The Philanthropy Day Awards Luncheon is a triple gift.
The crispy managed meal at the Hyatt Regency Austin allows one to visit with the askers and givers of the city’s nonprofit community.
It also slows down social time in order to lionize those who ask and give especially well through videos, speeches and awards.
For your social columnist, however, the third gift is invaluable: The ceremony practically writes the first drafts of future newspapere profiles.
Even before the glass awards were accepted, the notion entered my head that we should know more about the event chairwoman and Ballet Austin asker Christi Cuellar Lotz. A mega-profile should be researched, reported and written on the witty master of ceremonies, banker and benefactor Eddie Safady.
We’ve already written up Darryl Wittle, who heads up Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar at the Domain. His eatery earned the honor for outstanding small/medium philanthropic corporation after giving food, drink and venue space to more than 200 charities a year.
How would we tackle H-E-B, which won the counterpart award for large company? I’d trade away a lot of social points to interview billionaire grocery titan Charles Butt, but I imagine I’d have to take a number in a long line of reporters for that one.
I know next to nothing about the Carl C. Anderson, Sr. and Marie Jo Anderson Charitable Foundation, which scored for outstanding charitable group, so that would be an adventure into the great unknown.
Now Brett Barnes (no relation) I’ve known since he was a promising opera student, long before he became an ace fundraiser for groups such as LifeWorks, for whom he created signature benefits such was the White Party. Probably time to catch up with Brett in print.
Brody Roush’s story is almost too good: He’s a St. Michael’s Academy senior who started his own charity while still a teen. You hear that kind of tale more often these days than in my time, but it’s still powerful and he picked up the Kelly Davidson Memorial Outstanding Philanthropic Youth glass sculpture.
Bonnie Mills and Jim Sauer are apparently a winning pair of volunteer askers, certainly worth a column.
What a magnificent Sunday feature I could make out of 93-year-old Sr. Gertrude Levy of Seton. She’s a veritable saint. And she’s seen it all.
Super-philanthropists Jeanne and Mickey Klein have been profiled expertly in our pages before, but any time they want to sit down and talk about their vision for the city, I’m game, even if it doesn’t turn into a published article.
You see what I mean? Priceless material for the price of 90 minutes out of a day.