On Thursday, July 9, Dallas was on the verge of the pink invasion. Yup, it was time for the annual Mary Kay Convention. But it was also the evening of the “Think Pink” event at Tootsies for The Mary Kay Foundation’s Suits for Shelters program with cocktails on the ground floor and a fashion show upstairs.
But this year there was a slight twist to the gathering. There were a lot more men among the 200 in attendance. While Mary Kay VP Crayton Webb was MIA (he was in China), his involvement in HeRO was felt with such men as David Shallenberger and Bert Burkhalter taking a stand against domestic violence by attending the event.
Luckily, Mary Kay Chief Investment Officer/scion Ryan Rogers was front and center with his wife Maleiah, who was OMG perfectly outfitted with pink accessories like an over-the-shoulder scarf and a dazzling pink clutch. Her pink toenails peeking out of her Louboutin open-toe heels were a nice touch, too.
Just when the downstairs showroom was about to burst with people, it was time to head upstairs for the fashions.
As the guests like Yvonne Crum, Melissa Sherrill, Kirsten Gappelberg, Ann Crews, Theresa Flores, Katharine Bain and Regina Bruce were taking their places, WFAA’s Cynthia “Izzy” Izaguirre was taking cellphone snaps of guests. She promised them that she would be showing them on the evening’s 10 p.m. newscast.
The Family Place’s Paige Flink and Melissa Sherrill were bright-eyed and chipper despite the anxieties of moving TFP’s consulting and administration offices. Paige hinted that more changes would be announced in the months ahead. Stay tuned.
With Maleiah sitting nearby, Ryan called the group to order explaining the program and introducing Tootsies manager Nerissa von Helpenstill, who in turned handed the mic over to Izzy.
The petite anchorwoman found herself having to jump-start the runway action. Despite announcing the start of the show, no one came out. Cynthia gently admonished them to appear: “Where are they? Ladies!”
That got the action going. At first Izzy did a running commentary like, “Does Rhonda look hot or not?” and “That’s the kind of look that will wind up on TV!”
Eventually she stopped asking the models for their names, dropped the scripted remarks and just let the fashions flow. Every now and then she would announce the theme for the next group of fashions, like Boho Beach Party and Sophisticated Soiree. After all, the models had gotten in the swing of things. Model Amber Griffin blew kisses to the guests in one outfit and then appeared in a hot pink caftan with arms widespread, looking like a glorious pink eagle.
Following the finale, Ryan returned to the podium and had the raffle tickets pulled for prizes like gift cards, Mary Kay gift baskets and goodies. The final item was a $5,000 donation to the shelter of choice by the winning ticket holder. While Paige and Genesis Shelter’s Jan Langbein looked hopeful, their hopes were dashed when Joe Fox sprung up when his ticket won, rushed to the podium immediately, and reported that the money would be going to the New Beginning Center. Talk about being on a roll. New Beginning just this past May received a $15,000 emergency grant from The Mary Kay Foundation to “provide safe and secure housing in the midst of major plumbing repairs.”
It’s not too late to pop by Tootsies with that suit or those accessories that were such memory-makers a season or two ago. Why not let someone else get some mileage out of them, and you’ll be rewarded with a $25 coupon to replace it with something new from Tootsies?