Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2010 > February > 26 > Entry
Hispanic Scholarship Consortium Gala at Hogg-Garza
It starts with the house. Everyone wants to visit Dr. John Hogg and David Garza’s prism-like jewel above Lake Austin. They gawk at the views, explore the puzzling floor plan, examine the charismatic art. If there’s a better place for a small-to-medium-sized fundraiser in Austin, I haven’t seen it.
Chris and Roxana Kappmeyer
The house is only the beginning. The hosts are almost ethereally gracious, gliding from one guest to another, making everyone feel as if they were the only ones who mattered. Need more munchies or a drink? Want to meet somebody with an interesting story? Garza and Hogg at your service.
Crystal Cantu and Lonnie Limon
The real reason, though, that 200 or so guests mingled at Hogg-Garza Thursday night was the Hispanic Scholarship Consortium. The hosts sit on its board and, by all accounts, have supercharged its fundraising. The consortium not only funds educational needs for scores of local students, it provides mentors and professional tracking, so the students are not lost in the tides of higher education.
Chris and Krista Moy
This particular event’s novelty is reflected in its title: “I Am a Number.” Scholarship students were assigned numbers. Biographies were distributed. And through the evening, donors targeted specific, numbered cases. The whole house was decked out with top-quality multimedia — including a projected, live Twitter feed — to keep the unwieldy crowd included. It helped that dozens of guests acted as honorary hosts (full disclosure: I was one).
Raquel Frankenberg and Monica Burcham
I talked with investor Joe Long about his recent cruise with wife Teresa, pianist Anton Nell, Dr. Bill Jones and other lucky Austinites … with Roxana Kappmeyer about life after Venezuela; real estate broker Chris Kappmeyer about his rediscovered hometown, “Come and Take It” Gonzales … with Lonnie Limon of LatinWorks about his East Austin family …
Sully Mejia and Maria Chavez
… also with Chez Zee’s Sharon Watkins about adventures with cardiologists and the state of the University of Texas department of theater and dance, also the papers of directing teacher Fran Hodge (also with JoLynn Free of RBC Dain Rauscher … with Consul General of Mexico Rosalba Ojeda about plans for bicentennial celebrations with films, exhibitions, etc. in Austin … and with various candidates — state Rep. Diana Maldonado, Karen Sage, Rebecca Bell-Metereau, Olga Seelig — about the upcoming primary.
JoLynn Free and Consul General of Mexico Rosalba Ojeda
By the time I drifted down the Hogg-Garza mountain, more than $100,000 had been raised. Hogg texted me later in the evening that, with pledges, they were hoping for $150,000. In one evening. In one home.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Education
Comments
Austinites love to be heard, and we're giving you a bullhorn. We just ask that you keep things civil. Leave out the personal attacks. Do not use profanity, ethnic or racial slurs, or take shots at anyone's sexual orientation or religion. If you can't be nice, we reserve the right to remove your material and ban users who violate our Visitor's agreement. Click here to report comment abuse.