After a couple or three years of having issues about its operation, the SPCA of Texas regrouped and started getting back to its mission “of providing every animal with exceptional care and a loving home.” As a sign of better days, its 2024 Fur Ball was transitioning with both longtime and new friends under the leadership of SPCA President/CEO Chris Luna.
Co-chairing the event on Friday, October 4, at Frontiers Of Flight Museum were Katy and Lawrence Bock, who brought along Nancy C. Rogers and Richard R. Rogers as presenting sponsors, as well as animal-loving philanthropists Diane and Hal Brierley and Mary McDermott Cook and Dan Patterson. The evening started before the first guests arrived, when the valet parkers discovered nary a space to park guests’ vehicles. It seems that the Glorious Foods staff had gobbled up all those spots. No sooner had the situation been discovered than the server vehicles were dispatched to other locations.
In the meantime, the Frontiers Of Flight’s main hall was dazzling in purple hues with Apollo 7 and overhead planes and balloons of all eras. Leading to the museum were greeters along the outdoor walk offering to register guests for the silent auction and other opportunities.
Once inside, the entry hall’s walls were aglow with floor to ceiling draping in purple lighting leading to a step-and-repeat before heading upstairs for the cocktail reception with a silent auction.
While longtime supporters admitted that this was their first Fur Ball in a while, they explained that the pandemic had reduced their itch to get out and about for fundraising. So much easier just to write a donation than getting all gussied up and mixing and mingling. But one person who overheard that explanation countered with three reasons to attend events. First, positive human interaction is healthy. Second, the networking opportunities are surprisingly plentiful at such events. And finally, it was a great cause to support in person. After all, where else could you puppy cuddle?
All too soon the word was passed to leave the puppies and silent auction and head downstairs to the seated supper for guests like Amy and Michael Meadows, Tracy and Ben Lange, Lisa and Clay Cooley, Brian Bolke and Faisal Halam, Cindy and Charles Feld, Andrea Alcorn, Cindy and Don Lindsley, Steve Richardson, Andrea Alcorn, Anne Stodghill (recovering from a bad back) and Kristin and James Hallam, who had arranged for donation of the dinner that included a pear and goat cheese salad, a duo of achiote grilled filet of beef and tequila roasted shrimp, and chipotle cheddar potato cake with citrus steamed asparagus.
In addition to having the Georgia Bridgwater Orchestra provide music for dancing, there was a lively auction chaired by Cindy Lindsley and co-chaired by Sandra Fite and a call for cash with a $50,000 match courtesy of the Roberta Wright Reeves Trust.