Yellow Rose Gala Kicks Off 2023 at Fort Worth Rodeo

(Featured photo: Steve and Sandy Watson; Sheree Wilson and Vince Morelli.)*

Yellow Rose Gala Foundation committee members and friends had a spectacular time kicking off the season at Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo Jan. 22. Activities included a behind-the-chutes private tour, brunch at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, and an early afternoon rodeo.

2023 Yellow Rose Gala honorary chairs Kristy and Patrick Sands joined the festivities, along with over 80 folks from across North Texas. Those attending Included 2023 gala chairs Christie Eckler, David Moore, and Tamiko Ryan. It felt like a homecoming to many long-time Yellow Rose stakeholders, since YRG had its roots in the rodeo with its founding in the 1980s at the Mesquite Rodeo. Yellow Rose members and guests cheered on Sheree J Wilson, actress from Walker Texas Ranger and Dallas television series and Yellow Rose Gala Foundation chair emeritus, as she joined in the iconic Grand Entry Parade. The parade kicked off the rodeo’s 2 p.m. matinee.

Sheree was at home on her horse, since she started riding at the age of six. She helped raise awareness for Yellow Rose Gala Foundation’s charge to support research that ends MS. Sheree took endless photos with fans and many real-life Texas Rangers, who celebrated their bicentennial with 200 years of service to Texas. A long line of Texas Rangers waited for their photo with Sheree, and she loved honoring these real-life heroes.

Sponsor Simmons Bank took special care of Yellow Rose’s honored guests. The ladies of Yellow Rose had fun tossing yellow roses and more behind the scenes, thanks to Simmons Bank’s hospitality. Guests of the Yellow Rose Gala Foundation hosted by Simmons Bank were Catherine and Brad Cox, Steven Jones, Larry Lott, Jimmy Wynne, Scott Murray, and others.

Yellow Rose Gala Foundation is looking ahead to their “Everything Bigger in Texas” masquerade ball on April 15 at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel. Catherine and Brad Cox will host this year’s VIP and honorary chair party in their Dallas home in March. The party will honor Kristy and Patrick Sands, 2023 Honorary Chairs of the Yellow Rose Gala.

The Yellow Rose Gala Foundation was first established by founders Dee and Jimmy Wynne in April 1986, shortly after Dee’s diagnosis with multiple sclerosis. The Gala became one of the most prominent social events in Dallas, netting over $6 million for MS research. Wynne’s disease eventually prevented her from continuing with the Gala, but it didn’t impede the imprint she made. Following Dee Wynne’s passing in 2014 and in honor of her memory, the Gala has since been reestablished by her children, Todd Wynne and Fallon Wynne Way, with the help of young active community leaders and past Yellow Rose supporters.

The Yellow Rose Gala Foundation is an active 501 (c)(3) with the drive and vision to forever rid the world of MS. 100% of the net proceeds will go directly to Progressive MS research. The spring Gala will be April 15 at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel. For more information, please visit theyellowrose.org.

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis.

*Dusty Saddles Photography

(This Philanthropy Lifestyles Scene by contributing editor, Jo Ann Holt, courtesy Yellow Rose Gala Foundation.)