Jackpot! Casino-Themed Cocktail Bash Raises Nearly $700K for Ronald McDonald House

Daniel Ortiz and Dave Rossman
Jackpot! Casino-Themed Cocktail Bash Raises Nearly $700K for Ronald McDonald House

JB and Bridget Brennan, Chelsea Partain and Ryan Haney

MORE THAN 300 charitable Houstonians decided to roll the dice and go all-in for Ronald McDonald House last week — and, it turns out, hit the jackpot on fantastic weather to boot! The open-air Bayou City Events Pavilion was the perfect setting for the cocktail fundraiser, which garnered nearly $700,000 thanks to casino games and an auction.


The evening honored supporters Lesha and Tom Elsenbrook for their contributions to Ronald McDonald House Houston, which provides housing and other amenities for families with children who are long-term and critically ill patients of the Med Center.

Crowd-fave activities included a bourbon pull, Quarter Slots raffle, and a rare-whiskey tasting hosted by hospitality exec Sean Beck.

Cyndy Garza Roberts and Hallie Vanderhider

Damien Taylor , Beverly Welch, and Hannah and Paul Wolfert

Bill LeSage, Ozzie Bauer, Greg Smith and Dave Smith

Madeleine and Larry Hanrahan

Sarah and Aaron Stai

Lee and Seliece Womble

Pooja and Chirag Amin

Chairs Debbie Bauer and Karen Smith

Deanna Barton, Karen Thompson, Maria Bush and Paige Fertitta

Brian and Katie Patterson

Parties

What year was your organization launched? Founded in Houston in 1947, as the Cerebral Palsy Treatment Center, the organization provided services to individuals with disabilities living in Houston and Harris County. In 1989, the organization changed its name and greatly expanded its services to meet the needs of its clientele. Today as Easter Seals Greater Houston, the organization provides multiple outstanding service programs to children, adults, veterans, and service members with all types of disabilities and their families in Harris and sixteen surrounding counties.

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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.

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