For the first time, the cancer-fighting Alcides E. Rosaura Diniz Foundation hosted a gala at the Astorian. Ana Paola Diniz, who lost her father Alcides to Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2006, praised MD Anderson, the night’s beneficiary, for its dedication. … Meanwhile, Catholic Charities’ “happy”-themed 75th annual Spirit of Charity event did indeed bring smiles to many faces. The evening, held at the Marriott Marquis, raised $1 million. … This year’s Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Award dinner honored President George W. Bush for his lifelong commitment to service and country. The total till doubled the previous record, coming in at $4.2 million. … In addition to celebrating the induction of five new members of the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, the Lone Star Flight Museum’s Flights of Fancy event garnered $700K for the museum. … And the 30th annual Goodwill Gala was the organization’s most successful ever, with more than 400 black-tie-clad guests — including Simone Biles and her family, guests of board member Leisa Holland Nelson — partying for a cause at the River Oaks Country Club.
HOW DID YOUR team form? After ten years as a realtor for a top firm in Houston, Kim Perdomo established a boutique brokerage in 2011. The team grew organically and joined forces with Compass in 2019.
What is the relationship within the team? We have a very special relationship as a team. A lot of us have been friends for many years prior to working together in real estate. With that brings a camaraderie and loyalty to one another that is truly remarkable. We all work together to help everyone succeed, and that is a huge benefit to our clients.
What makes you unique? Our Brand Promise:
Maintaining Lifelong Relationships With Our Clients
Personal Service
Distinctive Marketing
Helping Our Clients Make the Right Move
How do you bring this promise to life? We specialize in presenting our listings to the market to achieve the best results. Our personalized, hands-on service includes coordinating staging services, repairs, inspections and through distinctive marketing we attract the largest group of buyers. A few metrics we use to define best results include sales price, contract terms offered, days on market and list price to sales price ratios. Since we are with our clients throughout the entire process, our business relationships typically evolve into true friendships. We have done this successfully in a seller’s market and buyer’s market. As a team, we have 140 years of experience. We have seen it all.
What’s the secret to your success? Integrity. Doing what we say we are going to do and putting our clients’ needs above ours.
What’s next for the end of the year and 2023? We just returned from our top producer awards trip in Alys Beach, Fla., and we are beginning to set goals and prioritize on how we can continue to raise the bar as individuals and as a team. We are currently working with clients to help them evaluate their real estate needs and monitoring the luxury market while communicating exclusive listing opportunities to our buyer clients and fellow agents. Our team expertise and the Compass advantage provides the ultimate results for our clients.
Marking Five Years of Supporting Firefighters — and Hunks on the Runway — ‘Red Hot’ Catches Fire
FIVE YEARS AFTER it launched, the annual “Red Hot Gala” supporting Houston firefighters is one of the, well, hottest tickets in the city’s social calendar. Created and co-chaired again this year by Alan and Elizabeth Stein to cover costs for equipment and training, Red Hot has raised more than $3.2 million since its inception, with some $625,000 coming in at this year’s 430-guest bash at the Royal Sonesta.
And what a bash it was, flowing over the course of the program from stirring to sexy! It started with the presentation of the flags by the Houston Firefighter Honor Guard and Pipes and Drums, and a stirring acapella rendition of the National Anthe by Firefighter Joe Rice, and eventually arrived at its usual apex — the shirtless catwalk-strutting of the coming year’s firefighter-calendar hotties.
The spectacle of triceps, biceps, lats and six packs was a hit with the ladies, who crowded around the merch table afterward to buy calendars and take selfies with the muscled gents. Calendar sales benefit the Burned Children’s Fund.
“The momentum continues to be up, and we are grateful for the outpouring of support,” noted the Steins about the fundraising effort.
A raucous live auction followed a dinner of rich short rib and roasted chicken. A triple strand diamond bracelet from IW Marks went for more than $12,000. A surprise, last-minute addition to the auction roster — a guitar signed by George Strait — went for more than $10,000.
One of the evening’s best moments came at the traditional after party when, to the live tunes of the Western Jelly band, the Astros Game Two win was broadcast to the happy crowd.
This year’s co-chairs were Carol and Bill Lawler, with Hallie Vanderhider serving as honorary co-chair. Generous donors Bobbie Nau and Susan Sarofim were called out for special recognition, as were committed volunteers Dee Darby, Scarlett Darby, Betty DuBose and Laura Elizabeth Stein. Notable guests included Margaret Alkek Williams, Brigitte Kalai, Alicia Smith, Van and David Greenberg, Fady Armanious, Bill Baldwin, Patti and Don Murphy, Robert Clay, Karen and Murry Penner, a slew of public officials, and emcees Ted Oberg and Houston Professional Firefighters Association President Patrick M. “Marty” Lancton.
Brigitte Kalai and Joanna Marks
Margaret Alkek Williams and David Wuthrich
Bobbie Nau, Elizabeth Stein, Hallie Vanderhider
Mr. June
Casey & Ryan Mitchell
Fady Armanious & Bill Baldwin
Jackie Eubank, Jo Ann Petersen, Diane Cain
Mr. October
Laura Elizabeth Stein, Captain Chris Garcia, Scarlett Darby
Marissa Eubank, Price Dubose, Darci Vazquez, Anna Hoffman, Kelsey Spieth
Monica & Russel Ybarra
Sarah & Dean Zubowski
Mr. February
Patti & Don Murphy
Shantell and Brian Wischnewsky
THIS SATURDAY, AS part of its current Urban Impressions exhibit, Rice’s Moody Center presents Urban Nights: A Communal Art Experience.
The ambitious Urban Impressions art exhibit explores the relationship we have with our constructed cityscape environments, with works by Houston-based visionaries, Charis Ammon, Tiffany Chung and Rick Lowe. Saturday’s one-night-only, outdoor, multi-site event brings together luminaries of Houston’s jazz, poetry, and culinary scenes to celebrate Houston’s diversity and creativity. It’s an intriguing concept, and offers a welcome counterpoint to the exhibit’s heavier themes of displacement, urban sprawl, and the physical and spiritual challenges of life in a metropolis.
Representing Houston jazz community at Urban Nights is vibraphonist and composer Jalen Baker, a young, talented musician whose star continues to rise after the release of his critically acclaimed 2021 album, This is Me, This is Us. “I grew up not far from the Rice campus and would attend orchestra and percussion concerts when I was younger,” says Baker. “So it’s really cool to be a part of the event now in my adult years. A full circle moment, for sure!”
Headlining the event is Houston rapper Lil’ Flip, an original member of the legendary Screwed Up Click, which was led by the late, great DJ Screw. The evening’s activities include a food truck rally, a complimentary beer tasting of Japa, an “art beer” created by Nigerian artist Emeka Ogboh, a video installation by Sindhu Thirumalaisamy, and site-specific performances by the Texas Poet Laureate Lupe Mendez and the hip-hop collective Breakfree Worldwide.
On pathways throughout the event’s multiple sites, visitors can enjoy a variety of outdoor sculptures, installations, and murals by artists Beverly Pepper, Rana Begum, Royal Sumikat, Hedwige Jacobs, and Robert Hodge. Throughout the evening, guests can take time out to explore the Moody building and contemplate the Urban Impressions exhibit on their own.
Jalen Baker