Honors were being handed out at the area’s two most popular hotels, Omni Dallas and Hilton Anatole, on Saturday, October 26. Two events dealt with health care and one with education. All three raised money and had a great time doing it.
St. Jude Evening Under The Stars
Over at the Omni Dallas hotel, Carole and Scott Murray were honored at the 13th annual St. Jude Evening Under the Stars party. The Murrays are longtime supporters of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which benefited from the gala, western-themed event that was co-chaired by Marian Haggar Bryan and Lydia Haggar Novakov. Cindy Feld served as party chair, while Holly and Doug Brooks co-chaired the host committee. Among the 900 in attendance were Rick C. Shadyac Jr., St. Jude’s CEO, and his wife, Ann.
Following dinner (beet carpaccio, filet of beef and seared chicken, new potatoes and roasted vegetables, and assorted Bundtini’s) and a live auction, guests enjoyed a blowout performance by top Nashville songwriters
Tommy Lee James, Don Poythress, Phillip White and West Texas native Sonny Curtis, lead guitarist in Buddy Holly’s pre-Crickets band. Earlier, Sonny explained that he was participating at the suggestion of Alabama’s Randy Owen—a longtime St. Jude’s supporter—and was very pleased to be doing so.
Commit To Cure
For decades Dr. Alan Menter has been the adored and respected doctor of lotions and potions. When it came to skin diseases, Alan was the man. Teenagers suffering through the agonies of acne found him to be the go-to man for their formative years. Vicki Chapman recalled, “You don’t make an appointment with him at 4 p.m. You’ll be there until 7.” Why? Because the good doctor is always running late due to his thoughtful handling of previous patients.
Newcomers quickly learned that Alan’s fame extended way beyond the patient care world. In 1968, he had been a part of the top-ranked Springboks rugby team.
But on Saturday, he was the man to be honored for his lifelong work in the area of psoriasis.
OK, so go laugh. Psoriasis is that disease that’s on TV. . . the heartbreak of psoriasis.
But to the hundreds of medical industry experts from around the world who were present for the Commit To Cure gala in the Anatole’s Grand Ballroom, the disease was a fearful condition and Alan was the knight leading the charge.
The evening’s entertainment ranged from Zambian Vocal Collection to Troy Cartwright and a live auction. But the highpoint of the evening was the plaudits paid to this remarkable physician.
It started off with a heartfelt tribute by Alyssa Krafsur, who has suffered from the pain and appearance of the disease. Before she became a well-known speaker on psoriasis, she was just a suffering little girl with both severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Then she met Alan, who treated and helped her during those years. Alyssa and her mother would drive to Dallas from El Paso on a regular basis just to have Alan treat her. With the care that would make Marcus Welby seem like a Spanish inquisitor team leader, Alan worked with her to curb the disease.
Upon receiving his award, Alan showed the grace and articulation that has made him an international star on skin diseases, as well as beloved by his friends and patients who filled the audience including Honorary Chair Richard Fisher (“My chief claim to fame is Alan is my doctor”) along with mom-in-law Dee Collins Torbert, Gala Chair Julie Hubach, Emcee Clarice Tinsley with husband Stephen Giles, Francois Fournier (“Everyone knows Alan”), Dr. Caitriona Ryan, Dr. Alexa Kimball (“He treats his patients like he treats his daughters and sons”) and Baylor Health Care System CEO/President Joel Allison, who passed on attending the Baylor football game just to be at the dinner.
In his remarks, Alan said that psoriasis used to be considered part of leprosy. Today 120 million suffer from the disease, with 7 million of them living in the U.S. In addition to the pain and ugliness of psoriasis, 10% of the victims struggle to ward off additional “inside” problems: liver, lung, etc. In closing he revealed that two of his brothers have psoriasis.
As a result of the dinner and in recognition of Alan, $1.175 million was raised.
Northwood University’s Distinguished Women
While Dr. Menter was being applauded in the Anatole’s Grand Ballroom, Northwood University also was in the accolade business across the complex in the Coronado Room with its Distinguished Women Induction Dinner.
The class of 2013 was being feted following a two-day program in which they learned about Northwood and even kicked back at D’Andra Simmons (2011 honoree) palazzo.
As Susanne Dicker (1984) snapped photos on her pearl-covered smartphone, 2013 recipient Harriet Miers chatted with friends. . . Yvonne Crum (2001) and Barbara Brice found a spot to sit and talk, and Leslie Anne Crozier (2006) arrived in a flourish of colors.
BTW, if you’re wondering who the gals were in this year’s class, they included
- Dallas’ Harriet Miers and Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk
- Fort Worth’s The Honorable Congresswoman Kay Granger and Patricia Chambers
- Margaret Peale Everett of Sherman, Connecticut
- Linda Orlans of Troy, Michigan
- The Honorable Mayor Mary Roche of Indian Wells, California
- Lorraine Schultz of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
The Distinguished Women’s Award honors women who reflect the values which Northwood espouses for its students:
- commitments to free enterprise
- the partnership of arts and business
- the management of global commerce.
* Photo credit: Glenn Hunter
** Photo credit: Jeanne Prejean