On Saturday, April 27, the Irving Healthcare Foundation (IHF) hosted its 34th annual TexasFest gala. Held for the third consecutive year at the Irving Convention Center, the white and silver decorations complemented the event’s theme of “Boots & Bling.” The event raised $300,000 in support of nonprofit healthcare for residents of Irving, TX. Moreover, this year’s dollars secured helped put the 34-year total of TexasFest proceeds above $10 million.
Guests enjoyed dinner, casino games and perused the more than 250 items donated to this year’s live and silent auctions. The Byron Dowd Band performed during the dinner hour. Lead singer Byron Dowd is a descendent of early hospital founding volunteer and Irving banker Wre Sutherland. Continuing the family’s history of volunteer leadership, Mr. Sutherland’s daughter Margaret just completed eight years of service on the Irving Healthcare Foundation Board of Directors.
The main performance of the evening was given by singer Lorrie Morgan. Morgan played a 90-minute set that included many of her hit songs, including “Five Minutes” and “Watch Me” to a crowd of more than 600 guests.
“Lorrie Morgan told the crowd she had battled laryngitis in the days just before the concert, but you could not tell it on Saturday night. It was one of the best TexasFest concerts ever,” said IHF President John Drake.
“Lorrie’s performance provided the perfect ending to a great evening,” said Event Chair Lisa Watkins. “I enjoyed listening to her almost as much as I enjoyed announcing to the crowd that we have raised $300,000 through this year’s TexasFest for a healthier Irving.” IHF’s five charities are Baylor Medical Center at Irving, Our Children’s House at Baylor-Irving, Irving Interfaith Clinic, the Irving Dental Center and the Childhood Obesity Task Force.
“Lisa Watkins joins a group of remarkable women and men who have led TexasFest through the years,” Drake added. “It is one of the most demanding—and I hope rewarding—experiences someone can have volunteering. But every one of these volunteers has kept improving the health of Irving’s citizens as their key motivation. We’re so glad to have Lisa now among our former 40 TexasFest chairs.”
Watkins, who is married to Irving native Dr. Jason Watkins, started her community work with the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce Board in 2000 and then was a member of the Irving Schools Foundation Board of Directors between 2003 and 2009.
Other event leadership included Clem Lear, who served as sponsorship committee chair. “Many of IHF’s beneficiaries do not have the capacity to raise funds for themselves. That’s why I was happy to take on this important task so that they could continue to focus on providing quality healthcare to those in need,” Lear noted. “The money generously donated by this year’s sponsors will serve to make our community a stronger, healthier place for all.”
Watkins served alongside other committee leaders including Sponsorship Chair and former TexasFest Chair Clem Lear; Item Solicitation Chair Kelly Roche; Decorations Chair Connie Dunn and Volunteer Coordinator and former TexasFest Chair Robin Filbeck. Top sponsors for TexasFest 2013 included Ken Thompson and the Thompson Group at Classic Chevrolet; Mazon Associates; Shirley and Burnell Stehman; and Angie and John Drake.
Founded in 1977, Irving Healthcare Foundation’s mission is to make people healthier by awarding funds raised and by encouraging volunteer service to worthy nonprofit organizations that provide healthcare or medical services in Irving. More than $35 million has been raised and subsequently awarded since IHF’s inception. Baylor Irving, the city’s only nonprofit hospital, is IHF’s primary beneficiary. Other recipients include the Irving Interfaith Clinic, Baylor Our Children’s House at Irving, Irving Dental Center and the Childhood Obesity Task Force of Irving. More information is available at www.healthyirving.org.
