Saw septoct 2015 issuu

We Are What We Eat

Rethinking SA’s Food Culture

Fall Style with Flare

Coastal City

ESCAPES

Financing for Life’s Stages NEWBORN HEALTH:

March of Dimes SAWOMAN.COM

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Kimberly C. Ford Striking a Balance in Business and Community

San Antonio WOMAN

SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2015

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Contributors

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What’s New

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At Home

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Style

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Fashion Calendar

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Health Matters

58

Business Woman Spotlight

60

According to Linda

70

Role Model

73

Mommy Matters

82

Hill Country Guide

86

Travel

90

Society

93

Senior Care-Giving

98

Sustainable Gardening

101

CityScene

102

Artbeat

104

Guys to Know

132

Calendar

137

Dream Home Guide

143

Weddings

145

Women on the Move

SPECIAL SECTIONS

16 UP FRONT

The paradigm is shifting in San Antonio’s food culture.

Three women uproot

established thinking to offer new strategies about how we learn and talk about food with kids, young mothers and the rest of the Alamo City.

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24 PROFILE

Her love of math as a teen led Kimberly C. Ford to a successful career in accounting and now managing partner of Hill & Ford P.C. We learn about her unique journey, her leadership in forensic accounting and her big heart for giving back to the community.

IN 63 WOMEN BUSINESS Four executives in financial and estate planning share views about women and their money and how they’ve learned being a woman lends naturally to serving their clients’ needs well.

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Higher Education

115

March of Dimes

106 DINING

The devil is in the details at Smoke, new savory entree to the Barbecue landscape.

We take a peek at chef Brian West’s spicy spin on Texas’ primary claim to fame and a feast for the senses.

Photgraphy by Marie Langmore

San Antonio WOMAN FROM THE EDITOR

PUBLISHER J. Michael Gaffney

Nicole Greenberg, Editor San Antonio Woman

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jasmina Wellinghoff

Just in time for fall, we bring you yet another colorful and informative installment of SAN ANTONIO WOMAN. We took stock of our goals we had set at the turn of the year — to become healthier, save more and make more time for family and friends. Our stories spotlight health from food and financial perspectives along with other stories from imaginative women that round out our fall-timed issue.

Our Profile, Kimberly C. Ford, is managing partner of Hill & Ford, P.C. Her competitive spirit as a young championship barrel rider followed by her enthusiasm for math as a teen led her on a focused professional path in accounting. Ford leads a company recently lauded as one of the best places to work. And under her leadership, the company also graciously gives back to the community in so many ways.

With our focus on the bounty of the season, we put a spotlight on the food culture emerging in San Antonio. Our Upfront story, We Are What We Eat, features Dr. Julie LaBarba, Jan Tilley and Sally Cody, three special San Antonio women who are helping young mothers, kids, and others rethink their approach to nutrition. Our Entertaining story features local Lauren Browning and her take on a girls' getaway. She gives us tips and recipes that make the gathering delicious and joyful. In our Sustainable Gardening story, writer Josie Seeligson shows us the rewards of community gardening. We also take a bite out of Smoke, chef Brian West’s new spin on barbecue in our Dining column. We come away with an elevated palate for spice and ingredients not often combined in BBQ land.

As we embark on fall, we observe transformations that reflect the season and cycle of life. We begin by spotlighting newborns’ health in our special section for March of Dimes. Then, we delve into the subject of parenting your child through puberty in Mommy Matters. And for those anticipating their first steps beyond high school, we answer many of your questions about where to begin your teen’s college search in our higher education story, Three Secrets to Unlock the Kingdom of College Acceptance.

October is breast cancer awareness month and our Health Matters features two leading physicians, UTSA’s Dr. Virginia Kaklamani and Dr. Amita Patnaik of START Center, who tell us about advances in breast cancer drug therapies and the hope they inspire in many.

We also spend time exploring women and their financial health in our Women in Business story, Financial Planning for Life’s Stages. We learn from the best in the areas of financial and estate planning anecdotes for helping people, especially women, understand and manage their money and their financial life goals. Our Senior Caregiving story, Financial Planning for Seniors, also offers a helpful guide for making good financial decisions to help ease transition into retirement.

And, on behalf of women who desire the scoop on fashion trends for the closet and home, I am excited to announce the launch of our new Style column with style editor Camilla Basse. She will share her perspectives on the looks and finds that will help you define your personal style.

Finally, our magazine is honored to celebrate Julian Gold’s 70th anniversary as one of San Antonio’s most prestigious specialty stores. I sat down with co-owner and president, Bob Gurwitz and COO/partner James Glover to talk about the store's early years and its reputation for offering extraordinary style and personal service to San Antonio women, those throughout Texas and beyond.

