Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2009 > October > 31 > Entry
Planned Parenthood Gala at Renaissance Austin Hotel
The banquet room at the Renaissance Austin Hotel filled unto overflowing …
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir, Rebecca Lightsy and Christy Ozman
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as the marquee speaker was surely one motivation …
Dianne Carr and Janet Gilmore
Another was the organization — Planned Parenthood — behind the gala …
Katie Hallberg, Andy Brown and Asara Strother
Indeed, it seemed that almost every Austin-area politician — Democrats at least — were prominently in attendance, and upbeat in spirits. (One observer dubbed the crowd: “Seriously old-school Austin liberals.”) …
Mark and Nancy Utkov
I missed most of the event, but grabbed a few key participants on the way out (near the cleverly placed coffee-to-go, something other gala planners should consider) …
Niyanta Spelman and Lulu Flores
The only complaint I heard: The live auction lasted way too long. The next night, at the Texas Book Festival gala, the crowd cheered when it was announced there would be no live auction …
Kevin and Austin City Council Member Sheryl Cole with Council Member Chris Riley
Now, such auctions can indeed work, done right, but perhaps organizers could be more judicious about electing to do so. Feels like a grassroots resistance against them.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment Categories: Charity
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By Kenneth Hausmann
December 23, 2010 8:23 AM | Link to this
I am just wondering what all these smiling faces think when they see a sonogram of an unborn child. Even my 6 year old looks at it and replies instantly that it is a baby when I ask her what it is. I can't imagine putting my support behind a group that supports such a horrendous thing. Is this the best charity available? Or is the real purpose to try to find 'moral' support to assuage your guilt?
By Ken Lambrecht
November 2, 2009 2:54 PM | Link to this
Hey Michael...thanks for attending and writing about our event...one quick comment regarding auctions, I'm always willing to forego an auction if someone would prefer to write a check for the $94,000 that it raised.
Thank you Austin for unparalleled support...900 guests and $500,000+ raised!