GIVING A DAMN

HEIDI DILLON DOES CHARITY HER OWN WAY, AND SHE GETS IT DONE

By ELISSA CHUDWIN / Photo by DANNY FULGENCIO

REIGNING CHARITY QUEEN Heidi Dillon is ready to retire, and she’ll pass her crown to anyone who wants it.

So far, there haven’t been any takers.

“I swore on a stack of Bibles I’d never chair anything again,” she says.

A replacement as philanthropic — and unrelenting — as Dillon is unlikely. She doesn’t mince words and her ability to be authentically herself is what has made her such a force on the party circuit.

“I’m not a shrinking violet. I’m not a wallflower,” she says.

She often goes by HFD online, which stands for Heidi Fucking Dillon. Her endless personality got her cast on reality shows like “Big Rich Texas,” but she also produced her own through Morning Dew Pictures.

She’s known for dropping lines on “The Real Housewives of Dallas” like, “Most of the women in Dallas got their rich husbands because at one point they were on their knees under his desk.”

Dillon, though, vows her reality TV days are done.

“There’s no mercy. They’re free to put words in your mouth.”

Dillon swiftly climbed Dallas’ social ladder in the mid1990s, after first volunteering for the Dallas Museum of Art, one of the epicenters of the Preston Hollow social scene. She’s chaired countless fundraising events, served on boards and founded The Fashionistas, for which she once threw a Chanel runway show in her living room.

“This is what there is to do in Dallas,” she says. “Charity is a big industry.”

Dillon may be a Turtle Creek resident, but Preston Hollow is the core of Dallas’ charity circuit. Neighbors here are most likely to host an event at their homes, volunteer for committees and donate time and money.

Preston Hollow still is home to events like the quirky No Tie Dinner and Dessert. But Dillon’s favorites, such as Fashion Night Out, have disappeared.

“Before we were stuck in our own area — Preston Hollow [proper], Turtle Creek and the Park Cities,” she says, adding that anything up north was no-man’s land. “We thought life up there was completely uncivilized.”

It’s more cohesive now, she says, which benefits newcomers. For those who are aspiring philanthropists, Dillon says to watch out for scammers, who bid on auction items they can’t afford or otherwise lie about who they are.

“I swear to you, every year, some con artist comes to town

I’ve had it with con jobs. They prey on our desire to raise money.”

Knowing when to say no is crucial, too, because chairing events “isn’t fun.”

“We really go over the top for events. We give so much thought to napkins and the cloths and the chairs. We pay unbelievable attention to the details.”

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Michael Nesmith

What He’s Up to Now:

Michael Nesmith returns to the stage this month with two concerts in California, where he’ll perform the First National Band tunes that made him one of country-rock’s founding fathers. Nesmith also co-founded Videoranch, a virtual website that features films and live music videos.

Three things to know 1

He has a longstanding bromance with Jack Nicholson

Nesmith met the then-aspiring actor through a mutual friend, and the two instantly bonded. “I thought he was the coolest guy, and since this was long before the term bromance entered the U.S. lexicon, some people in my crowd of friends thought my fascination with him was beyond the pale,” Nesmith wrote in his autobiography “Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff.” Nicholson often visited the Monkees on set and even co-wrote the band’s controversial 1968 film “Head.” Nesmith was pals with John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Cash, too. 2

His mother invented Liquid Paper

Bette Nesmith Graham was an executive secretary for Texas Bank and Trust’s board chairman W.W. Overton when she concocted Liquid Paper using water-based paint in a kitchen blender. General Electric was her first corporate customer in 1958. The company grew rapidly under her direction until 1979, when she sold Liquid Paper to the Gillette Company for $47.5 million. 3

Nesmith is, in part, the reason MTV exists Nesmith pitched the TV show “Pop Clips” to Warner Bros. in the late 1970s. The program, considered the precursor to MTV, highlighted music videos created for pop songs.

Aviation breakfast

The North Dallas Chamber of Commerce celebrates Love Field’s centennial anniversary at this annual event, which features Scott McCartney of The Wall Street Journal and Jim Coon of Aircraft Owner and Pilots Association.

When: Jan. 18

Where: Frontiers of Flight Museum

More info: ndcc.org

ArtRocks

This program exposes children to influential artists with hands-on crafts and activities. This month’s featured artists are sculptors Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.

When: Jan. 13

Where: NorthPark Center

More info: northparkcenter.com

Painting and wine workshop

Recreate one of Monet’s best snowscapes, “The Magpie.” Plenty of wine and other refreshments are part of the class, led by artist Melanie M. Brannan.

When: Jan. 21

Where: North Haven Gardens

More info: nhg.com