Enjoy,

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SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2015

EDITOR Nicole Greenberg

COPY EDITOR Kathryn Cocke STYLE EDITOR Camilla Basse CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Wendy Atwell, Robyn Barnes, Ron Bechtol, Nicole Crawford, Linda Elliott, Pamela Lutrell, Kristin Mears, Pamela Mooman, Josie Seeligson, Janis Turk PHOTOGRAPHY Jessica Giesey, Marie Langmore, Al Rendon, Janet Rogers, Elizabeth Warburton GRAPHIC DESIGN Tamara Hooks, Maria Jenicek BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING Steven Cox, Cindy Jennings, Madeleine Justice ADMINISTRATION & CUSTOMER SERVICE Nancy A. Gaffney INTERN Annabelle Spezia-Lindner PRINTING Shweiki Media, San Antonio, Texas EDITOR EMERITUS Beverly Purcell-Guerra FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION call (210) 826-5375 email: info@sawoman.com PUBLISHED BY

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San Antonio Woman reserves the right to edit all materials for clarity and space and assumes no responsibility for accuracy, errors or omissions. San Antonio Woman does not knowingly accept false or misleading advertisements or editorial, nor does the Publisher assume responsibility should such advertising or editorial appear. Articles and photographs are welcome and may be submitted to our offices to be used subject to the discretion and review of the Publisher. All real estate advertising is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention to make such preference, limitation or discrimination.”

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CONTRIBUTORS

CAMILLA BASSE

Style editor Camilla Basse discovered her love of fashion while working for 15 years in the commercial real estate and marketing business for luxury shopping centers.

Inspired by all the locally owned specialty businesses, she decided to open her own bricks and mortar contemporary women’s clothing boutique. Her experience in the professional workplace combined with these more recent years of buying, styling photo shoots, and merchandising taught Camilla how to maintain personal style and embrace fashion-forward trends while still dressing for the occasion—be it work, keeping up with her 13-year-old, traveling, or going out for dinner with friends. “For us girls, the amount of outfitting options out there are as diverse as the places life takes us—and each woman is different,” says Camilla.

ELIZABETH WARBURTON

Women in Business photographer, Elizabeth Warburton was born and raised in the Washington, D.C., area, and relocated to San Antonio in 2013 after graduating from The Art Institute of Colorado in Denver. “Photography is my biggest passion, and San Antonio has provided me with many wonderful opportunities. The photographers here are very welcoming and supportive of one another, and because of them my experience has been very positive. I enjoy shooting events, corporate headshots, family portraits, food, products, and keep myself busy with weddings.

Being a newlywed myself, I enjoy spending time with my husband and our dog, Blue, when I’m not shooting. I love vegetarian food, sci-fi novels, caring for my pet turtle, playing video games, and staying active. I look forward to enjoying the rest of my time here in San Antonio and seeing what else it has to offer.”

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W WHATS NEW Saint Mary’s Hall a National Speech School of Excellence

Saint Mary’s Hall was recently named a National Speech School of Excellence. Both the upper and middle schools earned this prestigious distinction at the National Speech & Debate Tournament held in June in Dallas.

This is the first time both divisions have earned the award simultaneously. The National Speech School of Excellence title is awarded to the top 20 schools competing in speech categories that do not achieve a School of Outstanding Distinction award (top 10 overall) by the National Speech & Debate Association. Each year, more than 150,000 students from more than 3,000 schools participate in smaller district competitions across the country, and only 4,000 students qualify for the National Speech & Debate Tournament.

Air2 recovery Opens in Stone Oak

Air2 recovery, Embark, LLC has just opened at 18838 Stone Oak Parkway, Suite 106. It offers PAN (psycotropic analgesic nitrous oxide) Therapy, which is a new-to-America concept in treating alcohol withdrawal/overuse syndrome. This outpatient therapy has been available since 1987 in Europe and South Africa. With a 96-percent success rate, this proven breathing treatment is a natural and pleasurable way to change one’s behavior.

Consisting of three consecutive one-hour sessions using oxygen and nitrous oxide, this treatment markedly diminishes side effects of withdrawal. The cravings for alcohol diminish with each session, and patients are able to effortlessly experience the pleasures of sobriety while continuing their business and personal lifestyles. For more information, go to air2recovery.com or call 210-462-1618.

Oxbow Advisors Named to the Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisers

Oxbow Advisors is pleased to announce that it has been named to the Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisers as of June 18. The list recognizes top independent RIA firms from across the United States.

This is the second annual Financial Times 300 list, produced independently by the Times in collaboration with Ignites Research, a subsidiary of the Times that provides business intelligence on the investment management industry. More than 2,000 elite RIA firms were invited to apply for consideration, based on their assets under management (AUM). The 630 RIA firms that applied were then graded on six criteria: AUM; AUM growth rate; years in existence; advanced industry credentials; online accessibility; and compliance records.

