It looked like Old Man Winter hadn’t headed elsewhere Wednesday, March 30. With the temperatures in the lower 50s and winds blowing, it was the perfect night to light up the chimera. Instead more than 100 Dallas County children’s non-profits felt the warmth of the 2021 Crystal Charity Ball fundraising.
In Pam and Vin Perella’s beautiful refreshed home with warm colors, the beneficiaries and CCB committee members stayed inside until the moment of check presentations took place in the backyard. But getting to the presentation was a feat in itself with such a gathering of charity leadership and the ladies, who spent all of 2021 raising the funds for the eight 2021 beneficiaries (Baylor Scott And White Dallas Foundation, Cafe Momentum, Dallas CASA, Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, Dallas Symphony Association Inc., Network of Community Ministries, Phoenix House of Texas Inc. and Scottish Rite for Children).
When one guest spied in the crowd Bank of America Dallas President Jennifer Chandler and JPMorgan Chase and Co. Dallas Region Chair Elaine Agather, they declared that Dallas has the best-looking bankers in the country… “and the smartest and most generous in the country.”
As a server presented a tray of three martinis courtesy of the night’s sponsor The Joule, Elaine recalled an evening when she had her first martini. At that time legendary philanthropist Nancy Hamon shared a bit of wisdom, saying, “One martini is fine. Two martinis you’re under the table. Three martinis you’re under the host.” Only Nancy could have shared that gem with a twinkle in her eye and a nod of mischief.
Another tale of the past came from Jan and Fred Hegi, who recalled meeting at SMU as freshmen and being married for 54 years. When daughter-in-law Amy Hegi heard of her in-laws’ more than five-decade marriage, she laughed that she and husband Peter Hegi only had 29 more years to meet that hallmark.
On the more current time of the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary adding children’s clothes to its annual fundraising effort, 2020 CCB Chair Tucker Enthoven told how she had been contacted by Luli and Me, a Dallas children’s clothing manufacturer. It seems that due to the pandemic, they had an overload of children’s clothes. Would Tucker be interested in them? While CCB couldn’t use the new outfits for little ones, she played matchmaker between the company and the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary, resulting in this year’s load of more than 2,500 new clothes for youngsters that were sold at a one-day-only SAWA fundraiser.
And speaking of the SAWA Fashion Show and Luncheon’s clothes fundraiser, it’s reported that the previous day’s total of 10,000 had risen to 12,000 overnight.
But to get the crowd that included Hill Feinberg, Quincy Roberts, Irish Burch, Cece Smith, Kim Noltemy, Ben Renberg, Steve Newton, Kathleen LaValle, Retta Miller and Leslie’s parents Cynthia and Lester Melnick and CCB doyenne Fredye Factor out to the back terrace, it took a bit of doing. Still, the idea of picking up checks managed to move the guests out. Once there, due to the wind and the chill, the idea of sleeveless silk dresses and stiletto sandals soon translated into goosebumps.
Needless to say, 2021 CCB Chair Leslie Diers’ announcement that she, her Underwriting Chair Cheryl Joyner and the CCB committee members had gone so much over their goal that the beneficiaries were receiving 20% of their original ask was very welcome news. With that announcement it was obvious that the news had warmed the outdoor presentation as well as the update provided by the eight Dallas County non-profits, whose programs would be accelerated thanks to the 2021 CCB efforts.
For more happy faces, check out MySweetCharity Photo Gallery.