Feb. 25 has been set as the deadline to nominate a youth for the 16th annual Colleyville Woman’s Club’s Volunteer Youth Service Awards.

The non-profit organization annually honors young people for their community volunteer efforts. Nominations will be accepted from the community for youth  between the ages of 5 to 19. Nominees must attend a school in or reside  in Bedford, Colleyville, Euless, Grapevine, Haltom City, Hurst, Keller, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, Southlake or Watauga.

Volunteer service is not limited to those locations, and awards recognize voluntary, not paid, service. Fundraising activities and lobbying efforts are excluded from consideration. Awards are judged in four age groups.

In addition to its Youth Volunteer Service Awards program, Colleyville Woman’s Club offers two additional programs for graduating seniors. CWC’s Spirit of Youth Volunteer Grants program offers grants to area seniors based upon on a high school history of volunteer service. In addition, CWC’s Circle of Hope and Dick Dennison Memorial scholarships are need-based scholarships that benefit seniors at five specific high schools. Recipients in all three programs will be honored at the organization’s May awards luncheon.

Information for all three programs, including nomination and application forms, is available on the Colleyville Woman’s Club website at www.c-w-c.org. For information contact Suzanne Harrington, Youth Recognition Chairman, c/o CWC, P.O. Box 181, Colleyville, TX 76034 or call 817.358.1805.

Holiday home decorating will be the highlight of the day when The Colleyville Woman’s Club presents its 26th Annual Holiday Home Tour from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 5.   

The tour will feature five unique Colleyville residences, each decorated for the holidays. Open to the public will be a patio home, a home in a gated community, a residence for the car enthusiast, an English-style house  and an estate featuring hundreds of trees.                                                                        

Raffle tickets will be sold for $5 each or 6 for $20 and will be available at all of the homes. The prizes include a chance to win a $1,000 shopping spree, a $500 gift card  and other items.

 Tickets for the Holiday Home Tour may be purchased in advance for $20 at several convenient locations: Market Street; GRAPEVINE: Cotton Patch and Stacy’s Furniture; HURST: Apple Annie’s; and BEDFORD: That’s Haute. They may also be ordered online until Nov. 27 at c-w-c.org. Tickets are $25 on the day of the tour and will be available at the tour homes.

 A new feature that will benefit the Holiday Home Tour is the Colleyville Woman’s Club Holiday Shopping Bazaar, a CWC partnership with the City of The Holiday Home Tour is presented annually by the Colleyville Woman’s Club, a group of  more than 200 members. The club annually hosts two major fundraisers, the  Holiday Home Tour and its spring fashion benefit. Now in its 32nd year, CWC has surpassed the $2.8 million mark in fundraising for worthy causes in northeast Tarrant County.  

For more information about the club or the Holiday Home Tour, visit the club’s website at  www.c-w-c.org or call the club hotline at 817-358-1805.

The Colleyville Woman’s Club 25th Annual Luncheon and Fashion Show Benefit, this year entitled “Rhythm and Hues,” has been set for March 26 at the Hyatt Regency DFW Hotel.

Saks Fifth Avenue at the Dallas Galleria will once again combine with Jan Strimple Productions for the event featuring emcee Scott Murray. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. for the charitable event’s live, silent and big board auctions.

Tables for 10 with premier runway seating cost $1,500, and platinum tables with premium seating are $1,250. Gold tables are $1000, and individual tickets are also available. For information and to purchase tickets, visit the Web site at www.c-w-c.org, email info@c-w-c.org or phone the CWC hotline at 817-358-1805.

In 2009, Colleyville Woman’s Club donated more than $135,000 to local charities. The mission of the club is to enhance the community through education, volunteer service, charitable fundraising and other member activities.

This Colleyville home will be one of five open Dec. 6 as part of the 25th anniversary home tour.

The Colleyville Woman’s Club will present five Colleyville homes for its 25th Anniversary Holiday Home Tour, to be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 6.

Each home, decorated for the holidays, will showcase unique architectural styles and distinctive interiors, featuring everything from a magnificent mansions to a luxury patio residence.

Homeowners putting their homes on view Debra and Daniel Baum, 2213 Carlisle Ave.;  Kim and Richard DePaolo, 7305 Trianon Ct.; Tiffany and Chris McKinzie, 4801 Stafford Dr.; Kelly and Blake Eckols, 6909 Westmont Dr.; Nancy Stucky and Kent Roberts, 613 Creekview Lane.

