The Dallas chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Dallas Architectural Foundation are having a gala on September 26 that you may wish to attend. The title of the gala includes an exclamation point. And it’s for a good cause. You’ll find more details after the jump.
Anyway, that’s not important. What’s important is that the emcee of said exclamation-point-accented gala is none other that Jeff Whittington, producer of KERA’s Think program and host of the show called Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask Glenn Mitchell [note: fact check that]. Those who know Jeff — and I count myself as a lucky member of that group — know that there are really two Jeffs. There is the Jeff known as “Public Radio Jeff,” and then there is the Jeff commonly referred to as “Locker-Room Jeff.” Public Radio Jeff is mild-mannered, polite, and sonorous. Locker-Room Jeff, however, is foul-mouthed, rude, and shrill. Okay, I’m lying about the shrill part. Even when he’s working blue, his voice still sounds like drawn butter.
But so the big question, to my mind, is which Jeff has been hired to emcee the AIA gig? For $10,000, you can underwrite the evening’s festivities at the Platinum level. Worth every penny.
AIA Dallas Honors 13 Community Award Winners, Salutes Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Opening Opening
“An Urban Renaissance” Gala Benefits Dallas Center for Architecture
DALLAS-On Sept. 26, 2009, the 2,200-member Dallas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Dallas Architectural Foundation will salute the opening of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) and honor 13 organizations and individuals for their distinguished contributions to the city’s cultural and architectural environment.
Honorary chairs for the thirteenth annual Celebrate Architecture! 2009 Gala, benefiting programs and scholarships at the Dallas Center for Architecture (DCFA), are Lucy and Henry Billingsley.
Gala co-chairs are Mark Hoesterey, AIA, of Stocker Hoesterey Montenegro Architects, and Cari Walls, marketing director and associate principal at Omniplan, Inc.
AIA Dallas President Todd Howard, AIA, said, “Nowhere in our nation today is there a more exciting convergence of art and architecture than at the upcoming opening of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts.” Tipton Housewright, AIA, president of the Dallas Architectural Foundation, added, “On this September evening, we will celebrate the dynamic vitality emerging in Downtown Dallas and across the area, which is influenced greatly by our world-renowned Dallas Arts District.”
Some 400 guests are expected to fill the Great Hall at historically restored Union Station. The black tie event begins with cocktails at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:15 p.m., awards ceremony at 8 p.m., and dancing to the music of Lucy Wrubel at 9 p.m. An after-dinner cigar bar will open at 9 p.m. on the Loggia. This year’s gala also features a luxury silent auction.
Thirteen Community Honor Awards Winners
Community Honor Awards will be presented to: Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, Anita Martinez Ballet Folklorico, Downtown Dallas, Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation, and Hamilton Properties.
Reagan W. George, FAIA, will receive the AIA Dallas Lifetime Achievement Award. Omniplan, Inc. will be honored as Firm of the Year.
Other winners to be honored for their professional achievements include: McCarthy Construction, Contractor of the Year; Haley-Greer, Inc., Artist/Craftsman of the Year; and Rosa Finsley, ASLA, Consultant of the Year.
Honorary AIA Dallas membership will be awarded to Lyda Hill, Virginia McAlester and Lucy Crow Billingsley.
Jeff Whittington, producer of KERA-FM’s award-winning “Think” programming, will emcee the awards presentations.
Generous Underwriting
At press time, gala underwriters included Platinum: Deedie and Rusty Rose; Gold: Corgan Associates, Inc. and ABC Imaging, Inc.; Silver: Datum Engineers, F&S Partners Incorporated, Good Fulton & Farrell, HKS, Inc., JHP Architecture/Urban Design, Omniplan, PageSoutherlandPage, Perkins + Will and t. howard + associates, architects. Purdy-McGuire, Inc. and Buell, Inc. lead the list of Contributors.
For more information on CelebrateArchitecture! 2009 tickets ($250 per guest) or to pledge underwriting at the Platinum ($10,000), Gold ($5,000), Silver ($3,000), or Contributor levels, please call Greg Brown, Dallas Center for Architecture, at 214.742.3242 or e-mail [email protected].
The Dallas Center for Architecture
Opened in September 2008, the Dallas Center for Architecture is a rich convergence of the art and science of architecture. Directly across Woodall Rodgers Freeway from the Dallas Arts District, the Center provides lectures, exhibits, guided tours, and special events for the public, as well as for architects and allied professionals. It is one of the first such centers in the U.S.
