With an international array of gents in white-tie-and-tails, kilts and keffiyehs and women in festive gowns, the ballroom of the Hilton Americas-Houston regally celebrated Houston's consular corps while honoring France and giving special recognition to Becca Cason Thrash.

The 60th annual Consular Ball stands as something of a record in gala annals, hosted each year for six decades by the Junior Chamber of Commerce, affectionately known as the Jaycees. With 94 consular offices including honorary, Houston has the third largest diplomatic corps in the country with a total of 94 nations represented.

Philamena Baird, Melissa King and Kate Stukenberg chaired the evening that was highlighted by the musical entertainment of the Richard Brown Orchestra. Who didn't love the show tunes that were played during dinner or the chanteuse moments provided by Deborah Boily or the dance tunes that had the dance floor packed?

In a change with tradition, this night was not long on speeches and pomp and circumstance; rather, it enjoyed a sophisticated level of elegance, stylish French-inspired decor and just enough verbal diplomacy to make the point. Mayor Pro Tem Ed Gonzalez provided the Houston welcome and toast while French Consul General Frederic Bontems returned the gesture.

KPRC Channel 2 news anchor Dominique Sachse, fiancé of honorary Romanian Consul General Nick Florescu, presented Becca Cason Thrash with the International Service Award. She was recognized for her long-standing commitment to enhancing Franco-American relations and to raising funds for key cultural institutions in France, in particular the Louvre, for which she has raised more than $8 million. No one could have been more proud than John Thrash, to whom Becca credited much of her philanthropic and community success.

As is Consular Ball tradition, the evening included the Grand March presentation of various consuls general wearing the ribbons and medallions of their respective countries.

Stepping out in their white-tie finery were Arthur Baird, Will Stukenberg, Y. Ping Sun and David Leebron, Lily and Charles Foster, Margaret Williams and Jim Daniel, Alex Martinez, Sylvia and Gordon Quan, Randy Powers and Bill Caudell, Annie Amante, Karen and Rudy Wildenstein, Diane Lokey Farb, Cerón, Joanne and Bill Crassas, Danielle and John Ellis and Wade Wilson.

It was a long and eventful day for University of Houston president Renu Khator and husband Suresh Khator, both of whom were up bright and early for ESPN's College GameDay broadcast, the game against SMU and then the white-tie gala. All in a day's work for a Tier One university president.