Looking over the back-yard garden of the Amy and Kelcy Warren estate in Preston Hollow, Amy apologized to Gateway To Opportunity patrons on Tuesday, September 17. Due to the summer heat still grilling North Texas, she was disappointed that the expansive English-style garden, complete with a British street clock surrounded by flower beds, wasn’t at its very best. Ah, in typical Amy Warren fashion she said to come back in the spring when the tulips are tip-top, because that’s when the acreage would be at its best. Still, the grounds made for a spectacular setting, with the off-in-the-yonder stair-step wall fountain and the l’orangerie leading to the pretty remarkable potting shed and a beautiful reflecting pool. Over to the side there was the regulation-size softball field.
When asked what it was like in the wintertime, when snow and ice filled the area, Amy told how the Warren estate was just perfect. She explained that it was 10 years this past August that the Warren family moved into the mansion created by Joyce and Larry Lacerte. Without budging from the walls, residents had all the perks of a top-tier country club, including a natatorium, plenty of fireplaces and an underground bowling alley. OK, so the tennis court was still outdoors, but who plays tennis when it’s freezing?
It was no wonder that guests like Joanna Ritter, Tracy Lange and Nathan Johnson (he’s a newly elected Dallas state senator) found their way by passing the Sherry Hayslip-designed rooms to the terrace overlooking the magnificent back yard. Nathan said his wife is a former Family Gateway board chair, and that the entire family volunteers for the nonprofit. Also enjoying the terrace view were David Osborne and Susan Walton, who said her daughter paved the way for their involvement with Family Gateway.
Just after 7 p.m., the group was reminded by Event Co-Chairs Juanita Harris and Selwyn Rayzor and Family Gateway President/CEO Ellen Magnis that their support was going to support the late Dallas Mayor Annette Strauss‘ Family Gateway to help homeless children and families. The 2019 Gateway to Opportunity Luncheon, featuring Daymond John from ABC’s “Shark Tank” program, is scheduled for Thursday, September 26, at the Omni Dallas Hotel benefiting Family Gateway. The luncheon’s honorary co-chairs are Tiffany and Mark Cuban.