With the Blue Cure Foundation annual benefit little more than a month away (May 31 at Hotel ZaZa), founder Gabe Canales invited friends and board members to La Griglia for a spirited pep talk on the importance of preventing prostate cancer through lifestyle changes. Houston Texans Pro Bowl center Chris Myers offered a call to other athletes to join the nationwide Blue Cure movement.
Two University of St. Thomas basketball players — Bryan Kaase and Barrett Lauer — were in the mix spreading the Blue Cure message of cancer prevention.
Lending an ear to the Blue Cure platform were guests including foundation supporter Carolyn Farb, Suzanne Thomas-Fleckman, Chad Gonsoulin, Vern Montross, Jim McClellan, George Lancaster, Stanisse King, Elizabeth and Glenn Howard, Sylvia Gallegos and David Cordua, Lance Livingston and Dr. John Papadopoulos of M.D. Anderson.
Celebrating with Al Pacino
That would be HoustonPBS' Ernie Manouse, who was in Palm Beach at the Hard Rock Cafe to moderate Al Pacino's show Pacino: One Night Only, the traveling, staged interview show they do together. Following the program, Pacino invited the Houstonian to a private dinner with the star and his girlfriend, Lucila Sola, to help celebrate his 73rd birthday.
"As we sat out on the terrace, we were treated to wedge salads, surf & turf dinners, endless sides, amazing desserts, singers serenading," Manouse emailed. "At one point, Al looked up and said 'This feels just like a scene out of Godfather II.' Oh my god, what a night!"
K9s4Cops founder a Crime Stoppers winner
Kristi Schiller, the woman who turned the idea of helping law enforcement agencies with canine operations into a $1.5 million success, has been honored by Crime Stoppers with the Leon Goldstein Award.
After learning of the murder of a police dog in 2009, Schiller had the idea of creating a non-profit foundation dedicated to providing highly trained and skilled canine officers to area law enforcement agencies. Today, K9s4Cops is the only 501(c)(3) of its kind in the United States and in the two years of operation, the non-profit has gifted 36 canines to 17 agencies in seven states, with a cost of between $12,000 and $15,000 each.
“Kristi Schiller has single-handedly strengthened the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in our pursuit to keep our community safe,” Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia said in a prepared statement. “If not for her leadership and vision, our K9 Unit could not have been doubled, almost overnight, with patrol, narcotics and bomb sniffing four legged deputies.
Yachting in the Bahamas
It's Noon Somewhere was the sweet water-bound playground for a group of Houston gals who joined Kelley Lubanko for a week of rollicking in the Bahamas. On board were Cherie Howell, Kiki Wilson, Nancy Pustka, Carrie Wood, Dorothy Kaldis and Ellie Francisco.
Monica Garcia, from left, Kristi Schiller and Sheriff Adrian Garcia at a K9s4Cops event.
