Houston Area Businesses Underwrite November TIRR Gala

Two lead sponsors have been named for the Nov. 7 gala benefiting The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research. Mr. and Mrs. I. W. Marks, generous supporters of TIRR over the years, and the Houston Area Volvo Dealers, will sponsor the affair which has the theme “Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez (Let the Good Times Roll).”

The Volvo dealers have donated a sport utility vehicle – a 2003 Volvo XC90, and one of Houston’s first – to be raffled as the grand prize and awarded to a lucky gala attendee.

I.W. Marks, a former TIRR patient, received therapy at the hospital following back surgery. This is the second gala event for which the Marks’ have been lead underwriters for the TIRR Foundation.

“Volvo and TIRR make natural partners because of the medical rehabilitation work TIRR does for individuals injured in automobile accidents,” said Bill Robins, general manager of Momentum Volvo.

Net proceeds from this year’s gala will benefit Mission Connect, TIRR’s collaborative basic and clinical research project to reverse the effects of central nervous system damage. Guy L. Clifton, M.D., a neurosurgeon and clinical investigator who is the Runnells Distinguished Chair and professor in the department of neurosurgery at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, is the Mission Connect director. Led by TIRR, the Mission Connect partnership includes Baylor College of Medicine, The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

Raffle chairs Katherine Craig, Kathryn McCarter and Scott McCarter are organizing ticket sales for the Volvo SUV and other prizes.

The gala is expected to be a sellout under the chairmanship of Ginni and Richard Mithoff, who are leading a substantial honorary and working committee. Included is a “junior committee” of TIRR family members under the age of 35. Janet and Louis McCarter, whose son Scott was a patient at TIRR following a spinal cord injury, are honorary chairmen. Kay and Knox Nunnally, underwriting chairmen, announced that by June, more than $400,000 had been raised. It is anticipated the event will net $500,000.

“TIRR is fortunate to have so many hardworking volunteers and generous supporters who believe in the work of Mission Connect,” said E. Ashley Smith, TIRR Systems president and CEO.

The Corinthian at 201 Main St. in historic downtown Houston, is the setting for this year’s gala. The former lobby of the First National Bank building, constructed in the early 1900s, is the party’s backdrop, and the evening includes a seated dinner by Jackson & Company, entertainment by Yvonne Washington, and both live and silent auctions.

Auction co-chairs Diane Gendel and Nicole Perdue have secured many one-of-a-kind items, including a trip to the Cibolo Creek Ranch and a Cartier diamond tennis bracelet. A 12-piece needlepoint créche stitched by 24 friends of the McCarter family and TIRR, will be a highlight of the live auction.

For more information, contact TIRR Foundation Special Event Coordinator Emily Wilde at (713) 528-0123.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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