Country Superstar Cody Johnson Headlines $2M Gala for TEACH

Daniel Ortiz and Jacob Power
Country Superstar Cody Johnson Headlines $2M Gala for TEACH

Phyllis and Cornel Wiliams

TEXAS WILDFLOWERS, RODEO relics and country music had the 700-plus supporters of To Educate All Children (TEACH) boot-scooting around the ballroom of the Post Oak Hotel at the organization’s 10-year anniversary gala.


The party raised a record-breaking $1.9 million and honored the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for its nearly century-long commitment to public education. The Cowboy Auctioneer led the live auction, in which a VIP package to Cody Johnson’s next H-Town concert prompted quite the bidding war.

In a bittersweet twist, TEACH announced that the nonprofit would net the entire amount raised, as late longtime supporter Fayez Sarofim underwrote the event with a check received the week after his passing in May. The Rodeo was named the inaugural recipient of the Fayez Sarofim Champion for TEACH award. And Robinson Elementary School teacher Jennifer Silva received the first-ever Champion for TEACH Educator award, presented by the organization’s executive director, Alvin Abraham, who previously worked at Robinson. "We feel like TEACH is the champion tonight,” said Abraham. “Thank you to everyone who made this event a success. TEACH already reaches over 20,000 students, and thanks to everyone’s help tonight, we can help even more students and teachers.”

Phyllis and Cornel Wiliams

Abby and Christina Venegas

Tom LeCloux and Beth Madison

Alvin Abraham and Susan Sarofim

Shaun and Natalie Hodge

Brady and Zane Caruth

Omega and Chris Ghrels

Brian Bosworth, Wallis Marsh and Spencer Tillman

Chree Boydstun, Tripp Carter and Cheryl Byington

Mandy Nyo and Pamela Castleman

Lane and Chita Craft

Cyndy Garza Roberts and Thomas Roberts

Dan and Melissa Sugulas

Elsie Eckert and Sidney Faust

Ed and Beth Wolff

Dana Barton and Robert Clay

Parties
Propose in Style at The Westin Houston Medical Center/Museum District

Photo by Stephen Mendoza Photography

SEEKING TO MAKE your proposal as beautiful and bright as your love? Look no further than The Westin Houston Medical Center, a haven of contemporary sophistication, where love stories unfold amidst exquisite surroundings.

Keep Reading Show less

Paella Valenciana at Mi Luna

THOUGH IT'S BEEN in Houston less than a decade, Sof Hospitality has made major inroads with foodies and critics alike. Its concepts include Doris Metropolitan, Hamsa and Badolina Bakery, all of which deliver the rich flavors of Israeli cuisine in complex, photogenic and delicious dishes. Its newest, Októ, opened earlier this year, one of several energetic restaurants to bow in the Montrose Collective, just in time for the holidays.

Keep Reading Show less
Food

Bill Viola’s ‘Ascension,’ on display as part of ‘Living with the Gods’ at MFAH

THE ARTIST WHO ushered in the expressionist movement in the early 20th century was not, in fact, Picasso or Matisse. It was Paul Gauguin, whose career spanned the decades just preceding the turn of the century. The French painter is the subject of the Museum of Fine Arts’ latest exhibit, Gauguin in the World, which was organized by Henri Loyrette (formerly of the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris). The show, just one of the museum’s diverse winter season shows, debuted in Australia in June and will be on display through Feb. 16, 2025, at the MFAH, the only U.S. venue for the survey.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment