Promise to Keep

Colorful Cuba served as the inspiration for the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation’s annual Promise Ball. Nearly 1,000 galagoers — including members of the JDRF Young Leadership Committee, which hosted a Champagne-fueled afterparty — filled the ballroom of the Hilton Americas. Popular party band Skyrocket performed, and handsome H-Town magician Ben Jackson also put on a show for guests, who spent the evening savoring Cuban fare and playing casino games. A pair of successful auctions, featuring items like a yellow lab puppy and a trip to Italy, helped bring the total till to more than $1.6 million.


Charlotte and Barrett Flynn
Special
Leadership in Action: John Kuykendall Traded Newcaster Dream for Success in Luxury Retail

John Kuykendall, Showroom Manager, Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove

How did you get to where you are today? Growing up I had envisioned myself as a news anchor, living in NY and enthusiastically saying into the camera “Good Morning America!”. To this day, I am still a news/political junkie. My mother owned fur salons so specialty retail, luxury retail was in my blood through the family business. Eventually, mom shuttered the stores and I was recruited to a large specialty retailer. Over the next 30 years, I was in commissioned sales on the sales floor, became a department manager, worked my way up to buyer and store manager. Although I never became a newscaster, I did live in NYC for a few years. But Texas is home and with aging grandparents, I felt the pull to come back to my roots. A headhunter approached me. I never envisioned myself in the high-end appliance market, but there are so many similarities. Clients want a memorable experience; whether shopping for diamonds and fur or remodeling their kitchen.

Keep Reading Show less

Amy Pierce, Sippi Khurana, Dr Namrata Sharma Goel and Ruchi Muchejee (photo by Daniel Ortiz)

A BIG CROWD turned up at the Post Oak Hotel for the Children at Risk gala, raising some $360,000 focused on “understanding and addressing the root causes of child poverty and inequality,” per its mission statement.

Keep Reading Show less

SpaceX Crew - Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis, Anna Memon, Jared Isaacman

STREAMERS FILLED THE air at the end of the night as 500 guests at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital gala celebrated raising a record $1.65 million.

Keep Reading Show less