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By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF

W UP FRONT

WE ARE EAT

Efforts to Change the Food Culture in San Antonio For decades, health experts have been encouraging Americans to consume fewer calories, eat less fat

and sugar, buy fewer processed foods and, generally, pay more attention to their diet and health. Yet obe-

sity rates kept going up and with them the incidence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory prob-

lems and some types of cancer. But there are signs of positive change. A recent New York Times report

noted that the message is being increasingly heard by families, institutions and governmental entities,

all of which have finally started taking measures that promote a healthier lifestyle. For the first time in

four decades the average daily calorie intake of adults and children has actually started to decline.

Here in San Antonio, a number of initiatives have helped people to make better food and physical ac-

tivity choices (See sidebar). “We have made incredible progress in the past 10 years,” says Jennifer Herriott, assistant director of community health at the Metro Health District. One of the statistics reported

by SA2020, for instance, indicates that the obesity rate has significantly gone down, from 35 percent in

2010 to 28 percent in 2012, and new data for the subsequent two-year period are expected to show sustained progress. But there’s a lot more to be done. The three stories below reflect the growing efforts to

turn around the unhealthy trend of the recent past by embracing a more salutary course.

Guiding Young Mothers

On a sunny July morning, I join a small group of people at the Southside H-E-B for a cooking and gro-

cery shopping lesson. A registered dietitian assembles everyone in an upstairs room, where she proceeds to make several dishes from scratch, explaining along the way which ingredients and products she is using

and why she chose them. In a low-key way, she talks about eating more fish, using less salt and incorpo-

rating more veggies. On the side of her work table hangs a demonstration plate that shows the portion sizes of protein, vegetables and grains you should aim to consume in a meal.

The lesson and tour that follows are part of the innovative hands-on program named CHEF, for Culi-

nary Health Education for Families, launched by the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio in partnership Opposite: Dr. Julie LaBarba is directing a pilot study for Culinary Health Education for Families (CHEF), a program aimed at improving health and nutrition in San Antonio.

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with H-E-B, the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and the Goldsbury Foundation, which came up with

the basic concept and provided the funds. It’s a pilot study directed by pediatrician and child-health ad-

vocate Dr. Julie LaBarba, who, with the help of an expert panel, keeps an eye on everything to make sure

the program is scientifically sound. Included in the panel are several physicians as well as Ph.D.-level di-

etitians from the Baylor College of Medicine’s Children’s Nutrition Research Center in Houston.

Photo by JESSICA GIESEY

If you could suggest only one nutritional change that would pay off big, what would that be?

“Drink more water and fewer sugar-sweetened beverages, and that includes (sugary) tea and coffee,” says Dr. LaBarba.

september/october 2015 | 17

Photo by JESSICA GIESEY

W UP FRONT The idea behind the demonstration is to teach pregnant women

and new mothers the basics of healthy nutrition for themselves and

their families. The dietitian starts with a seafood dish prepared with

rice, red quinoa, onions and jalapeño peppers, but while that’s cooking, she whips up a tasty kale-based salad and a nontraditional pico

de gallo with fruit. To assuage thirst, she has prepared a blueberry and

mango-infused water. The drink is pleasantly refreshing, and the

foods we get to sample are all tasty. There are a few questions from

the participants as well as from us, the few observers. Then we all troop downstairs for a tour of the store.

In the dairy section, we look at a variety of yogurts. You can buy a

plain yogurt that’s good for you or one laden with fruit and sugar that’s

not so good. Grabbing containers of both, the dietitian points out the

nutrition information on each, explaining what to look for. At the frozen vegetable case, a discussion about added sauces develops as well as com-

parisons of fresh versus frozen. Frozen is fine and can even be better if

the veggies were frozen soon after being picked. As the tour proceeds,

there’s more to be learned about meats, breads and canned goods.

“We start with food that people are familiar with and show them

how to make it better,” says Dr. LaBarba, after the tour. “Everything

has to be practical, accessible and affordable. And it has to taste good

and fill you up. I want these women to feel ‘I can actually do this!’

so they would continue to shop and cook this way after the program

is over.”

Called Prescriptions for Produce, the pilot initiative started with 60

women recruited by their doctors at the CentroMed South Park Med-

ical Clinic. Each received $40 a month for up to 11 months to spend

on fruits and vegetables at H-E-B, and each had to participate in a class like the one described above. In addition, they had to show up once a

month for their clinic appointments, have a nutritional consultation

and participate in surveys that help researchers assess the success of

the initiative. As an assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor, Dr. LaBarba is also the principal investigator of the study. (A new USDA-

financed study involving 200 women will follow the pilot project.)

