Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman escort a young model at the 2009 Beyond the Rainbow Luncheon. The pair of quarterbacks will return for the 2010 fundraiser.

Honorary co-chairs Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach are huddled up for The 22^ndAnnual Beyond the Rainbow Luncheon and Fashion Show, a fundraiser for Children’s Cancer Fund. The event is set for 11:30 a.m. April 23 in the Chantilly Ballroom of the Hilton Anatole Hotel, Dallas.

With the theme “Bright Stars. Bright Hope,” the luncheon will be preceded by a champagne reception and silent auction at 10 a.m.  Then luncheon co-chairwomen Marisa Huckin and Adelina Kainer will present celebrities teamed with 43 young cancer patients and numerous pediatric cancer survivors in a special runway show, sponsored by Dillard’s.  KDFW FOX 4 Anchors Steve Eagar and Clarice Tinsley will serve as masters of ceremonies at the event. 

Among those serving as runway escorts for the Children’s Medical Center patients modeling in this year’s fashion show will be Daryl and Diane Johnston, Drew Pearson, Scott Murray, Jocelyn White and current members of the Dallas Cowboys.

Tickets for the Beyond the Rainbow Luncheon and Fashion Show are $150 each, and tables of 10 are available for $1,250.  For reservations and more information, please contact Children’s Cancer Fund at 972-664-1450 or visit the Web site at www.childrenscancerfund.net.  Proceeds from the event will help advance pediatric cancer research and treatment programs at Children’s Medical Center and UT Southwestern Medical Center. Since its inception in 1982, Children’s Cancer Fund has donated more than $7 million to help find a cure for childhood cancer.

Among the programs supported by Children’s Cancer Fund are the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program at Children’s Medical Center and the Children’s Cancer Fund Comprehensive Center for Research in Pediatric Oncology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. 

Children’s Cancer Fund has created a special calendar book for this year’s luncheon that may be purchased during and after the event in support of pediatric cancer research.  Provided by the T.C. Lupton, Jr. Family Foundation, the calendar will include original artwork by young cancer patients.  Calendars are $25 each, with proceeds going to Children’s Cancer Fund.  To purchase copies in advance or after the luncheon, please call Children’s Cancer Fund at 972-664-1450 or visit www.childrenscancerfund.net.

Roger Staubach, left, and Troy Aikman, right, escort a young patient down the runway at the 2009 event. The two former Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks will huddle up again for the 2010 fundraiser.

The 22nd Annual Beyond the Rainbow Luncheon and Fashion Show, with honorary co-chairs Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, will be held April 23 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas.

The fundraiser benefiting Children’s Cancer Fund will feature a fashion show, produced by Rhonda Sargent Chambers/RSC Show Productions. Fashion presenter will be Dillard’s, and children undergoing treatment for cancer at Children’s Medical Center will be escorted down the runway by corporate sponsors and celebrity guests including Staubach and Aikman.

The event also will include both live and silent auctions.  Celebrity escorts for the children will include Dallas Cowboys football players, radio personality Kellie Rasberry, dinosaur ”Barney” and  others. Proceeds from the luncheon will go to Children’s Cancer Fund to help advance research and treatment programs in pediatric oncology at Children’s Medical Center and UT Southwestern Medical Center.  

With the theme “Bright Stars, Bright Hope,” the fundraiser will begin with a 10:30 a.m. champagne reception. Event co-chairs Marisa Huckin and Adelina Kainer have arranged for Clarice Tinsley and Steve Eagar of FOX 4 News to serve as emcees. 

Tickets are $150 each or $1,250 per table of ten. To purchase tickets, contact Camille Mauritzen at Children’s Cancer Fund at 972-664-1450 or visit the Web site at www.childrenscancerfund.net.

Former First Lady Laura Bush

I had lunch the other day with someone you might remember…her name is Laura Bush, and she used to be First Lady of the United States.

Yes, I along with about 1,000 other people met Laura–I think she’d let me call her that–for lunch at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. She was the featured speaker for the 20th anniversary of “A Conversation With a Living Legend,” the annual fundraiser for The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (www.mdanderson.org) .  It was a pretty big deal.

In fact, it’s a big enough deal that she brought along someone else you might have heard of: her husband, former President George W. Bush. In fact, he introduced her as the “living legend.” You go, girl. It was her turn to be the one in the spotlight, don’t you think?

It was a very swanky lunch, as one might expect for a first lady (not to mention the $300 per person price tag). We entered the ballroom with a fabulous string orchestra playing the most lovely music, and the tables set with massive yellow rose centerpieces interwoven with flag-like ribbon. Event chairwoman Allie Beth Allman had arranged for 76 flags, all from the 76 countries the former First Lady visited during her husband’s eight years in office, to be displayed around the ballroom.

Lunch began with a very patriotic red, white and blue salad of blueberries, baby tomatoes and bleu cheese over greens. Then we were served marinated shrimp and beef skewers, spicy cheese grits. For dessert? The menu said it was “President’s Homemade Pecan Pie.” It was delicious, but I wonder if we might should have had ice cream in honor of Dolly Madison, a first lady known for that dessert.

Anyway, exciting for me, the journalist, was the appearance of Cokie Roberts, TV commentator, journalist and author. She interviewed Mrs. Bush on a set that resembled the White House’s Green Room, one of the parlors on the White House’s first floor and one Mrs. Bush redecorated during her stay there.

Smart and articulate, Mrs. Bush and Roberts chatted for longer than the schedule had allowed, but no one seemed to mind. She had a lot to say about the plight of women around the world, literacy and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Among the party favors were recipe cards for the meat marinade and the pecan pie. I did love the pie, so I’m including the recipe. Make it, invite me over and I’ll bring the ice cream.

President’s Pecan Pie

1 C. sugar

1/2 stick of butter (unsalted and melted)

1 t. salt

1 t. real vanilla extract

1 C. plus 3 T. dark corn syrup

4 large eggs, beaten

1-2 C. pecan halves

10-inch piecrust

Combine sugar, butter, salt and vanilla and mix together. Add corn syrup and blend until just combined. Add eggs and blend till mixture is smooth. Place pecan halves on the bottom of the piecrust. Pour filling over the pecans. (Pecans will float to the top.) Bake at 325 degrees until filling is set, about 55 to 75 minutes. Let cool. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Makes one pie.

Co-chairs Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach stand with fundraiser recipients.

Dallas Cowboy legends Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman will serve as honorary co-chairs of the 21st Annual Beyond the Rainbow Luncheon and Fashion Show April 24 at the Hilton Anatole, Dallas.

The former football standouts and chairwoman Linda Berkley will oversee this fundraiser which features young cancer patients and survivors in a special runway show produced by Rhonda Sargent Chambers of RSC Show Productions and presented by Dillard’s.
The children will be escorted down the catwalk by corporate sponsors and celebrity guests, including: Daryl and Diane Johnston, Drew Pearson, Rudy Gatlin, Scott Murray, members of the Dallas Cowboys and local TV personalities. Steve Eagar and Clarice Tinsley of FOX 4 News will serve as the event’s emcees.

Proceeds from the luncheon go to Children’s Cancer Fund to help advance research and treatment programs in pediatric oncology at Children’s Medical Center and UT Southwestern Medical Center, benefiting children worldwide.

Tickets for the event are $150 each or $1,250 per table. To purchase tickets, call the Children’s Cancer Fund at 972-664-1450 or check the Web site at www.childrenscancerfund.net.

Since its inception in 1982, the Children’s Cancer Fund has donated more than $7 million to the fight against childhood cancers.