Our method is simple and effective: we ask their peers.
Ebby Halliday tells the story of the first property she tried to sell. On the day of the open house, not one person showed up. She sat alone in the empty living room for five or six hours. Finally, a scraggly looking older man wearing a wrinkled suit walked up the sidewalk and knocked on the door. Ebby figured the man was a hobo looking for yard work. So she decided she’d practice her sales pitch on him. She took him by the arm and led him through the house, extolling its merits, until they ended up back at the front door. As she was about to usher him out, he stopped her, looked around one last time, and announced, “I’ll take it.” He then reached in his pocket and pulled out the asking price—$40,000—in cash.
That everyone is a potential customer is only one of the lessons I’ve learned from Ebby Halliday. Seeing her on this page—at our party celebrating the best of her profession—reminds me again of the tremendous talent we have in this city.
Fortunately, the talent keeps multiplying. Two months ago we were honored to host the “Chef’s Choice Awards” bestowed by Dallas restaurant owners and chefs on the very best in the food business. More than 400 people gathered at Nick & Sam’s to applaud winners such as Kent Rathbun of Abacus and Monica Greene of Cuidad and to hear from guest emcee David Rosengarten of the Food Network.
In May we hosted another soiree, this time at the French Room, for the top members of the Dallas legal profession. One awardee remarked he hadn’t seen so much high-priced legal talent gathered in one room since the tobacco settlement.
But when it comes to public response, nothing we do compares to the Best Doctors in Dallas (p. 88).
D Magazine is, of course, proud to celebrate excellence in our city and to nourish and applaud the best. But I want to make clear that we don’t pick the winners. We design the ground rules and send out the ballots. The people in the professions themselves choose the best from among their peers, which is why our awards are regarded as such an honor.
In the case of doctors, even with a peer-based system, there are obvious caveats. My doctor, for example, is not on the list. He’s a primary care physician, and they’re the ones who make referrals, not the ones who receive them. (His name is Jack Sheldon, and he’s a terrific personal health manager.) Also, very specialized areas of surgery or treatment don’t always receive recognition. Nor is it possible to make as many distinctions in areas of practice as the medical community might like. That said, there is no more authoritative source in this city, and every year we work to make it even better.
Bringing you the best of Dallas is what makes publishing this magazine such a challenge—and so much fun.
