Yellow Rose Gala: Three Generations of the Eugene and Mary Ann Smith Family to be honored
The 2017 Yellow Rose Gala will directly benefit Multiple Sclerosis research
through the International Progressive MS Alliance
(Featured photo: The Yellow Rose Gala Foundation Advisory Board – Bottom Row: Pat McDonough, Jane Lombardi, Dyann Skelton; Top Row: Fran Wittenberg Cashen, Gary Corona, Susan Woodruff, Jean Bateman, Paula Burford, Jimmy Wynne, Donna Bajaj.*)
Dallas – March 15, 2017 – The Yellow Rose Gala Foundation honored three generations of the Mary Ann and Eugene Smith family and their ongoing fight against Multiple Sclerosis Thursday, March 2 at Paul Martin’s American Grill. Top donors and sponsors gathered to celebrate the second generation of The Smith Family: Fay Sheehan, Eugene Bragg Smith III, Ann Barbier-Mueller, and their children.
With close friends living with MS, Fay, Bragg and Ann have seen firsthand the effect the disease can have on young adults and their family members. The second generation Smiths have a long legacy of work within the Dallas community: All three siblings have been involved with the Cattle Baron’s Ball, and Ann and Fay co-chaired the St. Valentine’s Day luncheon benefiting leukemia, making the family a natural fit for this year’s honor by The Yellow Rose Gala.
More than 100 underwriters, sponsors, donors, advisory and executive board members, and friends of the Smith family were in attendance. Guests included: Donna Bajaj, Jean and Walker Bateman, Betsy Bobo and Dan Little, Paula and Scott Burford, Cindy Cashier, Mary Livingston, Jane Lombardi, Jane and Cappy McGarr, Ashley Akin Pearl, Carolyn and George Toledo, Nancy Vanderbilt, Annette, and Jack Vaughn, Billie Leigh Rippey, Carol Seay, Dyann and John Skelton, Bobbie Sue and Phil Williams, and Katherine Wynne.
The Yellow Rose Gala Foundation Advisory Board hosted Thursday night’s party. Committee members chairing the event were: Susan Woodruff, Jimmy Wynne, Fran Wittenberg Cashen, Pat McDonough, and Mary Black.
The Yellow Rose Gala will be held April 8, 2017 at the Renaissance Hotel Dallas, and will feature a performance by The Temptations. Auction items from C.M. Yater & Sons Fine Jewelry, Beretta, Yellow Rose Distilling, Sugaire, and others will keep guests smiling all the way to the after-party. The Manhattan Band will immediately follow The Temptations until midnight, after which a DJ will perform at the after-party.
Inside scoop from Yellow Rose Gala PR:
“The famous Yellow Rose Wall that created such a buzz at the 2016 gala will now be a yearly staple at all Yellow Rose Galas to come. Everyone rushed to get their photos in front of the live yellow rose of Texas wall last year.
“Some amazing auction items at the April 8th Yellow Rose Gala benefiting MS this year are: a Beretta Gun and white glove Argentina Dove Hunt, exclusive fishing trips, and a custom-made saddle. Many of the fabulous items are thanks to Advisory Board member and MS warrior Jane Lombardi. She literally has gone door-to-door in her wheelchair to get donations, so it is such an inspiration to us all!”
About The Yellow Rose Gala Foundation
The Yellow Rose Gala Foundation is an active 501(c)(3) that has the drive and vision to forever rid the world of MS. Through this initiative the Yellow Rose Gala Foundation is partnering with the National MS Society where 100% of the net proceeds raised will go to Progressive MS research. For more information, visit www.TheYellowRose.org.
About the International Progressive MS Alliance
The International Progressive MS Alliance is an unprecedented international initiative that is connecting resources and experts around the world to find answers and develop solutions to end progressive MS. The goal of the Alliance is to speed the development of new treatments for progressive MS by funding the best research, wherever it exists. The Alliance is led with management from MS organizations in Australia, Canada, Italy, the U.K, the U.S., and the MS International Federation, and expanding financial and resource support from these and other organizations, including the MS organizations in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain and Sweden.
- Photo by Kristina Bowman.
