Humanitarian Award goes to pioneer HIV specialist Crofoot; Mayor White to be honored with J. Hollyfield Award for fighting intolerance
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| Houston Black Tie Dinner officials will present Mayor Bill White with the J. Hollyfield Award in recognition of his work promoting diversity and tolerance. |
Officials with the Houston Black Tie Dinner have announced the recipients of the 2006 Black Tie Dinner Humanitarian Award and the 2006 J Hollyfield Political Service Award, and beneficiaries for this year’s annual Gala and Silent Auction scheduled for Nov. 4 at the Houston Intercontinental Hotel.
Dr. Gordon Crofoot will receive the 2006 Humanitarian Award, which recognizes local individuals for their contributions to the Houston GLBT community. Dr. Crofoot is a pioneer in the treatment and research on HIV and AIDS and has been at the forefront of efforts to find advanced treatments for AIDS and in educating the public about the disease.
The 2006 J. Hollyfield Award will be presented to Mayor Bill White in recognition of his efforts toward celebrating the diversity of Houston, promoting tolerance for all people, and for his efforts against the anti-gay-marriage constitutional amendment approved last fall by Texas voters.
White has also served as grand marshal of the Houston Pride parade and consistently attends events celebrating the GLBT community, dinner officials said in announcing the award.
Beneficiaries for the event are Bayou City Performing Arts, Center for AIDS, Houston GLBT Community Center, Lazarus House, Legacy Community Health Services, Lesbian Health Initiative, PFLAG/HATCH Youth Scholarship Foundation, People with AIDS and Pride Houston.
Houston Black Tie Dinner officials said the organization has raised more than $1.6 million to support more than 20 nonprofit agencies during its first 14 years, making the dinner the leading charitable organization raising funds on behalf of the Houston GLBT community.
Dinner officials also are encouraging people to ask their favorite restaurants for gift certificates to donate to the auction, to consider corporate gifts and to ask clients for contributions to the auction. They said donations that are especially popular include artwork, clothing and jewelry, restaurant and hotel gift certificates, tickets and passes for leisure and entertainment activities and wine and food baskets.
Donors are recognized at the event and in the silent auction program, and major donors are recognized on the Houston Black Tie Dinner website. Donations are also tax-deductible, dinner officials said.
For more information or to receive a request on letterhead, e-mail auction@houstonblacktiedinner.org. The auction form can be downloaded at www.houstonblacktiedinner.org/2006_HBTD_auction.pdf.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, May 26, 2006.
