Event chairs Lisa and Steve Lieberman opened the doors to their beautiful Preston Hollow home on January 22 to help kick off the fifth annual Emmitt Smith Celebrity Invitational, presented by SoftLayer. The 2014 event is set for May 9 -10 with a “Friday Night Party” at the Omni Dallas Hotel featuring a VIP red carpet, followed by a celebrity reception, dinner, live auction, dancing and other entertainment. The Saturday, May 10, charity golf tournament takes place the following morning at TPC Craig Ranch with players and other sports and entertainment celebrities partnered with each foursome, followed by an afternoon awards ceremony.
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| David Craig of TPC Craig Ranch and Emmitt Smith Photos by James Edward |
In informal remarks, Steve Lieberman thanked Pat and Emmitt for using their “extraordinary talents and their superstar status” to help local kids through their works with the Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities (PESC). In 2013, PESC distributed over $400,000 to 47 charities predominantly in North Texas.
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| Pat Smith, Ronelle Ianace |
Next up were Pat and Emmitt, who thanked sponsors and Host Committee members for stepping up and helping to raise to date more than $500,000 towards the 2014 event. Emmitt also announced the inaugural Emmitt Smith Golf Challenge, consisting of several regional events scheduled at top-rated ClubCorp courses throughout the U.S., where winning players and top fundraisers will win a variety of prizes plus the opportunity to advance (or attend) the May 9-10 festivities in Dallas.
Emmitt Smith, Pat Smith
Pat expressed her gratitude, calling the event a “journey for us” that has grown from a small golf tournament to an event that benefited 47 agencies and 35,000 children last year. She recognized top-level sponsors, including Title Sponsor SoftLayer (at the $100,000 level). At the $50,000 level, Presenting Sponsors are Albertson’s (for the Friday night event) and American Airlines (for the Saturday golf tournament and as the official Airline Sponsor). In addition, event sponsors at the $25,000 level were recognized -- Dallas Healthy Aging Institute, Cigna, Waste Management Brown-Forman and G Wear. While the list of $10,000 sponsors was long, Pat graciously took the time to extend the organization’s appreciation for each one of them as well.
Team 22 students Giselle Garcia and Christian Quintero, with Leslie Boysen
The program concluded with heartfelt thanks from two teens -- Christian Quintero and Giselle Garcia -- who are members of Pat and Emmitt’s Team 22, a PESC-funded groundbreaking program designed to mentor students to develop leadership and character skills through unique enrichment opportunities.
Lawrence and Katie Bock, Host Committee
Kimberly and Justin Whitman, Host Committee
Attending that evening were honorary chairs Marion and Bennett Glazer, NFL superstar Larry Brown (a TCU alum and Super Bowl XXX MVP), Texas Senator Royce West, Kimberly Schlegel Whitman and Justin Whitman, Katy and Lawrence Bock, Sheryl and David Pidgeon, Jim and Beth Gold, Mike Ablon and Ronnie Berg.
For ticket and sponsorship details, go to www.emmittsmith.com/celebrity-invitational
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