Geaux Tigers!

Houston energy titans put LSU mark on new Petroleum Club digs with Bayou Bengal Bar

Eat your hearts out, Longhorns and Aggies! The LSU tigers have made their mark at the Petroleum Club of Houston and dubbed the sleek watering hole in the new digs the Bayou Bengal Bar. Thanks to the efforts of 12 LSU grads, all leaders in the energy industry, the brass plaque forever stakes their claim atop the 35-story Total Plaza.

While it doesn't shout LSU, the moniker makes its point, a friendly reminder of the impact grads of the Louisiana university have on Houston's energy picture.

As a director on the Petroleum Club board, LSU alumni Ron Neal, co-founder and co-owner of Houston Energy, spearheaded the initiative of raising the necessary funds to win the naming rights. The fellows, each passionate about his alma mater, reached deep into their ample pockets, their contributions earmarked for the Petroleum Club capital campaign.

In addition, New Orleans transplant John Havens, president of Seismic Exchange Inc. (SEI), garnered naming rights in his father's honor for the club's chef's table. Following last week's ribbon cutting at the Bayou Bengal Bar, the powerful dozen dined at the "P.C. Havens SEI Chef's Table."

As the tigers like to say "Love purple, live gold!"

The additional gents contributing to the naming fund were Clarence Cazalot, retired chairman, president and CEO of Marathon Oil Corp.; Billy Harrison and Ron Neal, both co-founders and co-owners of Houston Energy; Marty Phillips, managing partner of Encap Investments; Matt McCarroll, president and CEO of Fieldwood Energy;

Brad Juneau, CEO of Juneau Energy and Juneau Exploration; Jeff Springmeyer, president of Geophysical Pursuit; Keith Jordan, president of Indigo Minerals; Phil Martin, CEO of New Century Exploration; Jud Grady, CFO of SEI and Jeff Lester, vice president of SEI.

Joining the festivities was Rhonda Rogers Armor, regional director of development for LSU.

Now here's the disappointing news for area Bengal tigers, according to the LSU Foundation, only 10.8 percent of LSU alumni give back to the university, compared to Alabama at 36 percent and Texas A&M at 22.4 percent.

Jeff Lester, from left, Matt McCarroll, John Havens, Jud Grady, Ron Neal with scissors), Billy Harrison (hidden behind Neal), Keith Jordan, Marty Phillips, Clarence Cazalot, and Phil Martin.

News, Shelby, Petroleum Club Bayou Bengal Bar, June 2015, Jeff Lester, Matt McCarroll, John Havens, Jud Grady, Ron Neal (with scissors), Billy Harrison (hidden behind Neal), Keith Jordan, Marty Phillips, Clarence Cazalot, Phil Martin

Photo by Rhonda Rogers Armor

Jeff Lester, from left, Matt McCarroll, John Havens, Jud Grady, Ron Neal with scissors), Billy Harrison (hidden behind Neal), Keith Jordan, Marty Phillips, Clarence Cazalot, and Phil Martin.

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Music Salon

Three-time Grammy Award winner strikes a jazzy chord at Houston gala

Photo by Katy Anderson

Dr. Yvonne Chen, Len Cannon, and Sarah Rothenberg.

For one evening, the Four Seasons Hotel Houston embraced the velvet-and-brass mood of a downtown jazz den as DaCamera hosted its 2026 Music Salons and Jazz Supper Club. The soirée harmonized chamber music refinement with late-night lounge character.

Photo by Katy Anderson

Dr. Yvonne Chen, Len Cannon, and Sarah Rothenberg.

Chairs Anne-Laure and Steve Stephens welcomed guests to a lively evening benefiting the nonprofit arts organization, which raised nearly $400,000 in support of its mission to champion inventive musical programming and emerging artists. Guests mingled through cocktail hour while DaCamera Young Artists performed chamber music sets, alongside musical caricatures and curated wines that kept conversations flowing between courses. KHOU 11 anchor Len Cannon emceed the festivities.

The evening honored Elaine Finger for her longstanding dedication to DaCamera and its artistic vision. But the undeniable headliner was three-time Grammy Award-winning vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant. Her renditions of “Alfie” and “Obligation” floated through the room with the kind of old-school glamour that practically demanded guests linger over dessert a little longer.

The gala served as both a celebration of DaCamera's creative legacy and a reminder that Houston’s arts scene knows how to orchestrate a proper evening out.

On the scene were Jagdip Ahluwalia, Maureen and Adel Chaouch, Anil Deshpande, Kai Henning, Collin and Jaquelyn Cox, Denmon Sigler and Peter Chok, Yvonne Chen and Brandon Bell, Ron Franklin and Janet Gurwitch, Heidi and David Gerger, Anna and Hal Holliday, Mary Shinn, Claudia and David Hatcher, Garfield and Jakeen Johnson, Lynn and Bill Hargrove, Geoffry H. Oshman, Karen and Jonathan Finger, Mary and Robert Fusillo, Dawne and John Jordan, Gary and Carol Buce, Elizabeth Fallon, Prentiss Burt, Lynn and Ty Kelly, Blaine Adams and Patrick Falcon, and Nicholas Stuart and Zsavon Butler.

fundraisers dacamera performing-arts