Black Tie co-chairs Brad Pritchett, left, and Terry Loftis

Black Tie Dinner announced former Dallas City Council members Veletta Lill and Chris Luna as this year’s Kuchling Award winners.

The announcement was made at Black Tie’s Summer Social hosted by Park Place Motorcars, the first in-person event held by the nation’s largest LGBTQ fundraiser of its kind since December of 2019.

The 40th annual dinner is presented by PNC Bank and will take place at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Dallas on Nov. 13. Proceeds will go to support 16 North Texas non-profit organizations and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

“As we continue to navigate through unchartered waters dealing with the pandemic, it has never been more important or vital for our community to come together and raise critical funds for this year’s deserving beneficiaries,” said 2021 Black Tie Dinner Senior Co-Chair Brad Pritchett. “This year’s program will proudly celebrate our 40-year history while recognizing the resilience and accomplishments of our LGBTQ community and allies along the way.”

This year’s Media Award receipt will be Bobby Berk, an interior designer, author, reality television personality and best known for being the interior design expert on the Netflix series Queer Eye. Actor and performer D.J. “Shangela” Pierce, best known for starring in the Emmy nominated HBO series We’re Here and Emmy-award winning reality series RuPaul’s Drag Race, will be a 2021 award recipient.

Black Tie Dinner will present its Kuchling Humanitarian Awards to LGBTQ activists and leaders Luna and Lill for their long-time service to the North Texas LGBTQ community. In addition, popular comedian and longtime Black Tie Dinner supporter, Dana Goldberg will return to the stage as the luxury auctioneer. Also, actor, writer, producer and currently starring in NBCU’s Peacock reboot of Save by the Bell, Josie Totah will be a 2021 award receipt and contributing speaker.

“We are very excited to be back in-person again to support our community by hosting an unforgettable evening on Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Sheraton” said Terry Loftis, 2021 Black Tie Dinner Junior Co-Chair. “We are carefully monitoring the on-going COVID situation with local officials, the CDC and venue leadership to ensure the safety of our guests, Board, volunteers and beneficiaries.”

There are multiple ways to support Black Tie Dinner by joining the “Black Tie Dinner Ambassador Program” which gives supporters the opportunity to donate to Black Tie Dinner’s 2021 beneficiaries anytime throughout the year. You can purchase raffle tickets online at blacktie.org or in-person through a Board member for your chance to win a 2021 Mercedes generously donated by Park Place Motorcars Dallas. The organization also needs donated auction items and packages; information on how to help in those efforts can be found on their website.

— from staff reports