Wild Things!

The Houston Zoo’s annual gala this year took on the theme of Flights of Fancy, celebrating the fascinating world of birds and raising funds for the organization’s forthcoming Avian Conservation Center and its other ongoing preservation efforts. And what a high-flying event it was! Hundreds packed the Zoo’s Masihara Pavilion, which was transformed into an elegant ballroom for the evening. They mingled with special guests like Fiesta the llama, then enjoyed a colorful dinner by City Kitchen. Silent and live auctions, which included such prizes as the chance to name the Texas Wetlands exhibit’s three new alligators, helped bring the night’s total till to nearly $800,000.

Wilson Parish
John Stauffer & Melissa Stauffer
John Stauffer & Melissa Stauffer


Fiesta the llama greets guests

Party People
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.

Keep Reading Show less

Kendall and Susan Plank, Noel Wise, Anna Osborn, Michelle Koskie

MORE THAN 140 lovely ladies showed up at Tootsies to shop, sip and celebrate Dec My Room, the local nonprofit responsible for personalizing and decorating hospital rooms for pediatric and young-adult patients.

Keep Reading Show less
Food

Salted Coconut Latik Ice Cream Sandwich at Lil' Koffeteria

THERE'S SOME INTERESTING news coming out of The Quad at Britmoore, the adaptive, mixed-use development fashioned of repurposed industrial warehouses in Spring Branch near Memorial.

Keep Reading Show less