Klyde Warren Park President and CEO Kit Sawers Hosts Her Final Garden Party for The Dallas Nonprofit

Like a tell-tale sign of a season, Klyde Warren Park’s annual Garden Party (celebrating its highest donors) is a reminder that we are in the midst of flowers and showers (meaning you never know when you’ll need your umbrella). A few times in the past, the schedule has aligned to make it also an occasion to drink margaritas — and this year, as luck would have it, once again, guests gathered to begin (or end) their Cinco de Mayo festivities.

This year’s event was held at the Preston Hollow home of Catherine and Sam Susser. Luck was in the cards as it seemed to rain in most neighborhoods that evening, but was somehow dry within a few block radius of the Susser’s gracious abode. A mariachi band and trays of margaritas greeted guests as they arrived.

Klyde Warren Park’s president and CEO, Kit Sawers, eventually gathered guests, primarily President’s Circle members, Friends, Corporate Council, Park Partners, and other supporters, on the outdoor patio for remarks. She acknowledged Catherine and Sam Susser for welcoming everyone to their home, as well as the Susser Bank team for all their help with the party. Sawers called out for everyone to give a round of applause for many of the Park’s board members in attendance that evening: Letti Andrade, Lucy Billingsley, Hal Brierley, Mary Brinegar, Jay Clingman, Jesse Jackson, Tom Leppert, Myrna Schlegel, and Rob Walters.

She also shared the preparations happening for the World Cup next month. Klyde Warren Park will be showing about 75 matches and once again creating a gathering place for the city. Sawers then went on to remind everyone of the biggest fundraiser of the year, Party in the Park on October 8. The 2026 honorary chair is Laurie Sands Harrison, and the event chairs are her children, Caroline Harrison Loehr and Gavin Loehr, Francis Harrison and Manual Brito, and Bailey Harrison.

It was also a little bittersweet as she remarked that this month was her eighth anniversary leading Klyde Warren Park since the news had broken a few weeks prior that she would be leaving to assume a new position with Southern Methodist University. It had been recently announced that SMU was forming The Dallas Office — a major new initiative designed to strengthen collaboration with Dallas-based corporations, civic organizations, and community partners while expanding access to the University’s talent, research, and expertise. The Dallas Office will be SMU’s front door to the city and region – a single coordinated point of access to connect Dallas to SMU and SMU to Dallas more intentionally. The University has named Kit Sawers ’93 as the inaugural CEO of The Dallas Office and a vice president of the University. She will be assuming the role in early August.

The rest of the evening was spent raising glasses in honor of the work she had done at Klyde Warren Park (during her tenure, attendance has doubled to two million) and wishing her the best on this next exciting chapter in her career as a Dallas leader.

Spotted sipping cocktails poolside included Kemp Sawers, John Scott, Zoe Bonnette, Gillian Breidenbach, Kim and Justin Whitman, Diane and Hal Brierley, Katherine Reeves, Melinda Knowles, Jojo and Eric Fleiss, Maggie Kipp, Logan Waller, Chuck Steelman, Ann and Doug Brown, Nita and Cullum Clark, Terry Dallas, Lee Cullum, Effie and Brian Dennison, Catherine and Will Rose, Lyda Hill, and Carol Vig.