A sold-out crowd showed up to the Hilton Anatole to listen to former first lady Laura Bush, the guest speaker at the 2014 Junior League of Dallas Milestones Luncheon.
After a warm welcome, co-chairs Kelley Schadt and Amy Hatfield handed over the reins to mistress of ceremonies Shelly Slater, who talked about the history of JLD and all that it does for the community, including contributing more than 130,000 hours of service and $1 million to various programs and agencies.
After a light lunch followed by a few sweet treats, league president Julie Bagley presented the Sustainer of the Year Award to Regen Horchow Fearon. She has served a variety of Dallas organizations — Dallas Foundation, Zero to Five Funders Collaborative and Dallas Museum of Art — and credits JLD for giving her a strong foundation for voluntarism in the community.
Then it was time for Laura Bush to speak, and she offered up a Bush family update, including what was happening with former President George W. Bush, her in-laws, children and grandchildren.
Then Bush was joined by her friend, Jeanne L. Phillips, who served under President George W. Bush as the U.S. permanent representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). During their candid chat, the ladies talked about everything from what living in the White House was really like to how Bush thinks the Junior League has helped to shape her into the leader that she is.
Bush was warm and funny as she shared personal stories about being a new grandmother, life as an SMU student, and her love for Tex-Mex and long walks.
Bush exited the stage to a standing ovation from guests — including Tierney Kaufman, Andrea Cheek, Lynn McBee, Christie Carter, Caren Kline, Sadie Grayson and Brooke Hill — and the co-chairs closed out the luncheon with a raffle drawing and thoughts of gratitude on another successful gathering.
The Junior League of Dallas is the largest chapter in the world, boasting more than 5,000 members. This organization of women is committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.
Amber Zable, Michelle Slaughter, Sarah Morgan, Kyle Huckaby
