ABC13's Women of Distinction
Presented By Mercedes-Benz Dealers of Greater Houston
Mercedes-Benz Dealers of Greater Houston, ABC13 and the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation are proud to recognize Houston-area women who go above and beyond to make our community better. We happily introduce you to this year's group of special women, listed for you below.[br /][br /][b]Press Release[/b][br /]Warmer weather greeted the over 650 guests who gathered on February 11, 2017 at the Hilton Americas for The Diamond Ball 30th Anniversary Winter Ball ABC13's Women of Distinction 2017 presented by Mercedes-Benz Dealers of Greater Houston, chaired by Franelle Rogers and Honorary Chairman Margaret Alkek Williams. Everyone was celebrating as the evening brought in over $1 million, a new record for the event. All the major sponsors including Tootsies and Gittings were thrilled with the results.[br /][br /]Benefiting the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, the Winter Ball honors 11 Women of Distinction who have supported the community through volunteerism. This year's honorees were Jo Furr, Dr. Sippi Khurana, Alissa Maples, Shawntell McWilliams, Cyndy Garza Roberts, Jessica Rossman, Susan Sarofim, Kim Tutcher, Kelli Weinzierl,Vivian Wise and Judi McGee 2017 Ambassador. Also honored during the program were over 50 ladies who were former Women of Distinction from the past 30 years, all of whom continue to do good works in Houston. Honored Hero Jonathan Tybur shared his journey with Crohn's disease demonstrating the importance of the funds raised at the event and generated a standing ovation from the crowd.[br /][br /]The high energy crowd started the evening mingling, bidding on unique auction items, pulling numbers for a wine pull and buying raffle tickets for a $15,000 Tenenbaum and Co gift card from a living table. As the guest moved to their tables, the décor kepy the mood, all the black and white tables with a touch of pink and falling diamonds across the screens, then onto a Marilyn Monroe movie montage. The Diamond theme made for lively evening from the start, with entertaining opening performance of look alike Marilyn Monroe singing Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend. Images changed throughout the night keeping the attendees wrapped in the allure of the event. After the honoree presentation, five over the top live auction items, including a trip to Los Angeles to see Jimmy Kimmel, a custom necklace made especially for the night by Franco Valobra, along with a home in Cabo, generated excitement and funds for the mission. The highlight of the auction, two donated Mercedes Benz vehicles, Mercedes-Benz - 2017 SLC300 Roadster and Mercedes-Benz - 2017 C300 Cabriolet donated by the Mercedes-Benz Dealers of Greater Houston, sold for over value and had everyone applauding. The dance floor was packed to the sounds of Password well past closing time. The crowd's attention was held well in to the night waiting to see whose Lucky Key would open the Diamond Treasure Box of a $15,000 Gift certificate to Tenenbaum and Co..[br /]Other notables in attendance: Claudia and Jan Rask, Kristina and Paul Somerville, Cora Sue and Harry Mach, Caroline and Gary Kenney, Doe and Henry Florsheim, Winell and Doug Herron, Tony Bradfield and Kevin Black, Kim and Dan Moody, Jennifer and Joe Van Matre, Virginia and Dan Steppe, CCFA Board Chairman Brock Wagner, Pat Breen, Maria and Bill Wise, Fady Armanious, Bill Baldwin, NeNe Foxhall, Julie Vogel, Diane and Towbin Englet and CCFA Executive Director Jenny Conaway.[br /][br /][center][url HREF="http://www.ccfa.org/about/" TARGET="blanc" REL="nofollow"]ABOUT CCFA[/url] | [url HREF="http://www.ccfa.org/living-with-crohns-colitis/" TARGET="blanc" REL="nofollow"]LIVING WITH IBD[/url] | [url HREF="http://www.ccfa.org/get-involved/" TARGET="blanc" REL="nofollow"]HOW YOU CAN HELP[/url] | [url HREF="https://www.facebook.com/2015winterball" TARGET="blanc" REL=""]2017 WINTER BALL INFORMATION[/url][/center][br /][Ads /][br /][center][url HREF="http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/index" TARGET="blanc" REL="nofollow"][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/PICS/MARCH15/Tile-1Wod.jpg" ALIGN="" /][/url][url HREF="http://www.ccfa.org/" TARGET="blanc" REL="nofollow"][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/PICS/SEPTEMBER14/cc-290.jpg" ALIGN="" /][/url][/center][br /][br /][b]Watch Segments from "The Voices of IBD"[/b][br /][br /]Segment 1[br /][media ID="1652014" /][br /]Segment 2[br /][media ID="1652012" /][br /]Segment 3[br /][media ID="1652018" /][br /]Segment 4[br /][media ID="1652021" /][br /][br /][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video/2015/04/05/2016Pics/2017-WBimg.jpg" ALIGN="left" /] [b]Women Making A Difference [/b][br /][br /]Below, you will find the list of the Honored Ladies![br /][center]____________________________________________[/center][br /][center][b]Meet our 2017 ABC13's Women of Distinction Presented By Mercedes-Benz Dealers of Greater Houston[/b][/center][br /][center]Portraits by Gittings[/center][br /][br /][center][url HREF="http://abc13.com/health/jo-furr-woman-of-distinction-/1524100/" TARGET="" REL=""][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video/2015/04/05/2016Pics/reFurr.jpg" ALIGN="" /][/url][url HREF="http://abc13.com/health/dr-sippi-khurana-woman-of-distinction-/1524113/" TARGET="" REL=""][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video/2015/04/05/2016Pics/re222Khurna.jpg" ALIGN="" /][/url][url HREF="http://abc13.com/health/alissa-maples--woman-of-distinction-/1524251/" TARGET="" REL=""][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video/2015/04/05/2016Pics/reMapels.jpg" ALIGN="" /][/url][url HREF="http://abc13.com/health/shawntell-mcwilliams-woman-of-distinction-/1524120/" TARGET="" REL=""][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video/2015/04/05/2016Pics/reMcWilliams.jpg" ALIGN="" /][/url][url HREF="http://abc13.com/health/judi-mcgee--woman-of-distinction-/1524408/" TARGET="" REL=""][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video/2015/04/05/2016Pics/reMgee.jpg" ALIGN="" /][/url][url HREF="http://abc13.com/health/cyndy-garza-roberts-woman-of-distinction-/1524287/" TARGET="" REL=""][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video/2015/04/05/2016Pics/reRoberts.jpg" ALIGN="" /][/url][url HREF="http://abc13.com/health/jessica-rossman-woman-of-distinction-/1524359/" TARGET="" REL=""][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video/2015/04/05/2016Pics/reRossman.jpg" ALIGN="" /][/url][url HREF="http://abc13.com/health/susan-d-sarofim-woman-of-distinction-/1524370/" TARGET="" REL=""][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video/2015/04/05/2016Pics/reSarofim.jpg" ALIGN="" /][/url][url HREF="http://abc13.com/health/kim-tutcher-woman-of-distinction-/1524385/" TARGET="" REL=""][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video/2015/04/05/2016Pics/reTutcher.jpg" ALIGN="" /][/url][url HREF="http://abc13.com/health/kelli-culp-weinzierl-woman-of-distinction-/1524395/" TARGET="" REL=""][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video/2015/04/05/2016Pics/reWeinzrl.jpg" ALIGN="" /][/url][url HREF="http://abc13.com/health/vivian-wise-woman-of-distinction-/1524399/" TARGET="" REL=""][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video/2015/04/05/2016Pics/reWise.jpg" ALIGN="" /][/url][/center][br /][Ads /][br /][url HREF="http://mbusa.com/houston" TARGET="_blank" REL="nofollow"][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video/2015/04/05/2016Pics/Re_Merc-img.jpg" ALIGN="left" /][/url][b]Featured Links from Mercedes-Benz[/b] [br /][br /][url HREF="http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/vehicles/build" TARGET="_blank" REL="nofollow"]Build Your Vehicle[/url] / [url HREF="http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/special_offers/current" TARGET="_blank" REL="nofollow"]Special Offers[/url] / [url HREF="http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/dealers/locator#!layout=/dealers/locator&businessType=DEALERS" TARGET="" 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