Five of Houston’s Most Admired Leaders Get a Special Julia Ideson Building Night With a Scottish Twist

While the Houston Public Library’s historic Julia Ideson Building has hosted a variety of evenings — everything from Super Bowl parties to fashion shows —  none is to compare with the Houston Public Library Foundation’s inaugural Robert Burns Supper. Think Tartan plaids, a bagpipe procession, Scottish brogue and, yes, haggis.

Primary purpose of the evening, beyond raising funds for the library, was to honor five remarkable Houstonians by recognizing them as inaugural Fellows of Houston Public Library. An honor that included a toast with Dewar’s 12, a glass placed at each diner’s seat.

Presented honors by Houston Public Library director Sandy Gaw were Dr. Ruth Simmons, Ph.D., Fellow of Humanities & Letters; Dr. Peter Hotez, MD, Ph.D., Fellow of The Sciences;  Leigh McCranie Smith, Fellow of Arts & Culture; Laura D. Bellows, Fellow of Industry & Commerce; and former Houston Mayor Bill White, Fellow of Law & Civic Life.

It was a lively evening that included the traditional “Address to a Haggis” presented by Callum Wilkinson. It is doubtful — as anticipated — that anyone other than a true Scotsman understood a word of the ritual address. All in good fun. Ditto that for the platter of haggis that was passed around for tasting by those brave enough. No, thank you.

“We were so pleased to be able to host the first Robert Burns Supper at the Houston Public Library and we hope it will become a standing tradition,” Nicholas Sawicki, executive director of the Houston Public Library Foundation, tells PaperCity.

“The thing about libraries is that they’re living spaces filled with stories of real people that capture real moments. Robert Burns was a real person who inspired a great tradition, and to bring that here to Houston Public Library as we celebrate the new Fellows —who embody the ethos of the Library — underscores that each of us has a story that is still being written and that the library is a critical part of that story.”

Beginning in 1801 Burns Suppers have been held across the world on or near the celebrated Scottish Bard‘s January 25 birthday. Part of the tradition is recital of poetry. Filling that task on this night was Houston Poet Laureate Reyes Ramirez, who debuted his poem “Ode to Houston.”

PC Seen: Mayor John Whitmire, Betty and Jim Key, Anne-Marie and Steven Bellows, Reggie Smith, Shawn Stephens and Jim Jordan, Jack Pendergrast, Andrea White, Ann Hotez,  Doe and Henry Florsheim, Regina Rogers, Charles Foster, Lillie Robertson, Beth Robertson, Cheryl Byington, Kurt Grether; Dr. Melanie Johnson, Nancy Ames and Danny Ward, Laura and Tom Bacon, Lize Wakefield, Lainie Gordon and David Mincberg.