Tickets for the home tour may be purchased in advance for $20 at the following locations: Colleyville Area Chamber of Commerce, Market Street, Paige’s, Penny Lane, The Station House, Vineyards Antique Mall, Blessed, Cotton Patch, Apple Annie’s and Robb & Stucky. Additionally, the tickets will be sold online at c-w-c.org. Tickets are $25 on the day of the tour and will be available at the tour homes.

The Holiday Home Tour is presented annually by the Colleyville Woman’s Club, an organization numbering more than 200 members.

For the past 12 years, The Arts League, the fundraising arm of ARTSNET, has honored outstanding women at their annual Shining Stars Luncheon.  These women are chosen by the organizations in which they serve because they truly epitomize what it means to give of oneself without expecting anything in return. 

This year at the 13^th Annual Shining Stars Gala, to be held Oct. 23^rd at the Marriott Las Colinas, joining these remarkable nominees will be an amazing Master of Ceremony…Mr. Bob Schieffer, Moderator of CBS Face the Nation and the CBS Chief Washington Correspondent.  And listen up readers… I have just heard that Mr. Shieffer is donating a most incredible opportunity that will be auctioned off live that day.  The winning bidder of this item and a friend will fly to Washington, D.C. courtesy of American Airlines for a fabulous Capitol City experience. And on a Sunday, the lucky winners will actually sit in on the taping of Face The Nation (as Mr. Shieffer’s guests in the press box, thank you very much).  Plus …if you are extra nice and use your good manners at the taping, I understand that meeting that day’s guest is a very real possibility.  Remember this show only hosts the major political players so this experience is sure to be one of a lifetime!  Oh, and after you have hung out with the power elite, you will then break bread with Mr. Schieffer at lunch in one of his favorite D.C. hotspots!  Accommodations for the weekend are included in this package so bid early and bid often. This auction item is truly a unique and one of a kind experience, so bring your credit card! 

Of course, aside from the wonderful auction items and the fabulous meal, this event is about honoring those who have truly given of themselves to make the lives of the less fortunate a bit better.  So…drum roll please….I am now pleased to announce the 2009 Shining Stars Honorees and the Organizations in which they serve:

CONGRATULATIONS, ladies! We at ESocialWorld offer to you our heartfelt appreciation for all that you do to serve our community.  You are truly an inspiration!

Luncheon emcee Scott Murray

Outstanding service will be recognized and charitable grants will be awarded when Colleyville Woman’s Club (www.c-w-c.org) hosts its 11^th Annual Awards and Grants Luncheon Friday at the Piazza in the Village at Colleyville.

The annual event, known as the Circle of Hope Awards and Grants Luncheon, will present approximately $126,000 to 28 non-profit organizations selected from grant applicants. Outstanding volunteer service and community support also will be honored at the luncheon.

The club’s various fundrasing activities make the grants possible, with the bulk of the profits stemming from its major fundraisers, the annual fashion show and the holiday house tour. The home tour, held each December, offers holiday-decorated homes for public view. The fashion show was staged this year as a dinner event at the Dallas Market Center.

Volunteers, businesses and community partners contribute toward the events’ successes, and Friday’s luncheon also will include tributes to these supporters.  Additionally, scholarships will be given to area youths. 

Emcee for Friday’s special event is Scott Murray, an award-winning TV sportscaster and current CEO of Murray Media.  He is also earned CWC’s Patron Award in 2004.

For more information or tickets for this event, contact Susan Felten at 817-428-8066 or event chairwoman Beth Leaman at 817-788-8048.

The Colleyville Woman’s Club, an organization with more than 200 members from Colleyville and the surrounding communities, has raised more than $1.5 million for charity.   Meetings are held at 9:30 a.m. the second Tuesday from September through May at the Colleyville Center.  Visitors are welcome.

So, there were those who wondered about men attending a fashion show fundraiser.

I say wonder no more, judging by the guys around me at Colleyville Woman’s Club (www.c-w-c.org)event last Saturday night at the Dallas Trade Mart. They liked it. A lot.

Yep, one guy whipped out his cell phone and started snapping photos. Another one growled. And another one couldn’t believe his eyes when the Jan Strimple-orchestrated show featured two fur-clad Tarzan-type guys carrying a shapely fur-clad Jane hanging upside down from a pole.

