Red-Hot and Pink Powered Parties Take Over Tootsies — You’ve Never Seen Galentine’s Day Or Tickled Pink Bashes Like This

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By Shelby Hodge // Feb 20, 2025

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Donna Lewis, Dr. Sippi Khurana, Beth Wolff, Leisa Holland-Nelson Bowman at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Marie Flanigan, Kendall Plank, Susan Plank, Jennifer Cope at the Galentine's Day Dec My Room fundraiser. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Stacey Lindseth, Donae Chramosta, Brittany Rose at the Galentine's Day Dec My Room fundraiser. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Elysa Nelson, Clare Jackson Sullivan, Sylvie Kampshoff at the Galentine's Day Dec My Room fundraiser. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Hallie Henley Sims, Maggie Dunham at the Galentine's Day Dec My Room fundraiser. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Amalia Stanton, Laurie Krohn, Melissa Juneau at the Galentine's Day Dec My Room fundraiser. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Ally Shelly, Nora Jarrad at the Galentine's Dec My Room fundraiser. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Jamie Burns, Jennifer Cope, Jen Weber at the Galentine's Day Dec My Room fundraiser. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Charlotte Martingano, Anna Osborne at the Galentine's Dec My Room fundraiser. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Cherie Lindley, Abby Vanegas at the Galentine's Dec My Room fundraiser. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Donae Chramosta, Tootsies' Donna Lewis at the Galentine's Dec My Room fundraiser. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Christina Greene, Whitney Lawson at the Galentine's Day Dec My Room fundraiser. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Founders Kendall Plank, Susan Plank at the Galentine's Day Dec My Room fundraiser.

Marie Flanigan, Jennifer Cope at the Galentine's Day Dec My Room fundraiser.

Chree Boydstun, Rick Smith at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Chris Kase, Mady Kades at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Denise Monteleone, Lesha Elsenbrook, Gaye Lynn Zarrow, Ellie Francisco, Shelley Boyer at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Tootsies owners Donna & Norman Lewis at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Evelyn Leightman, Leila Perrin, Beth Wolff at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Gaye Lynn & Stuary Zarrow at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Jenny Todd, Patti Murphy at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Leisa Holland-Nelson Bowman, Katie Tsuru at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Tickled Pink honorees Rick Smith, Gaye Lynn Zarrow, Brandi Sikes, Leila Perrin, Myrtle Jones at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Tammie Anne Johnson, Dr. Sippi Khurana,Tracy Faulkner at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Tiffany Halik, Jack Vielhauer at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Zane Carruth, Leisa Holland-Nelson Bowman at the American Cancer Society's Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

How the ladies love Houston’s icon Tootsies as a party venue. The vast marble thoroughfares cutting through the latest fashions regularly attract a flock of swans dedicated serving the community. So it was that just within days, two nonprofits took over the salon for fundraisers. And what a colorful throng: ladies in red for a Galentine’s Day event and femmes wearing pink in salute to the Tickled Pink Luncheon.

Marie Flanigan, Kendall Plank, Susan Plank and Jennifer Cope — Marie Flanigan, Kendall Plank, Susan Plank, Jennifer Cope at the Galentine’s Day Dec My Room fundraiser. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

For Dec My Room, it was a Galentine’s Day fête that began with shopping at Tootsies, which at the moment is filled with rodeo-ready threads and accessories, and continued with a colorful luncheon in the butterfly-infused PostScript HTX. Jennifer Cope and Marie Flanagan chaired the fundraiser that brought in some $120,000 for the nonprofit that decorates the hospital rooms of longterm pediatric and young adult patients.

Since founded by Susan Plank and daughter Kendall Plank in 2007, Dec My Room has decorated nearly 18,000 hospital rooms around the country for pediatric and young adult patients, transforming the typically cold hospital room into a themed adventure focusing on the special interests of the young patients. The effort, launched in Houston, now serves 178 hospitals and counting.

Jamie Burns, Jennifer Cope, Jen Weber at the Galentine’s Day Dec My Room fundraiser. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

This throng included notables Whitney Lawson, Estela Cockrell, Laurie Krohn, Stacey Lindseth, Brittany Tribble, Katie Tsuru, Donae Chramosta, Ally Shell, Jennifer Pinkerton, Kelly Larkin, and Kelli Weinzierl.

A Celebration In Pink, Tootsies Style

Donna Lewis, Sippi Khurana, Beth Wolff, Leisa Holland Nelson Bowman — Donna Lewis, Dr. Sippi Khurana, Beth Wolff, Leisa Holland-Nelson Bowman at the American Cancer Society’s Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Rose colored glasses were not needed for this cocktail affair at Tootsies where the American Cancer Society’s Quantum Capital Tickled Pink Luncheon clutch gathered in celebration of the April 17 fundraiser. For it seemed that most of those attending were indeed thinking pink.

Luncheon chair Dr. Sippi Khurana was joined in welcoming guests and introducing honorees by honorary chairs Leisa Holand Nelson Bowman, Donna Lewis and Beth Wolff.

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Taking bows as honorees were Myrtle Jones, Leila Perrin, Brandi Sikes, Rick Smith and Gaye Lynn Zarrow. Each of the honorees is either a cancer survivor or has a close family member who has fought the disease.

Tammie Anne Johnson, Sippi Khurana and Tracy Faulkner — Tammie Anne Johnson, Dr. Sippi Khurana,Tracy Faulkner at the American Cancer Society’s Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

The Tickled Pink Luncheon will raise funds in particular to improve the lives of people with breast cancer and their families through advocacy, research and patient support, as well as to ensure everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat and survive cancer. Highlight of this day was the Tootsies fashion presentation of styles in pink just right for the luncheon.

Denise Monteleone, Lesha Elsenbrook, Gaye Lynn Zarrow, Ellie Francisco and Shelley Boyer — Denise Monteleone, Lesha Elsenbrook, Gaye Lynn Zarrow, Ellie Francisco, Shelley Boyer at the American Cancer Society’s Tickled Pink event (Photo by Jacob Power)

Notables lending support on this evening included Lesha Elsenbrook, Denise Monteleone, Lara Bell, Cheryl Byington, Tiffany Halik, Stuart Zarrow, Shelley and Lee Boyer, Heidi Rockecharlie, Sonia Soto, Franelle Rogers, Chree Boydstun, Evelyn Leightman, Beth Muecke, Patti Murphy, Zane Carruth, Charity Yarborough, Sandra Porter, Maddy Kades, and Katie Tsuru.