Ball Gowns, Birthdays, Bocelli! Italian-Chic Soiree Raises Nearly $2M for UST Scholarships

Ball Gowns, Birthdays, Bocelli! Italian-Chic Soiree Raises Nearly $2M for UST Scholarships

Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, Annie Graham, Rev. Dempsey Rosales-Acosta, Bob Graham

THE UNIVERSITY OF St. Thomas welcomed more than 900 black-tie-clad revelers to its annual Scholarship Gala, held in the ballroom of the Hilton Americas hotel Downtown. The event simultaneously toasted the 75th birthday of Cardinal DiNardo, the metropolitan archbishop of Galveston-Houston.

In attendance were a number of current and former UST students, who took time to share their experience at the university and how much scholarships have meant to them. It was revealed that proceeds from the live auction as well as the paddles-up segment would be put towards establishing an annual scholarship in the name of Cardinal DiNardo.

The celebratory affair took on an Italian theme, from the delicious dinner to the evening's entertainment, Matteo Bocelli, who wandered throughout the ballroom dancing with lucky partygoers. Live-auction packages tipped their hat to the theme, too, as in a private dinner with His Eminence Daniel Cardinal DiNardo and Dr. Richard and Melynda Ludwick in the private Positano Room at Amalfi restaurant.

The festive fete concluded with a dessert parade, which featured a sparkler-topped cake for the birthday boy and mini cakes for all the guests.

Cynthia and Tony Petrello

Denise Castillo-Rhodes, Robert Sergesketter, Paula Hanson

Dr. Richard Ludwick, Melynda Ludwick

UST student Christel Vallagomesa

Honorary Chairs Bishop Italo Dell'Oro, CRS and Raye G. White, Honoree His Eminence Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Event Chairs Ginger and John Niemann

Isabel and Ignacio "Nacho" Torras

Matteo Bocelli

Megan Jarchow, Craig Jarchow, Angela Jarchow

Lois Davis, Father Charles Hough

Lois and Richard Folger

Parties
Meet Brian Boyter, New High-End Residential Broker with an Unique Background

BRIAN BOYTER IS a Houston native with an interesting background in real estate. After an impressive 16-year tenure managing commercial transactions in a Fortune 500 Real Estate Investment Trust, he recently made the shift to high-end residential brokerage. The experience left him uniquely suited to thrive in the sometimes-emotional world of buying or selling a home.

Keep Reading Show less

Kat Pressly and Reagan Bregman

FORMER ASTROS PITCHER and current coach Joe Smith, along with his sportscaster wife Allie LaForce, hosted a gala at Minute Maid Park's Union Station in an effort to raise funds and awareness of Huntington’s Disease, which took the life of Smith’s mother in 2020.

Keep Reading Show less
People + Places

MORTGAGE RATES ARE high. So is the cost of living. Life milestones are coming later. The reasons that millennials are, according to society, "behind" previous generations when it comes to home ownership are finally crystal clear (and they have nothing to do with avocado toast, thankyouverymuch). But what do the statistics say about home-buying in Houston?

Keep Reading Show less
Home + Real Estate