The Seton gala is like none other. Virtually no program. Leisurely pace. Lavish time to spend with fellow guests.
Beth Lacerda and Cindy Pekowsky
I took advantage of that on Sunday. In the lobby, I buttonholed nonprofit savant Matt Kouri and developer-benefactor Dick Rathsgaber. You can learn more about how Austin works from those two than at a banquet room full of people less alert to local nuance.
I also met several doctors and discussed the proposed medical school — all this before St. David’s abruptly announced it would not support the plan to fund it. No amount of reading since then has revealed a plausible reason for this stand.
Matt Wayne and Sarah Avery
At my table, I enjoyed the glowing presence of Marcia Levy and family as well as Susan Lubin and family. (Watch for Susan in the cast of Zach’s “Ragtime.”)
To my left was a font of Austin and Houston social erudition, Melissa Jones grandniece of the politician and entrepreneur Jesse H. Jones. Nothing she said during out lively chat was on the record, of course, but slowly one puts together the pieces of how the world works through encounters like these.
Grace Xia and Jason Cheng
Watch, listen and learn, folks.
Note: Once again, the Elmar Prambs and the Four Seasons staff surprised even those who spend too much time at the luxury hotel. I don’t know what motivates them to transform some gala banquets into five-star meals, but Seton certainly merited that treatment.