Private ‘Cotton Ball’ Bash Celebrates Company’s Milestone in Lavish Style

Jenny Antill
Private ‘Cotton Ball’ Bash Celebrates Company’s Milestone in Lavish Style

Franco Valobra, Kristen Cannon, Faith and Lee Majors

A PRIVATE COMPANY eager to celebrate its 25th anniversary right spared no expense at a lavish quarter-century bash at the Post Oak Hotel last week.


Cotton Holdings — an infrastructure support services outfit that cleans up all measure of damage from storms, other national disasters, terrorist attacks and more — welcomed nearly 300 guests to its black-tie (and, in many cases, black cowboy hat) "Cotton Ball." Nodding to the cheeky world play, tables were set with voluminous all-white florals, and mirrored accents, amping up the glamour.

After a fabulous surf-and-turf dinner — during which Cotton execs such as co-founder Pete Bell made moving presentations about the company's history, and sent Patron shots out to the crowd for toasting — a sumptuous dessert buffet was offered up, as were concerts by country star Clay Walker and, in the later hours, the fun and quite accomplished '80s cover band The Spazmatics. The dance floors stayed packed!

A custom 25th anny logo was affixed to almost every available surface, from the mini-Champagne bottles given out as favors, to the French fry and pizza boxes that circulated as the party tilted into after hours.

Spotted in the crowd were Cotton honchos Randall Thompson, Bryan Michalsky, Chris Sneck, James Scaife, Johnny Slaughter and Russell White. Former Navy SEAL and Lone Start Survivor Foundation founder Marcus Luttrell was also on hand, as was Six Million Dollar Man star Lee Majors with wife Faith, and Franco Valobra of Valobra Master Jewelers.

Andrew Cordes and Brian Teichman

Nicki Keenan, Pete Bell, Heather Mountain & Tilman Fertitta

Bailey Bell, Hunter Bell

Chris and Margaret Sneck

Claudia and Brad Freels

Jenny and Rick Bailey

Jeremy and Britney Mahugh

Katy Ellis, Zinat Ahmed, Molly McMurtry

Kim and Patrick Glass

Tracey and Rick Rice

Clay Walker at Cotton Ball

Parties
‘Embrace Changes,’ Says Valobra, Whose Namesake Jewelry Store Has Become a Houston Institution
How did you get to where you are today? I had little choice in the matter; I grew up being trained to become the fourth-generation jewelry designer behind my great grandfather, grandfather, and father. It was my duty to carry on the family business and continue the hard work and success they built from nothing, beginning in Torino, Italy in 1905. I was surrounded by jewelry and its craftmanship as a young child and was taught the business from a very young age.
Keep Reading Show less

Artwork by May, Magallon and Carter

THE SUNLIT, COZY, 700-square-foot second floor of Basket Books and Art is the site of Hot Bod, one of the strangest and most intriguing exhibits currently on view in Houston.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment

Meta4 members (photo by Alinda Mac)

POETRY CONTINUES TO be one of Houston’s most celebrated cultural exports, especially when it is brought to life onstage, with considerable theatrical flair, by the city’s premier youth poetry team, Meta4 Houston.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment