Online table captain process unveiled for 2009 dinner
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| Leifer |
The Black Tie Dinner is set to launch its 2009 events Thursday, June 11 with an appearance by gay author/comedian Carol Leifer and a new, improved online process for table captains, officials announced this week.
Leifer, an Emmy-nominated writer who has also won praise for her standup comedy work, will read from her new book at the launch party in the newly renovated Chaparral Room on the 38th floor of the Sheraton Dallas Hotel, 400 N. Olive St. in downtown Dallas. It is the same hotel where the Black Tie Dinner will be held on Oct. 3. The dinner will feature an appearance by Judy Shepard, mother of anti-gay hate murder victim Mathew Shepard, as the recipient of the 2009 Elizabeth Birch Award.
The party will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., with Kellie Rasberry of the Kidd Kraddick in the Morning Show on 106.1 KISS FM as guest host. There will be complimentary hors d’ouevres and self-parking, and DJ Micah B will provide music.
Officials with the annual fundraising event also announced this week that those interested in becoming table captains for Black Tie Dinner can now do so online.
Ron Guillard, Black Tie co-chair, said in a statement released on Wednesday, May 27, that putting the process online makes it "easier than ever" for table captains to provide table reservation and guest information.
"Another new and significant change to the table captain process is that the sooner a table captain completes the process, the better their table selection will be," Guillard said. "Online table reservations will be ongoing until all tables have been reserved. And please keep in mind that Black Tie Dinner tables are limited availability and — new for 2009 — table captains are now secured on a first come, first served basis."
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| Ron Guillard, Black Tie Dinner co-chair |
He also noted that table captains can begin choosing their table location once all the dinner’s sponsors have chosen their tables, and the order for table captains to make their choice will be determined based on the date their payments are completed.
Table captains will be able to log on, beginning June 15 at 10 a.m., to www.BlackTie.org to create a table captain account, thus beginning the reservation process.
The new online process allows table captains to either pay for their table in full immediately or to send e-mail invitations to their guests to purchase their own tickets online. A table captain’s position in the table section order is set "the moment your table is paid in full," at a cost of $3,000, Guillard explained.
As an alternative, table captains can fax reservation forms — available online at the Black Tie Web site — to 214-279-7557, or mailed to Black Tie Dinner Inc., 3878 Oak Lawn Ave., Ste. 321, Dallas, Texas 75219. The date/time stamp on the fax or the postmark date on the letters will be considered in the process of determining when payment in full was made, officials said.
Then in mid- to late August, those table captains who have paid in full will be notified through e-mail of their position in the table selection order. Tickets will be mailed by Sept. 7.
Table captains who have not completed their purchase by Sept. 7 may see their tickets assigned to other tables, and no refunds for partial tables or tickets will be made, officials said.
During the dinner this year, a new Mercedes Benz 2010 GLK350, underwritten by Silver dinner sponsor Park Place Motorcars Bedford and Park Place Motorcars Dallas, will be raffled off. Raffle tickets are $100 each, and are available from any of the 19 beneficiaries, DFW Federal Club members, HRC Governing and Steering committees members and the Black Tie Dinner board of directors and advisory board members.
For more information, call 972-733-9200, ext. 1 or go online to www.BlackTie.org.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition May 29, 2009.
I believe the DFW radio station is 106.1 KISS FM not .5