With headliners like Carol and Mike Linn and Sue and Lester Smith accepting honors from the Woodrow Wilson International Center, a sophisticated and influential turnout was to be expected. And that was exactly the power force that filled River Oaks Country Club ballroom for the dinner presentation.
Cynthia and Tony Petrello and Lucinda and Javier Loya, each impactful in his/her own right, chaired the intimate evening. So it was no surprise to see the ballroom filled with notables ranging from former Mayor and Lazard Houston chairman Bill White to SCF Partners founder L.E. Simmons to Baker Institute founding director Edward Djerejian. And let's not forget San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro.
It was a night of praise and admiration for the philanthropy and community leadership exhibited by the Linns, who received the Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship, and the Smiths, who here honored with the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service.
Wilson Center president and CEO Jane Harman, former U.S. Rep. for California, intrigued the gathering with brief but compelling points on the work of the center in the areas of independent research, publications and programs. She also shared a little-known factoid: From his office in Washington D.C. in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson fired a cannon by remote control to officially mark the opening of the Port of Houston.
Among the numerous people of power and influence rounding out the ballroom were Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, Gary Tinterow, Melinda and Sam Stubbs, Peter Coneway, Michael Gamson, Kathi Mosbacher Wheeler and Mike Wheeler, Pat and Dan Breen, Margaret Alkek Williams and Jim Daniel.
Honorees Sue and Lester Smith at the Woodrow Wilson Awards dinner at River Oaks Country Club.
