Houston Heroes were Proudly Honored at the Annual Crime Stoppers Awards Luncheon

Houston Heroes were Proudly Honored at the Annual Crime Stoppers Awards Luncheon

Honoring outstanding community members was the order of the day as ten individuals and companies, who made incredible contributions to public safety, were recognized. Crime Stoppers of Houston hosted its annual Houston’s Heroes Awards Luncheon, where more than 290 Houstonians gathered to help raise $210,000 to help combat the alarming rise in Houston crime and fund critical public safety and crime prevention initiatives working to make our communities safer.

Radio personality Dana Tyson led the festivities and introduced Crime Stoppers CEO Rania Mankarious, who spoke to guests about the important work of Crime Stoppers, new community challenges (including recent targeted attacks by biased agencies seeking to create chaos) and the ‘politicization of crime’, before ending with an important reminder that “restoring a safe Houston is going to take all of us, working together, differences aside.”

The program continued with Judy Sultan, a representative from Presenting Partner Aramco, who gave inspirational comments regarding the continued safety of our community. Houston Media Icon Dave Ward (who turns 83 in a few weeks) concluded the program by personally presenting the 2022 Dave Ward Excellence in Media Award to his good friend and media legend Shara Fryer. This special moment of two media icons reuniting on stage, reminiscing on anchor stories and more, was the perfect “feel-good” way to end the afternoon.

The other 2022 Heroes announced to the delight of the crowd were: The Johnny Klevenhagen Award – FOX26, Breaking Bond Series, The Fenner Weller Award – Joe Madison, Demand Disruption, The Leiv Platou Award – Amy Leibman, Genny McIntyre and Sheridan Williams, The Corporate Citizen Award – The Hamill Foundation: The Safe School Award – Pam Wells, Ed.D., Executive Director, Region 4 Education Service Center, The Women Who Shape Houston Award – Hallie Vanderhider and Partner of the Year Award – District Attorney Kim Ogg, Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

Funds from this Crime Stoppers Luncheon continue critically important work through their famed 713-222-TIPS Tip Line and expand their free crime prevention and safety education, provided through their Safe Community Institute and Safe School Institute.

Major sponsors (including previously mentioned) Presenting Partner Aramco, include Safety Partner Hallie Vanderhider, Safety Champions Brigitte and Bashar Kalai, Amerapex, Jennifer Hohman and Jordan Seff, Sippi and Ajay Khurana, Strake Foundation; Safety Friends CenterPoint Energy, Inc., District Attorney Kim Ogg – Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Faust Distributing – Tena and Tyson Faust and Tama Lundquist & Dr. Peter Farrell, H-E-B, Lawrence and Linda Levy, Kirk and Kathryn Hachigian, Michelle Heinz and Shana Jones, and The Children’s Assessment Center.

Socially present (not previously mentioned):  Justin Vickrey, Tom Brown, Sheridan and John Eddie Williams, Amy Leibman, Rachel Bagwell, Whitney Crane, Kristina Somerville, Amy Pierce, Janet and Ron Franklin, Mike and Lynette Kuznar, Charles Dresser, Shelley and Newt Barineau, Steve Marler, Alicia Smith, Wendy Baimbridge, Akash Patel, Michelle Heinz, Patricia Ritter, Jordan Seff, Jennifer Hohman, Lindsay Aronstein, Scott Aronstein, Ricardo Nazario, Laura Ward, Jerry Martin, Genny and John McIntyre, Lee Vela, Senator John Whitmire, Senator Paul Bettencourt, Mayor Pro-Tem Dave Martin, Houston Police Department Police Chief Troy Finner, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, and Councilmembers Sallie Alcorn, Mary Nan Huffman, Mike Knox and Tiffany Thomas.