They partied in venues as diverse as clubs and art galleries, in hot spots across the city's social landscape, in an effort to see who could raise the most money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and thereby win the title of Man of the Year and Woman of the Year.
In all, a dozen gals and eight guys joined the race to raise funds for the non-profit and have a heck of a good time night after night in the effort.
The event has become so popular, that the Grand Finale evening, with winners announced, was a sellout a week before party time. An estimated 475 young professionals poured into the ballroom at River Oaks Country Club for an evening of schmoozing, noshing and sipping.
Add to the entertainment bidding on silent auction items in which each winning bid added more points to a designated contestant's tally. More than $55,000 was raised in that effort alone.
When all was said and done, Brian Ross was named Man of the Year, having raised $123,483, and Verr Soltes Woman of the Year with her total revenues of $100,265. They are lymphoma and leukemia survivors, respectively, making their fundraising efforts all the more meaningful. By night's end, the evening had raised a record $585,000 for the non-profit. Ross is a partner at Gibbs & Bruns LLP and Soltes is in-store leasing manager for H-E-B.
Participating in the fundraising in addition to Soltes were candidates for Woman of the Year: Rhonda Radford Adams, Lauren Croucher, Lori Freese, Reyne Hirsch, Saba Jawda, Vickie MacNaughton King, Abby Lestin, Sarah Pepper, Jackie Sager, Ayna Sehgal and Katie Wood.
Guys working to bring in the most bucks in addition to Ross were Paul August, Geoff Cameron, Ryan Clarke, William Daniel, Harry Faulkner, Joe Francisco and Nathan Joel Kasselder.