The theme, you see, was “The Untamed Catwalk,” and the men found out a style show doesn’t have to be all buttoned up. Nope. Saks Fifth Avenue Galleria trotted out short skirts, floaty florals and seriously high footwear. And an African drum line unlike anything the high schools around here have seen the likes of before. Some of the clothes were little, making it a lot that a guy could like.

And for the ladies? Exotic orchid centerpieces, lots of pretty clothes and then hunky guys in swimwear. The ladies at the end of the runway liked it enough that their napkins were twirling way over their heads.

Before all that, though, wine passed butler-style welcomed party-goers to the silent auction. Taking note of the African-theme of the party, lots of the ladies carefully selected animal print attire. Among those taking in the evening were Susan Williams, Kathy Spicer, Dr. Larry Darlage, Cecilia and Gene Monacelli, Brenda Whitley, Roxann Taylor, Linda Eilenfeldt and Ginny and Joe Tigue.

The venue was a nice departure from the normal hotel ballroom. Why hasn’t someone around here done this before? It was great, and the food delish–a spinach salad with kalamata olives, red flame grapes, feta cheese and pine nuts; a chicken breast encrusted with pumpkin seeds; grilled asparagus and portabella mushrooms; cinnamon whipped sweet potatoes; and a mango mousse.

Now my partner in crime, I mean business partner, Larre Green co-chaired this event along with Lisa Tapper. It was a great evening, but before anyone accuses moi of sucking up to Lar, leopard tie and all, and the ladies of the club, I will tell you the auction became a little l-o-n-g. Rick Stacy did a fabu job as auctioneer, and Kristine Kahanek from Channel 11 was a very glam emcee, but wow. After we observed which brave hubbies were springing for their wives to get the “Mommy Makeover,” (didn’t get her name but evidently she was happy. I’d slap my poor husband into yesterday, but I digress) we were losing people during the auction. The horse? No one even bid on it…Whoa.

But I had a lovely evening. As did a lot of the men. From what I saw, it won’t be difficult to sell them on coming around for another fashion extravaganza. Just bring out the big drums and the girl in the fur bikini hanging from poles.

Show producer Jan Strimple

Time to channel your inner leopard

The Colleyville Woman’s Club is planning its annual fashion show, and the members are calling this one “The Untamed Catwalk.” And not a group to pussyfoot around, this year they’ve made some big changes.

Grab the king of your jungle, because this one is for more than just the ladies. This night-time event, set for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 28, will be held at the Dallas Trade Mart, a new site for the annual fashionable fundraiser.

Fashion maven Jan Strimple, known for her dazzling productions, again will overee the show. Saks Fifh Avenue, Galleria, will provide the spring styles seen on the catwalk, while Kristin Kahanek, Channel 11 TV personality, will emcee the event.

Part of the fun will be the live auction, which this year will include a trip to the Emmy Awards, box seats for a Britney Spears and a “mommy” makeover that includes plastic surgery not discussed in polite conversation.  Big board items range from spa indulgences to a cruise vacation to interior design services.

Dinner, wine and after-dinner music by the jazz band Faces are included in the $150 ticket price. Premier tables for 10 with runway seating cost $2,500, with platinum tables going for $2,000.

Contact Sue Howery at 817-421-0035 or check www.c-w-c.org for more information.

So the holidays are over, and I’m feeling the wheels starting in motion again.

Take last Thursday night…the Colleyville Woman’s Club threw a little get-together at the home of Maggie Zakhary. Mob scene really…wall-to-wall sponsors and patrons in a warm-up act for February’s fashion show. Sponsors were invited, such as Malcolm Gage from Park Place Motorcars in Bedford who brought a big ole fat check for the club. Others brought items for the fashion show’s silent auction, which is being chaired by Maggie and Jean Leitenberger.

In case you haven’t heard, the fashion show this year is an evening affair. And the club is purring with excitement over this one–”The Untamed Catwalk.” It’s dinner and a fashion show for hubbies, too, at the Dallas Market Center. Meow, right?

Info’s on the Web site–www.c-w-c.org. I happen to know the chair pretty well. Larre Green. Heard of him?

Date: 2009-02-28

Location: Dallas Trade Mart

Start Time: 6:30 pm
URL: Click here
Description: Colleyville Woman\’s Club presents an evening fashion show and dinner benefit. $150 per person.