Houston’s Beyond Ambitious Future Park Plans Get a Boost From Preservationists

What: Houston Parks Board‘s Annual Luncheon

Where: The Ballroom at Bayou Place

PC Moment: Chairs Cindy and David Fitch welcomed more than 350 well-heeled preservationists to downtown for Houston Parks Board’s splashy annual luncheon. The midday toast, dubbed “Parks for Everyone,” underlined the importance of natural spaces for all Houstonians, especially in light of Bayou Greenways 2020, the board’s ambitious plan to turn 3,000 acres of land along bayous into an interconnected web of parks, trails and green space, one of the largest such initiatives in the country.

Mayor Sylvester Turner, who was invited to share his thoughtful remarks about the progress of Bayou Greenways 2020 and HPB, reiterated the city’s (and the philanthropic community’s) revamped and rededicated interest in Houston’s green infrastructure, a worthy mission to improve not merely quality of life but also safety, in light of the area’s renewed interest in green spaces following Hurricane Harvey.

Finally, in a special video premiering at the luncheon, HPB president and CEO Beth White presented the film highlighting the progress of Bayou Greenways 2020, alongside such completed milestones as the hike-and-bike trail connecting downtown, and the groundbreaking process alongside Hunting, Sims, and Greens bayous. All told, the luncheon raised more than $650,000 towards HPB.

PC Seen: HPB board chair Tom Bacon with wife Laura Bacon; fellow nature advocates Nancy Kinder, Nina and Michael Zilkha, Andrea White, Aliyya and Herman Stude, Dina Alsowayel, Lisa and Barron Wallace, Guy Hagstette, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, Cabrina and Steven Owsley, Lisa and Greg Spier, Roslynn Velasquez, and Aimee Woodall.