Scenes from The Family Place’s 2022 Texas Trailblazer Awards
Featuring Christina Ricci and Honoring Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
BY Caitlin Clark // 10.10.22Mimi Sterling, Lisa Sherrod, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, Christina Ricci, Stacee Johnson-Williams, Jeannie Barsam (Photo by Tamytha Cameron, Celeste Cass)
What: Dallas-based family violence agency, The Family Place, held its annual Texas Trailblazer Awards Luncheon on Friday, September 23, 2022, with keynote speaker, award-nominated actress Christina Ricci and honoring Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson.
Where: The Omni Dallas Hotel downtown.
The Scene: Before The Family Place CEO, Mimi Crume Sterling, officially welcomed guests, a chorus of emotional messages — all real, recreated calls made to The Family Place’s 24-hour crisis hotline — echoed throughout the Omni Dallas Hotels ballroom. It was a sobering way to kick off a Friday luncheon, but a valuable reminder of what the elegant gathering is about: honoring those who create positive change in the community. The annual luncheon, which has been hosted since 1996, also serves as the largest educational event for the Dallas-based organization, which empowers survivors of family violence with safe housing and counseling while building community engagement and advocating for social change.
Amid emotional speeches, a rousing raffle, and an in-depth conversation with actress Christina Ricci, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson was welcomed with a standing ovation to accept the 2022 Texas Trailblazer Award. The first Black woman to win electoral office from Dallas, Johnson recently made a momentous move to help simplify mental health access with the introduction of the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, which received bipartisan support and was signed into law in 2020. (This past summer, 9-8-8 was introduced as the national suicide prevention and mental health hotline.)
The event concluded with a forward-thinking announcement— the date for the next Texas Trailblazers Awards Luncheon: September 29, 2023.
The Seen: The 2022 Texas Trailblazer Awards co-chairs Jeannie Barsam of Gifting Brands, Stacee Johnson-Williams of Signet Jewelers, and Lisa Sherrod of AT&T shared their stories with an audience of more than 550. Those in attendance included Stephanie and Travis Hollman, Lynn McBee, Elizabeth Ward Creel, and Judge Clay Jenkins, along with next year’s event co-chairs, Lindsay Jacaman and Holly Krug.
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