5 Houston Women of Distinction Honored In This Secret Garden Ball

What: The Winter Ball

Where: The Omni Houston Hotel

PC Moment: The Winter Ball in the Secret Garden turned out to be a scaled down version of the previous benefits for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation which honored 10 or more powerful femmes. The 2023 gala saluted five Women of Distinction and the Winter Ball Ambassador in the black-tie evening chaired by by Kathy Crosby, Wendy Kovich and Catherine Rowley.

Taking bows as this year’s Women of Distinction were Tammie Johnson, Rani Puranik, Lisa Sailor, Jordan Seff and Mayte Weitzman with Evelyn Leightman honored with the title of Ambassador.

Applause, applause for Jordan and her husband Dylan Seff, who contributed $100,000 to the cause. That generous gift helped the evening earn more than $525,000 for research into finding a cure for the irritable bowl syndrome. Adding to the bottom line was a stunning piece of jewelry from Valobra Master Jewelers, offered in a raffle.

Also taking bows were honored hero Cameron “Mateo” Skeete, representatives of Corporate Partner Honoree H-E-B, and representatives of Healthcare Partner Honoree Texas Children’s Hospital. All applauded by the 300 guests.

As is tradition, past Women of Distinction paraded on the runway prior to presentation of the current honorees. These past Women of Distinction included Tracy Faulkner, Leila Perrin, Jerre Williams, Gayla Gardner, Sharon Owens, Cindi Rose, Beth Wolff, Cheryl Byington, Miriam Sera, Heidi Rockecharlie, Mary Ann Wilkins, Lisa Holland Bowman, Mary Lou Garza, and Susan Osterberg.

PC Seen: Mary Ann and David McKeithan, Ursaline Hamilton, Edward Osterberg, Kristen Cannon, Ursaline Hamilton, Harry Faulkner, Dylan Seff, Steve and Britney Massey, Luvi and Carlos Wheelock, Drs. Alice Mao and Matt Braum, Dr. Wenly Ruan and Sean Hunt, Dr. Binci Abraham, Nick Rockecharlie, Stephanie and Mark Schusterman, Dena Rafte and Dr. Robert Brown, Mady and Ken Kades, Jennifer and Dr. Rick Kline.