Trails Were Blazed and Downtown Was Painted as HLSR Trailblazers Luncheon and Fashion Show Turns 25!

Trails Were Blazed and Downtown Was Painted as HLSR Trailblazers Luncheon and Fashion Show Turns 25!

Trails were blazed, and downtown was painted as 2,100 women dressed in colorful attire with a touch of western flair, and men, decked in suits and cowboy hats, gathered on the fourth floor at Hilton Americas-Houston for the 25th Annual Trailblazer Awards Luncheon and Fashion Show-“Paint the Town,” hosted by Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The exciting program began with a welcome from KHOU’s Mia Gradney and Len Cannon. It included remarks from Rodeo Chairman of the Board Pat Mann Phillips, Trailblazer Officer in Charge Wendy Lewis Armstrong (who is serving her last year in this position), and Trailblazer Chairman Ann Massey, along with the invocation given by President and CEO Chris Boleman. Lending their support as Luncheon Vice Chairmen were Kirby Lodholz, Katie Clapp and Lisa Blackwood. With a combined 159 years of service on Rodeo Committees, Beth Briscoe, Christy Stern, Lisa Schutzenhofer, Michelle Verbois, Rainey Janke and Teresa Jordan were honored and walked the runway as the emcees announced their life-long biographies.

The program’s highlights included a quarter-century of past honorees taking their bows as they walked the expansive runway while their names and photos were displayed on the high-resolution screens throughout the space. In this writer’s opinion, the show’s star was the Saks Fifth Avenue Fashion Show produced by Lenny Matuszewski and Tamara Klosz Bonar. I have seen many over the years, even Gianni Versace at NYFW, and this one topped them all. The cross-shaped runway design extending the length of the ballroom, the electric audio/visual display, the perfectly timed music, the beautiful female and male models, and, of course, the spectacular fashion choices combined to make the production outstanding. Being seated next to Saks GM Heidi Turney, who quietly explained many of the designers and the looks, probably helped shape my opinion! As the final grouping of fashions hit the catwalk, Ruby Jane, an Electric Violin Player from Austin, led the models to strut their stuff. After the show’s end, Heidi excitedly said, “Saks was proud to present the best of spring fashions from luxury designers, including Dolce & Gabbana, Brunello Cucinelli, Alexander McQueen, and many more.”

Hilton Americas-Houston did a spectacular job of providing and serving delicious cuisine for the hungry and lively, packed crowd. The Social Book advertisers providing their expertise were Let It Fly Events, whose décor was featured on both the second and fourth floors, Stage Directions, whose audio/visual brilliance was on display on both floors as well and Johnny “Bravo” Holloway, who was in charge of delighting 1,000 guests with his DJ spinnings until late afternoon at the second-floor after-party. The curated marketplace of numerous vendor booths presenting clothes, hats, jewelry and unique items had guests shopping all afternoon!

The Trailblazer Group consists of 204 members who support education and literacy with two programs, Rodeo ROPES (Reading Opens the Path to Education Success). which has collected 620,000 children’s books, from over 65 Rodeo committees in the last 11 years. The books are distributed to schools in underserved neighborhoods through the non-profit Books Between Kids. The group also created SPURS (Students Pursuing Unlimited Reading and Writing Success). This program organizes a writing competition and leads Rodeo Read Along, a weekend story time on Rodeo grounds.

A final interesting tidbit that shows the power of this 25-year-old organization within our beloved Rodeo. The tickets for the 2,100 seats in the filled ballroom sold out in nine minutes! Hard to improve on that! YEE-HAW and GIDDY-UP!

In the Social Scene (not previously mentioned): Hasina Starks, Amy White, Courtney Adame, Susannah Causey, Tabbetha Lopez, Ellie and Michael Francisco, Julie and Alan Kent, Isela and Juan Garcia, Cinthya Reade, Gretchen Gilliam, Dr. Kelly Larkin, Linda and Jim Winne, Jennifer Van Matre, Jamie Grissom, Jill Watson, Diedra and Terrance Fontaine, Cyndy Garza Roberts, Sharleen Walkoviak, Preston Hall, Michelle Maresh, John and Bridgette Grimes, Gigi Mayorga-Wark, Debi Gan, Sandra Cook, Cindy Seligman, Elsie Eckert, Lesha Elsenbrook, Dee Dee Marsh, Angela Hernandez, Vicki Luna, Crystal Maxwell, Cookie Michael, Shelley Boyer, Christine Johnson, Jody Merritt, Heather Kolos, Tabbetha Lopez, Sally Flores, Angela Poujol, Debbie Festari, Brigitte Kalai, Alicia Smith, Deborah Duncan, Kathleen and Tom Mach, Robin Young-Ellis, Kirk Kveton and Daniel Irion