Promise to Keep

Colorful Cuba served as the inspiration for the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation’s annual Promise Ball. Nearly 1,000 galagoers — including members of the JDRF Young Leadership Committee, which hosted a Champagne-fueled afterparty — filled the ballroom of the Hilton Americas. Popular party band Skyrocket performed, and handsome H-Town magician Ben Jackson also put on a show for guests, who spent the evening savoring Cuban fare and playing casino games. A pair of successful auctions, featuring items like a yellow lab puppy and a trip to Italy, helped bring the total till to more than $1.6 million.


Charlotte and Barrett Flynn
Special
Leadership in Action: John Kuykendall Traded Newcaster Dream for Success in Luxury Retail

John Kuykendall, Showroom Manager, Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove

How did you get to where you are today? Growing up I had envisioned myself as a news anchor, living in NY and enthusiastically saying into the camera “Good Morning America!”. To this day, I am still a news/political junkie. My mother owned fur salons so specialty retail, luxury retail was in my blood through the family business. Eventually, mom shuttered the stores and I was recruited to a large specialty retailer. Over the next 30 years, I was in commissioned sales on the sales floor, became a department manager, worked my way up to buyer and store manager. Although I never became a newscaster, I did live in NYC for a few years. But Texas is home and with aging grandparents, I felt the pull to come back to my roots. A headhunter approached me. I never envisioned myself in the high-end appliance market, but there are so many similarities. Clients want a memorable experience; whether shopping for diamonds and fur or remodeling their kitchen.

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Cirque du Soleil's 'Echo'


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Art + Entertainment

Table grill

BORI RESTAURANT HAS taken over a two-story Montrose bungalow on the corner of Lovett and Whitney. The family-owned high-end steakhouse features prime meats grilled tableside with a custom ventilation system that creates a smokeless environment — the only system of its kind in Houston.

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Food