Former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell speaks at PARTNERS Spring Luncheon 2018
WHAT: The PARTNERS Spring Luncheon held their annual luncheon at the River Oaks Country Club on Thursday, April 5, 2018.
WHERE: 2017-2018 PARTNERS Chair Trish Greaser and Co-Chairs Charis Cox, Stacie Fernandez, and Judy Jackson welcomed over 300 PARTNERS members and guests to the River Oaks Country Club to raise more than $180,000 for Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth student scholarships and faculty endowments.
“Our primary goal is to support Cizik School of Nursing and their efforts in educating tomorrow’s nurses,” said Trish Greaser, PARTNERS chair. “Thanks to the amazing work that our members have done, this year’s luncheon raised an incredible amount of money in support of student scholarships, faculty research grants, and endowments for the school.”
PARTNERS was organized in 1994 to support and encourage the students and faculty of Cizik School of Nursing. PARTNERS raises funds through the Circle of Support, the Spring Luncheon, and other special events to provide nursing scholarships and faculty research grants. The organization supports students from enrollment to graduation. The PARTNERS Scholarship Endowment has grown to more than $2 million in value and has provided over 100 full-tuition nursing scholarships, more than 45 faculty research grants, and four PARTNERS endowed professorships.
WHO: This year’s honoree and long-time Cizik School of Nursing supporter was the John S. Dunn Foundation. The foundation was formed in 1977 by John S. Dunn, a successful Houston business leader who felt it was his duty to give back to the community that helped him become successful. The foundation supports medical education and has donated more than $14 million to UTHealth and over $3 million to the School of Nursing.
Luncheon guests were inspired by the stories of heroism and survival from keynote speaker, retired Navy SEAL and New York Times bestselling author of Lone Survivor, Marcus Luttrell. Luttrell shared the harrowing story of four Navy SEALs who journeyed into the mountainous border of Afghanistan and Pakistan on Operation Redwing. The book is a moving tribute to his friends and teammates who did not make it off the mountain.
NOTABLES IN ATTENDANCE:
UTHealth School of Nursing Dean Lorraine Frazier; UTHealth Development Board Chair Phil Ferguson; John S. Dunn Foundation President Charles M. Lusk III; PARTNERS Chair Trish Greaser; Spring Luncheon Co-Chairs Charis Cox, Stacie Fernandez and Judy Jackson; Jane and Paula Cizik; retired Navy SEAL and New York Times bestselling author of Lone Survivor Marcus Luttrell; Ernie Manouse; Margaret Ann Barnett; Dionne Breen; Jason Fertitta; Nanette Finger; Judith Fred; Clare Attwell Glassell; Susan Hansen; Judy Margolis; Adrian Melissinos; Dorothy T. Nicholson; Maria Pappas; Diane Riley; Ann Gordon Trammell; and Jeanette Woods.
CUISINE: Guests lunched on delicious heart of Romaine Caesar salad, herb-crusted filet of beef tenderloin, tarragon-butter fingerling potatoes, roasted asparagus spears, baby carrots, vin merchant sauce, and, for dessert, a chocolate turtle mousse layered with chocolate cake with caramel, toasted pecans, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings.
DÉCOR: H-E-B Grocery Stores generously donated white orchids set in a patriotic vase, which served as the event centerpieces.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Provided by Priscilla Dickson Photography.
About Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing:
Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing, part of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), is empowering the next generation of nurses for a changing health care world. Within the unique interdisciplinary environment of the world-famous Texas Medical Center, the school is educating professional nurses as clinicians and scientists; discovering and translating advances in the biomedical and social sciences; and modeling best practices and innovation in clinical care. According to the 2019 Best Graduate Schools guide by US News & World Report, Cizik School of Nursing is the highest-ranked master’s nursing program in the Gulf Coast Region of Texas. The school graduates an average of 395 nurses with undergraduate degrees and 160 nurses with graduate degrees each year. Since 1972, the school has awarded 11,279 nursing degrees.