Halo House Foundation had their first gala in November 2011 and to say it was a success would be an understatement. Set the scene at InterContinental Hotel near the Galleria and fill it with about 375 people. THEN give those folks something to cheer about and you get the picture!
It was one of the most creative ways we've ever seen folks raise money! There were three ways the Celebrity dancers could win (and all raised money for the charity!) One was votes on line before the event. Each vote cost $1 with a minimum of $10. so all of the local personalities were scrambling telling everyone they knew to vote for them which not only raised money for the charity but got the word out about it in a huge way. Now the entire world knows about Halo House Foundation! Then all of the personalities tried to get their friends to buy tickets because they could also win by having the most votes as crowd favorite and last but not least was Judges favorite...mind you these judges were HUGE in the dancing world! Evelyn Leightman with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and Corky Ballas with ABC's "Dancing with the Stars"!!
The evening started with Halo House supporters and friends dressed to the nines mingling among the amazing silent auction items then the entertainment started!
After two championship junior couples hit the dance floor, six fabulous teams of Professional Dancer/Local Celebrity dancers competed for three awards. Judges Evelyn Leightman with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and Corky Ballas with ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" selected Lori Freese (Publisher, Dish-Houston.com) and her partner Cristiano Callegari (Dance With Stars Studio) as their top choice.
A well deserved People's Choice Award went to Mark Holley (Executive Chef, Pesce restaurant) and his partner Maureen Brunetti (D'Amico Dance Studio). Lea DeMontrond was rewarded with the Brightest Star Award for raising the most money in the form of online votes prior to the event. His sizzling dance partner was Katia Kuznetsova (Dance With Stars Studio). The other performances by Sara Torres, a Houston Dynamo Girl and her dance coach Suneth Jayamanna, Maria Todd, Houston's favorite radio DJ and her partner, Enzo Zappia (Dance With Stars Studio) and Kristine Mills, the Houston Press "Best Songwriter" danced to her own music with partner Raul Edwards (Strictly Street Salsa.)
The hot performances were followed by a live auction that had the room yelling and cheering! It was such a fun time for everyone that they will have a challenge topping it for next year's! By the way...this event brought in $150,000 for the Halo House Foundation with a profit of $109,000. WELL DONE!!
Photo Credit: