As the money kept pushing the North Texas Giving Day leaderboard to new, staggering heights on Thursday, September 17, the area nonprofits saw no reason to stop their extracurricular activities. The No Tie Dinner and Dessert crowd kicked off their plans at Scott + Cooner for their 10th anniversary benefiting the ASD Services on April 9th at Frontier of Flight Museum. This year’s theme will have guests going James Bond…The high rollers of the art-loving world got a sneak peek at the Giuseppe Penone exhibition “Giuseppe Penone: Being The River, Repeating The Forest” at the Nasher Sculpture Center…Shakespeare Dallas celebrated North Texas Giving Day by partying at Samuell Grand Park with all types of goings-on like animal adoptions and fencing demonstration. Touche!…And speaking of East Dallas, Foodiepalooza at 7 for Parties was benefiting the East Dallas Boys And Girls Club.
Whew! But there was still more. Here are a couple for your review:
KidneyTexas Runway Report Patron Party
Banker Norman Bagwell met car dealer Clay Cooley at Kathy and Larry Helm’s Highland Park home for the KidneyTexas Runway Report patron party. After the first howdy do’s Clay learned why Runway Report Honorary Co-Chair Norm was involved with KidneyTexas. Norm had survived kidney disease thanks to the funding of research and developments.
While some might have listened politely, Clay launched into a full conversation about such advancements with Norm, who had received a kidney. Norm then praised the amazing transplant programs taking place at Baylor and U.T. Southwestern. He explained that he had indeed been lucky not only to have time to make decisions on how to proceed, but both his wife Robin Bagwell and his sister had been viable donors.
Here were two men who had only just met and yet they both understood and were amazed at the life-changing developments taking place in North Texas.
But soon they found themselves in the study surrounded by KidneyTexas President Therese Rourk, Runway Report Co-Chairs Mary Lee Cox and Donna Arp Weitzman.
In the hallway was retail real estate whiz Herb Weitzman, who is helping wife Donna write her next book, “How Dallas Became a Retailing Mecca.” According to Donna, it’s not so much about Herb as it is the various Dallas retail real estate projects that he’s been involved in.
Crystal Charity Ball Fashion Show Patron Party
Just blocks away at Lana and Barry Andrews’ home, they had expected around 225 guests. Instead the number was hitting the 300 mark that included Wanda Gierhart and Dean Fearing talking with Cliff Fischer, April Box, Angela Nash, Annette Simmons with Gerald Fronterhouse, Michal and Loyd Powell, Vicki and Bob Chapman with Preston Evans, Piper Wyatt, Claire Emanuelson, Muffin Lemak, Anita and Truman Arnold, Jennifer and Richard Dix, Alicia and Scott Wood, Gene and Jerry Jones, Debbie and Nickey Oates, Jill and Bob Smith, Tiffany and Paul Divis, Amy Green, KJ and Ladd Sanger, Patsy Donosky with Harold Pruner, Tucean and David Webb and of course, the 10 Besties (Katherine Coker, Janie Condon, Heather Esping, Margaret Hancock, Pat Harloe, Julie Hawes, Patty Leyendecker, Francie Moody-Dahlberg, Ashley Tripplehorn Hunt and Christi Urschel). The draw was the Crystal Charity Ball Fashion Show patron party underwritten by J.P. Morgan with Elaine Agather greeting one and all at the front door.
Adding to the panache of the evening was Oscar de la Renta designer Peter Copping in attendance; Peter’s arrival in Dallas had been slightly delayed to an American Airlines computer glitch. Another person suffering from AA’s gremlins was Key Coker. His plane from South Carolina was also held up.
Well, OMG, the gals were dressed to the uber nines with Lela Rose taking the lead worn by Pat Harloe and DeeDee Lee. Caren Kline drew second and three looks in Halston. She said that since the party was for a fashion show, “I had to step it up a little.”
As hot as the fashions were, the temps in the house thanks to the body count caused smart fellas like Allan McBee and Peter Foster to stake out spots over floor air vents. One of the coolest rooms was the dining room, where the air was breezing and the Cassandra-laden table was a never-ending feast for the eye and tastebuds.
In a corner CCB Honorary Chair Ruth Altshuler and Nancy Dedman discussed Na’s day-before as a new board member of the Baylor Health Care System Foundation…NM Exec Kevin Hurst was talking about his chairing The Obelisk Awards that will be presented on Friday, November 13, at The Fairmont…Phillip Huffines shared photos from his attending the CNN Republican debate the night before in the Reagan Library. His twin brother State Sen. Don Huffines was on camera for much of the night, since he was seated behind CNN moderator Jake Tapper.
But it was an early evening because the next morning’s 10 Best Dressed was on the schedule at Neiman Marcus Downtown.
For more photos of the party, check MySweetCharity Photo Gallery.