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| Bennie Bray, Host; Stephanie Bray, Host; Jolie Humphrey, President, AWARE; Kersten Rettig, Gala Chair; Clark Knippers, Gala Chair (Photo: Dana Driensky) |
AWARE president Jolie Humphrey and her husband Bart, along with hosts Stephanie and Bennie Bray, recently welcomed committee members and supporters of the AWARE Affair CELEBRATE THE MOMENTS gala to the Reveal Party, where exciting details about the upcoming 2020 gala were announced. AWARE has been dedicated to fighting Alzheimer’s disease since 1989. They provide funding and support to programs, projects, and research provided by nonprofit organizations that actively help all individuals affected by Alzheimer’s disease in Dallas and the greater North Texas area.
The big reveals of the evening were that the 2020 party theme will be UnMask the Myths; Honorary Chairs are Sally and Forrest Hoglund; Gail Plummer is the Amy Osler Spirit of Education Leadership Award honoree; and Barbara Sypult is the Inaugural Founders Award honoree. Honorary Chairs Emeritus are Kim and David McDavid, Jr.; Ellen Terry with her daughter Amy Terry Kriegel and son, Todd Terry. Media sponsors are Downtown Business News and Senior Resource Guide.
Gala chair Kersten Rettig began remarks by sharing that her husband and co-chair Clark Knippers’ mother had passed away from Alzheimer’s just a year ago. Clark’s heartfelt story of caregiving, recounting incidents of triumphs and struggles had everyone in the room stirred by his inspiring personal testimony. He expressed profound thanks to everyone for their support of AWARE.
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| Stacey Malcolmson, Barbara Sypult, Inaugural Founders Award honoree; Bob Sypult, Stacey Angel, Charlie Angel (sitting)(Photo: Dana Driensky) |
Special thanks were given to Curt Farmer, representative from Comerica Bank for underwriting the party and announced the gala beneficiaries for 2019-2020, which are Baylor Healthcare System, Casa de Vida, Center for Brain Health Mosaic of Meaningful Messages, Center for Vital Longevity Optimizing Neuro-Cognitive Functions in Healthy Living, Dallas Museum of Art Meaningful Moments Program, For Love and Art, Jewish Family Service Older Adults Program, Juliette Fowler Communities, The Senior Source, Stomping Ground Comedy, Texas Winds Musical Outreach, University of Texas Southwestern Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease and Wilshire Baptist Church. The Myrna D. Schlegel AWARE Scholarship Fund Grant Recipients for 2019-2020 are Lauren Benefield, Melissa George, Grace Penaranda and Alyssa Temple.
Join AWARE on Friday, April 3, 2020 for AWARE Affair CELEBRATE THE MOMENTS: Unmask the Myths. The event begins with a cocktail reception and silent auction followed by a three-course dinner. Guests will also enjoy special feature presentations, a spirited live auction, and dancing with music spanning the decades. A fabulous and fun evening! Individual tickets begin at $500. Host couple tickets begin at $1,200. Sponsorships and underwriting begins at $5,000. Contact Karen Carney, kcarney0702@gmail.com for underwriting and tickets. For more information on the gala, contact AWAREAffair@hasevents.com Phone is 214-454-5683. The Dallas Foundation, a 501(c)(3) publicly supported charity, is the fiscal sponsor of AWARE.