Major Netflix Star Takes Center Stage at Texas Trailblazer Awards

What: The 23rd annual Texas Trailblazer Awards Luncheon benefitting The Family Place

Where: The Omni Dallas Hotel

PC Moment: This year’s Texas Trailblazer Awards were reserved for the women in charge. Recipients Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Match Group, Melissa Reiff, CEO of The Container Store, Jill Soltau, CEO of JCPenney, Beth Garvey, CEO of BG Staffing Inc., Kim Lody, CEO of Capital Senior Living, and Lori J. Ryerkerk, CEO of Celanese make quite the girls’ club — and were quick to point out that everyone is invited to join. The six female CEOs of Dallas-based companies, all in once male-dominated fields, encouraged women to aim for the top of their industries and to be the role models of women leaders that many of them have had to be for themselves.

The Family Place CEO Paige Flink and event co-chairs Marjon Henderson, Samantha Wortley, and Marisa Howard — all powerhouse women themselves — were also honored to present the Real Life Hero Award to Lavinia Masters, an appropriately-named award for the woman has not only shed light on issues with the way the legal system handles cases of sexual assault, but advocated tirelessly for landmark legislation to protect survivors. The historic Lavinia Masters Act, signed into law on June 4 of this year, is a major step forward in ensuring justice is served in cases of sexual assault.

After the awards presentation, another trailblazer took the stage — this one of stage and screen. Keynote speaker Laura Linney, a two-time Golden Globe-winning, four-time Emmy Award-winning, and Academy Award-nominated actress, flew to Dallas just for the occasion, and told the crowd she would be flying back to Atlanta immediately following, where she would work through the night filming the much-anticipated third season of Ozark. While she didn’t leak any spoilers about the Netflix original series she co-stars in alongside Jason Bateman, she did say that her shrewd yet immature and impulsive character Wendy Byrde is a lot of fun to play.

Linney also talked to moderator Meredith Land about how she got her start in the entertainment industry, the best advice she ever received (“the only way through it is through it,” which she credits to Gabriel Byrne — who interestingly has played her husband three separate films) and the worst (“always wear a skirt” — this one came to her from a casting agent and was promptly ignored).

The icing on top of a deliciously inspiring luncheon: a slice of funfetti cake found at each place setting in honor of co-chair Marisa Howard’s birthday.

 PC Seen: Collin Allred, Clay Jenkins, Lynn McBee, Stephanie and Travis Hollman, Kimberly Schlegel Whitman, Kari Schlegel Kloewer, Emily Maduro, Natascha Hood, Linda Knox, Nancy Cates, Melissa Reiff, Beth Garvey, Kimberly Lody, Danielle Giglio, Lisa Ogle, Katherine Wynne, Kay Storey, Melissa Reiff, Chris Baldridge, Jimmy Heinpel, Mary Campbell, Jana Williams, Candace McGrew, Julia Gonzalez, Pamela Critcher, Mary Bowman Campbell, Patti Geolat.