecutive days. Myrna and Bob Schlegel did it a couple of weeks ago for the Virginia Chandler Dyke honoree announcement one night and the St. Valentine’s Day Fashion Show & Luncheon the following night.
Tammy Cotton Hartnett and (State Rep.) Will Hartnett did nearly the same thing. Only they hosted the Pre-gala Wine Gathering Party for the October 27th Bone Bash on Saturday, September 22; they rested Sunday, then held the TexProtects fundraiser on Monday. Sometime during that three-day spree, they also celebrated Tammy’s birthday.
Arthritis Foundation’s Pre-Gala Wine Gathering Party for 7th Annual Bone Bash
Leslie Kitziger and her husband Dr. Kurt co-hosted the Bone Bash evening at the Hartnetts’ estate, which has a backyard made for any kid or kid-at-heart, complete with zip line. Hartnett son, 10-yeard-old Winston, charmed all including Holly Reed, Brad Beaird and TACA’s new BFF’s New Zealanders Annette Presley and Marco Marinkovich. In addition to learning Chinese and Latin, Winston knows French, Spanish “and English, of course,” and plans to be a defense contractor and also own a consumer electronics company. According to Winston, this combination will give him good diversification.
And while on the subject of young people, Arthritis Foundation President/CEO Susan Carter was quick to point out that arthritis is one of the most misunderstood diseases around. More kids have it than juvenile diabetes and cystic fibrosis combined, she said, “but nobody talks about it.” Susan went on to say that 25,000 kids in Texas suffer from arthritis and that it’s not just an old peoples’ disease.
In addition to having guests bring bottles of wine to be auctioned off at the Bone Bash gala on Saturday, October 27, at the Fairmont, the following auction items will be up for bid:
- Hollywood VIP Trip Package — tickets to The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Dr. Phil Show, air travel and accommodations.
- New Orleans Trip Package — Dinner jazz cruise on the Paddlewheeler Creole Queen, Jean Lafitte Swamp Tour, air travel and accommodations at The Ambassador Hotel New Orleans.
- The Dallas Sports FANtasy Collection — A collection of sports memorabilia or seats at Dallas sports game will be up for grabs.
- California Cabernet Cult Collection — A dozen bottle of premiere boutique and cults wines from some of California’s finest producers of California Cabernet Sauvignon.
BTW, this is one of the events where wearing a costume is not only acceptable but almost a must to fit in with the games and Halloween theme and activities.
The Texas Association for the Protection of Children Annual Fundraiser
Unlike other fundraisers held in hotel ballrooms, this one at the Hartnetts’ was for 120 thanks to Co-chairs Rebel Calhoun, Stephanie Walker and Tammy along with Honorary Chairs Lisa Simmons and Serena Simmons Connelly.
As if the two honorees, State Sen. Florence Shapiro and WFAA’s Dale Hansen, weren’t big enough draws, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst was on hand to introduce Florence, and Scott Murray was there for Dale.
With TexProtects Executive Director Madeline McClure and the rest of the SRO crowd including Dallas City Councilperson Ann Margolin, Dallas County Commissioner Maurine Dickey, State Rep. Angie Chen Button, Kern Wildenthal and Kathleen Gibson gathered in the Hartnetts’ living room, it was revealed that 26 laws have been passed in seven years thanks to the group.
David, who was honored with the Children’s Hero Award last year, recalled his first meeting with Madeline. She thought it was going to be 10 minutes, but it turned out to be an hour.
He then told how “Kern twisted my arm for funding for UTSW more than anyone. He did a great job. But Kern, you may have some competition in Madeline McClure.”
Then the tall lieutenant governor turned his remarks to Florence: “She may not be as tall as I am, but she’s got a heart as big as the state of Texas. She’s dedicated her whole life to helping people in the state of Texas. . .Plus, about every morning she sends me an email telling me what to do.”
In presenting the oversized Lifetime Achievement Award to Florence, he stressed how she was a driving force in passing tough bills, penalties and mandatory treatment for victims.
Accepting the award, Florence said, “I’m gonna need to add a room into the house. No place to put this!” She then recalled how when she was a freshman senator, David convinced her to become chair of the senate education committee.
Changing direction she then addressed Dale, who was sitting near Carol Reed, Holly Reed, Braid Beaird and Judge Eric Moye. “I watch Dale Hansen every night.” Florence’s husband Howard was heard from the back of the room agreeing, “True!” At that Dale called out to Howard, “I don’t even know who you are!”
Getting serious, Florence said how Dale had done one of the most courageous things when he revealed in December on-air that he had been a victim of sexual abuse as a child, and thanked him for that. Dale being Dale responded, “All right, I’ll vote for you.” To this Florence said, “Don’t give him another drink!”
Following Florence, Scott introduced Dale, recalling an incident with former Cowboys coach Tom Landry. It seems that the sports reporters covering the Cowboys arrived for the first meeting of the season with the coach. On the wall were clocks with all hands pointed at 12. Each clock had the name of a media group — except for CH. 4, where Dale worked at the time. For 4, there was no clock. What was the purpose of the clocks? Landry explained that each time a sports journalist reported something that wasn’t quite right, the minute hand would move five minutes. Dale asked, “Where’s my clock?” Landry said, “I keep yours in my office, Dale. I use it as a fan.”
Then Scott recalled how he quietly dropped in once on a banquet at which Dale was speaking. At the end of his talk, Dale said, “If you like what I said, my name is Dale Hansen. If you don’t like it, my name is Scott Murray.”
Dale in accepting his award told how before going public with his abuse tale, he met with his best friend of 25 years, Judge Moye, for a drink at Eric’s home. After Dale told him the abuse story, Eric commented, “We’re gonna need more wine!”
Dale then went on to say:
- That being a victim of sexual abuse carries the stigma of shame in our society. We as a society have sent this message.
- On his TV talk: “Those of you who did see it – and I’ve seen the ratings, not as many of you saw it as say you did …”
- As a 10-year-old boy, Dale was attacked in his hometown by a 16-year-old boy. Two men who are close friends of Dale’s from the town heard about Dale’s revelation on the broadcast and told him: “Oh my God Dale, it happened to me, too.”
- He received 1,600-plus emails after the broadcast.
Then Dale announced that next June, his annual backyard party for 1,000 would benefit TexProtects. In addition to promoting the party on air, “I’ve arranged for everything to be paid for,” thanks to Carol Reed for finding title sponsor Highland Capital. Also, Don Davis Auto Group and David Holl from Mary Kay have ponied up $10K each.
To finish up the awards, Madeline presented a plaque to the “biggest donor over the years” — her husband Jim McClure. She then went on to say that child abuse “is something that is preventable. That’s why I started TexProtects. … We have got to go forward.”
One bill that TexProtects is working on now, she said, is to make it mandatory to train anybody who works at an education institution how to recognize and report abuse.