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ADL Torch of Liberty Awards at the Four Seasons
After the Anti-Defamation League Torch of Liberty awards dinner Thursday at the Four Seasons, I wondered, if only for moment, why it went so well, why the introductions and acceptance speeches, the videos and testimonials, even the lighting combined for a profound emotional and intellectual impact.
Kirk and Amy Rudy
Once again, Steven Tomlinson, playwright, performer and business coach was ready with the answer. “Because the speakers hold the audience to account,” he said. “It’s the only gala where that happens. There’s a confessional element, then they make sure the listeners understand they are personally responsible for fighting bigotry.”
Kirk and Alicia Golinghorst
Larry Connelly and James Armstrong, who won the Raymond and Audrey Maislin Humanitarian Award, spoke modestly about their philanthropic efforts in the community. Yet everyone choked up when Connelly thanked Austin for accepting the pair’s life partnership for the past 26 years.
Shawna and Eric Hills
Amy and Kirk Rudy, the Torch of Liberty honorees, were more loquacious. Amy talked with utmost sincerity and humor about growing up a sensitive child, “a crier,” having that quality squeezed out of her, then finding, later in life, that sensitivity aligned her with compassion. Rudy, almost Latinate in his oratory, cited examples from his own life, but also form the larger sphere, of attitude changes, if only people stand up to intolerance.
Alisa Weldon, Aliza Orent and Austin City Council Member Randi Shade
So many leaders attended — starting with Luci Johnson and extending across the city’s social spectrum — it was hard not to chat with everyone who passed by. My immediate tablemates, Carolyn Seriff and Jane Stetson, were special delights. To my left, Seriff talked about life in Horseshoe Bay, which she won’t give up even as she establishes a pied-à-terre at the Austonian.
Tom Spencer and Simone Talma Flowers
To my right, Stetson, the National Finance Chairwoman for the Democratic Party, was curious about everybody and everything Austin. She’s a rising star in her own right, if only behind the scenes.
What an eye-opening, and, I understand, also a record-setting event, thanks in part to organizers Eugene Sepulveda and Shelley Zausmer.
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By Eugene
January 30, 2010 11:15 AM | Link to this
Thanks, Micheal. Hope even those who weren't with us will help us proclaim Austin is No Place for Hate. For every signature at http://bit.ly/ADLaus proclaiming support, the Austin Post will donate $5.00 for the No Place for Hate programs in area schools.