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Genesis Women’s Shelter Celebrates Turning 25 with 300 Near and Dear

It’s not every day that an organization turns 25. But it is cause for celebration and that’s what happened last night in honor of Genesis Women’s Shelter‘s marking its 25th year of serving the community.  Plus, it served as a warm-up hoop-la for Genesis’s annual Mother’s Day Luncheon on May 7 at the Hilton Anatole.

(WARNING: The luncheon is on the verge of being another sell out. But, of course, when you have former first lady Laura Bush serving as honorary chair, and Dr. Condoleezza Rice as the featured speaker, what else would you expect.)

But we digress. Back to last night’s party.

Looking like a woman who is thriving on success, Genesis Executive Director Jan Langbein, along with  party hostess Erin Mathews (pictured left with Jan Langbein), was at the front door of a Park Cities estate to meet and greet all 300 guests.

Must admit that the real show stopper of the night (more…)

Mad Hatters Tea Party Judges Announced

It’s official. The judges for this year’s Mad Hatters Tea Party on Thursday, April 22, at the Dallas Arboretum have just been announced. While Johnny Depp won’t be among them, they’re still a pretty nifty trio — Project Runway designer Shirin Askari (pictured), “America’s Sassiest Lifestyle Guru” (and one of the “Dallas Dozen“) Steve Kemble (pictured), and D‘s very own sweetheart Sarah Eveans (pictured)

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Pick the winning hats and sipping tea. Hardly. (more…)

Faith Hill Concert Creates a Fashion Quandary for Dallas Gents

There are some Dallasites who are more familiar with NYC than Fort Worth. Whoa! Thanks to Super Bowl XLV, that situation took a major step forward with the Kick-Off Concert Series at Bass Hall with Faith Hill.

Since it was a private event with series tickets going for a whopping $1500, it had all the frills and spit-and-polish that a high-spending crowd deserves. Starting with a VIP party at McDavid Studio across the street from the Bass, it became apparent that not all Dallasites agreed on the Fort Worth  dress code for special events.

Usually it’s the ladies who are all in a tizzy about what to wear. Not on this night! The gents were really in a quandary about what is appropriate at the Bass for a Faith Hill concert. Some came in their best bib-and-tucker dark suits like Troy Aikman (pictured, he had an excuse since he was co-hosting the reception); Drew Pearson in a bold-striped suit with brown/black striped shirt and goldfinger metallic tie and handkerchief; George Riba (pictured) in a very sportscaster flash-and-dash orange tie, blue shirt, and camel-colored suit; and Bill Lively (pictured) in CEO-styled uniform with a natty orange tie and his ever-present dazzling smile.

On the other hand, those who have probably frequented Joe T’s knew that dress-down is thumbs up in FW and opted for the open shirt with the windowpane sports jacket look. The fashion question of this group was, “Do you unbutton the top one or two buttons on your shirt?” (more…)

“Women Stars of Wine and Food” to Whet and Sate Sunday’s Appetites

This time of year just begs for wine and women. To satisfy the cravings, the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier (if you can say that five times perfectly, you’re sober) is holding Raiser Grazer’s “Women Stars of Wine & Food” on Sunday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Fashion Industry Gallery, aka f.i.g.

You just know you’re in for an evening of incredible food and wine already, don’t you?

At this point, we probably need some translation for those of you who slept through your French class.  Les=The, Dames=Ladies, d’Escoffier=of Escoffier. Who was Escoffier? Oh, you so non-cookie type! Legend goes that all haute cuisine and fine dining was started by Auguste Escoffier, considered “The Chef of Kings” and “The King of Chefs.” Besides being a mouthful of a name, Les Dames d’Escoffier is an international organization made up of professional women in the food, fine beverage, and hospitality industry.  Funds raised from Raiser Grazer will benefit the Dallas Chapter’s established scholarship program and endowments at five Texas colleges and universities for women in the industry. So far, the ladies have raised more than $1M over the years.

This year’s event will feature: (more…)

Partners Card Results in $880,800+ for The Family Place

Just when the demand for assistance was getting greater and greater for The Family Place, the annual Partners Card presented by Bank of Texas came through last fall. From October 30 through November 8, thousands of area shoppers hit 775 stores and restaurants allowing them to not only save 20%. The results were $880,805 going to The Family Place.

“Sadly, our services were needed this year more than ever as we saw record numbers of families affected by the economy and the shelter had to turn away more than 1,000 women and children due to lack of space and lack of resources,” said Paige Flink, executive director of The Family Place.  “In this tough economic climate, we are incredibly thankful for the generosity and support of our participating retailers, thousands of shoppers, the community, our volunteers and our dedicated sponsors who helped contribute to us raising these much-needed funds for those escaping family violence.”

Partners Card 2009 sponsors include: (more…)

Despite Snow-10 Blizzard, St. Valentine’s Day Luncheon Busted $400,000

Two days before the Saint Valentine’s Day Luncheon & Fashion Show co-chair Rainey Fogiel (pictured in pink with co-chair/daughter Natalie Fogiel) sounded like General Patton: “LUNCH WILL GO ON!! It will be almost as FABULOUS as last year. . . I’m being positive about the weather…!!” She must have made a deal with Mother Nature or the Devil or both. “Just hold off with the big stuff until after Thursday’s show.” Too bad that the NBA All-Stars, Valentine florists, and D/FW International didn’t have Rainey’s connections with the powers-that-be for them.

