The plan called for the group photo of the 2021 Crystal Charity Ball ten best dressed (Marybeth Conlon, Tiffany Divis, Jennifer Dix, Cate Ford, Cara French, Libby Hegi, Kim Hext, Karla McKinley, Amy Prestidge and Kimberly Schlegel Whitman with Hall of Famer Mary Clare Finney to take place as 6:30 before guests arrived at 7 p.m. for the Crystal Charity Ball Platinum Circle Patron Dinner at Lisa and Kenny Troutt’s home on Tuesday, September 14.
But when one BD-er hadn’t arrived by 7 p.m. and guests started walking in the door, the call was made to proceed with the shoot of the nine and Mary Clare with 2021 CCB Chair Leslie Diers and Fashion Show Chair Lisa Cooley. Luckily, eventually the MIA BD-er made it, apologizing for the late arrival.
Of course, the talk of the night ranged from the challenges of learning to navigate on stilettos after 20 months of flips-flops to catching up.
Before guests adjourned to the indoor basketball court that had been transformed into an elegant dining room, with walls covered in black draping and tables decked out in pink and lavender clothes, the cocktail reception took place in the formal living room.
As their daughter 2021 CCB Chair Leslie Diers greeted guests, Cynthia and Lester Melnick shared a tabletop. When asked how long they had been married, there was no hesitation — 67 years!
BD-er Tiffany Divis’ new haircut had a backstory. It seems that Tiffany and her hairdresser had undertaken a project during the pandemic. Over the months she would let her long red hair grow. When it got to a certain point, it would be cut. The result was 12 inches of her hair were donated for the creation of a wig for someone who had lost their hair as a result of medical conditions.
Erin Mathews brought along her daughter-in-law Brittany Mathews, who with husband Travis Mathews has provided Erin with a grandson and a granddaughter. On the professional front, the two Allie Beth Allman Realtors were all smiles after non-stop business that hit the North Texas marketplace.
Paige McDaniel revealed that she had added a new face to her Community Partners of Dallas staff. Well, it wasn’t exactly a new face, it was her longtime pal Joe B. Clark, who is now director of finance.
Despite his back being out of sorts, 2021 Crystal Charity Ball Platinum Circle Dinner host Kenny Troutt wasn’t going to let it hold him back.
Just as the room seemed to be in over-flow status, the chimes played calling the guests to dinner via the verandah that had been transformed into a display of past CCB chair gowns, from Sara Martineau (1993), Barbara Stuart (1994), Becky Bright (1999), Karen Shuford (2000), Lydia Novakov (2002), Louise Griffeth (2003), Margo Goodwin (2004), Jill Smith (2005), Debbie Snell (2006), Gloria Varel (2008), Connie O’Neill (2011), Aileen Pratt (2012), Caren Kline (2013), Robyn Conlon (2014), Michal Powell (2015), Christie Carter (2016), Pam Perella (2017) and Claire Emanuelson (2018) to Pat McEvoy (2019).
Earlier in the day, Lisa Cooley had arranged for the transportation of the gowns to the Troutt estate and, with the help of the Neiman Marcus visual display team, had created the display of fashions by Victor Costa, Michael Faircloth, Bill Blass, Christian LaCroix, Rose Taft, San Carlin, Reem Acra, Oscar de la Renta, Monique Lhuillier, Marchesa, Patti Flowers, Carolina Herrera and Zac Posen.
Before dinner was served, Leslie and Lisa took the stage to welcome guests and recognize the 10 BD-ers’, Mary Clare and key people in the audience including Neiman Marcus VP Mary McGreevy, the NorthPark crew (Kristen Gibbins and Marc Pechersky), Dallas Symphony Orchestra President Kim Noltemy and the evening’s sponsor, Comerica.
Comerica Chair/President/CEO Curt Farmer then addressed the group, praising the work done by the CCB, thanking guests for their support of CCB and introducing his associates seated throughout the room.
Then it was time for dinner created by Cassandra that included a first course of heirloom tomato salad served under a glass dome with balsamic caviar celery and micro basil topped with roasted garlic vinaigrette, an entrée of grilled 44 Farms beef tenderloin with baby root vegetables, roasted cauliflower puree and borderline sauce, and a dessert including hazelnut praline dark chocolate mousse tower, highlighted with espresso whipped cream and Seville orange sauce.
For more looks of the evening, check out the MySweetCharity Photo Gallery.