If you’ll recall, Thursday morning Dallas was showing the first ripple of the blizzard of Sno-10 as snow and more snow fell (pictured). But it was not enough to deter the 800 Ladies Who Limo from helping to raise funds in the battle for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of North Texas. (more…)

Junior Leaguers Warm Up To “Rock The Stars”

The neighbors along Kelsey Road were probably wondering about the open house being held by Sharif & Munir Wednesday night at its “uncustomary custom home.” Luxury cars, valet parkers, beautiful people, and lots of lights on throughout the house. Had the NBA All-Star festivities started early? No, it was the sponsors and patrons party for the Junior League of Dallas’ “Rock the Stars.” Too bad NBA! You missed out on quite a soiree.

As usual in any house, everyone seemed to gather in the kitchen. Thank heaven, Sharif & Munir houses boast really big kitchens. Squeezing her way through the happy-go-party crowd, Junior League President Meredith Camp (pictured) took charge of the program by standing on the staircase and providing thank you’s and welcomes to the crowd of celebrants.

Then she introduced Fred “Mr. Bank of Texas” Ball (pictured), who took his place on the stairs. He told the group that he was so glad that he and the Bank of Texas could be with the ladies of Crystal Charity Ball. (more…)

Dallas Opera’s Women’s Board To Honor Marnie And Kern Wildenthal

With the recent death of Henry S. Miller Jr., it seems like the glory days of The Dallas Opera‘s founding mothers and fathers had come full circle. Juanita Miller, Elsa von Seggern, Larry Kelly, Nicola Rescigno, John “Cute Curmudgeon” Ardoin, and so many others, who strove to bring the best of La Scala to the dusty plains of North Texas, are long gone.

Photo provided by the Women's Board of The Dallas Opera

We have now moved into the next generation of leaders for the opera. These are the people who took the dreams of their predecessors and turned them into reality. Need an example? Drive on over to the Winspear Opera House.

While there are individuals who have been part of the driving force for the opera’s growth, it’s become a true passion for certain couples. With as much concern as parents of a child, they have nurtured the opera to its present position. One of those couple is Marnie and Kern Wildenthal. They have used their individual strengths to help so many organizations in our community. For instance, (more…)

Attitudes & Attire Puts Teeth Into Annual Fashion Show/Luncheon

If you had no money and had lost several teeth due to drug abuse, what would you do? Wednesday some of Dallas most caring and supportive women and men could hardly believe their ears when they heard what one woman did. But first, let’s set the stage.

The annual Attitudes & Attire covered the full range of emotions today  at the Dallas Trade Mart. Ranging from the runway antics of playful models wearing delicious clothes designed by Paulette Martsolf (pictured) of Allie-Coosh to the heart rendering stories from beneficiaries of the A&A program, the room of ladies and gents had a memorable time.

Surprise highlight was Ebby Halliday Acers, who donated one of her suits to A&A, and then pulled out her ukulele to sing a tribute to honoree Caroline Rose Hunt. At one point, Ebby kept strumming and stopped singing trying to recall the lyrics. Then the nearly 99-year old smiled and said, still strumming, “I’m showing my age.” She brought the house down.

As hard as it was to follow up that act, A&A Executive Director Lyn Berman started the presentation of the Kim Dawson Attitude Award by introducing Laurie Harrison and her mother Caroline Rose Hunt (pictured with Laurie). It was Laurie’s task to introduce her mother. It was a marvelously rich and strong introduction filled with a daughter’s love and admiration. So much so that Caroline hesitated to receive her award. “I didn’t know what Laurie was going to say,” as she teared up. Capturing the mother-daughter exchange was Caroline’s granddaughter/Laurie’s daughter Hassie Harrison (pictured) with her trusty iPhone. What a cutie! (more…)

Think And Wear Red Friday

Have something red to wear? A brand new sweater? A dress in the back of the closet? Some special undies in the drawer? Well, pull them out with pride to celebrate Friday, February 5 — National Wear Red Day. The goal is to promote heart health among women.

To get area people, both men and women,pumped up, two groups are offering great opportunities to do the “red” thing:

• Park Place Dealerships (pictured) is turning red but not with envy. Rather, it’s getting behind the heart-healthy program for both clients and associations. Its employees are also getting into the effort through a one-day-only opportunity to dress down. PPD is “allowing employees to wear jeans with red shirts/blouses” in exchange for $5. May not seem like a big deal to most folks, but the PPD staff is notorious for being buttoned-down fashion plates. As for guests, they can come any old way. But if they take a test drive of a vehicle on Friday or Saturday, PPD will make a $25 donation to the American Heart Association.
• Need Him Ministries is holding the Tender Hearts luncheon at its new location, The Hope Center in Plano, with music by local artist Jenn Petersen and guest speaker Amena Brown. Sponsored by Baylor Regional Medical Center and The Heart Hospital Plano, the luncheon will benefit Need Him Ministries. One request: please wear red.

Here’s some “FYI” provided by the Park Place Dealership on women and heart health:

(more…)