“The demonstrations are very important, showing people how to

prepare food, like sautéing and peeling, and other cooking skills,” says

the doctor. “It’s no use telling them about healthy foods if they don’t

know how to make the dishes. Also, we teach them how to combine

certain foods for a bigger nutritional impact, such as beans and limes

and avocados and tomatoes, for instance. I would like to do more of

it. The women are often surprised by how much they learn here.”

Fortunately, CHEF will soon have its own CIA-designed Teaching

Kitchen inside the Children’s Hospital as well as a Healing Garden, a

2.4-acre green space where fruits and veggies will be grown and prayer

and meditation will find a welcoming environment.

The new kitchen will teach patients with specific conditions such

as diabetes or epilepsy how to improve their health through “culinary

medicine,” as well as educate medical residents so that they can talk

to patients about nutrition in the language that the latter understand.

18 | sawoman.com

It is also hoped that other community organizations could use the fa-

cility for their own programs. At the same time, the hospital is working

with its food service partner, Aramark, “to walk the talk” and intro-

duce healthier options for all patients and staff. “We are changing the

food culture in the hospital,” notes the doctor. “Food and health are

linked. We really are what we eat… My family was in the produce busi-

ness, so this is in my blood,” she adds. “I want to make real food avail-

able to everyone, food that grows from the ground and on trees. I get

quite emotional about it.”

Photo courtesy SAISD

“Students are used to diets without all these restritions, but in school we must follow the regulations. The challenge is to make the food taste good,” says Sally Cody.

School Meals Keep Getting Healthier

“Students are used to diets without all these restrictions, but in

French fries and cupcakes are no longer available in school cafe-

school we must follow the regulations. The challenge is to make the

are baked, explains Sally Cody, a registered dietitian (RD) and senior

for 32 years. “The rules now prescribe how many times a week we

terias. Or if “fries” are offered, they are no longer actually fried, they

food taste good,” says Cody, who has been in the child nutrition field

executive director of Child Nutrition Services for the San Antonio

must serve green leafy vegetables or orange-colored ones. The

flour. Every meal must have a serving of fruit or vegetables, and salt

become very strict. Not much flexibility there. One dietitian on my

ISD. Sugary Jell-O is gone, too, and whole grain has replaced white and fat are substantially restricted.

Improving the nutritional standards of school meals has been

amount of bread is also regulated very specifically. Standards have

staff is in charge of doing the nutritional analysis of all the menus.

But we have a chef and nutritionists who work on making our offer-

part of federal policy for decades, but new twists and regulations

ings as appealing and fun as possible.”

of harmful eating habits. The 2010 Healthy Hunger-free Kids Act

proval rate across the board, from elementary school children to

keep cropping up in keeping with the new urgency to stem the rise

All items are kid-tested, and the aim is to get an 80-percent ap-

has gone further than any previous regulations in defining what

high school students, notes the director. Certain traditions are main-

July 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has required all foods

day is Mexican food day, fish is served on Friday, and there’s also

schools can and cannot use when designing meal plans. And since

and beverages sold to students on school property to follow the same

nutritional requirements already in place for the National School

Lunch Program. Thus, vending machines, a la carte cafeteria items, snack bars and even fundraising events must comply by offering

healthier versions of everything.

tained but tweaked to comply with the latest requirements. Wednes-

Italian day featuring a whole grain pizza. Among the items kids

enjoy are turkey lasagna, low-fat macaroni and cheese, roasted

chicken and Crispitos, rolled tacos filled with seasoned chicken

meat. If a dish passes the taste test but doesn’t fare well long term, it’s scrapped.

september/october 2015 | 19

W UP FRONT To help students understand the role of various food groups in the

got a personalized plan

one with characters such as Proto (for protein), Minnie (for minerals),

her progress while she de-

diet, the district’s website features games for kids to play, including

Fatto (for fat),Vity (for vitamins) and Carbo (for starches). The

and someone to monitor

veloped the discipline to

youngest ones, in the Head Start program, eat family style with their

put it into daily practice.

for them.

plan, Tilley collects all the

teachers, who use the time to talk about what’s good and not so good

To design a customized

The SAISD Nutrition Services Department provides meals to 95

pertinent information —

that includes special diets for diabetics, kids with food allergies, celiac

tivity level — and plugs it

a lot of time on these special diets, and our managers have to get spe-

Mifflin-St. Jeor formula to

district sites, serving about 45,000 lunches and breakfasts a day, and

disease, lactose intolerance and various other conditions. “We spend

height, weight, age and ac-

into an equation called the

cial training for each,” remarks Cody.

calculate first the Resting

to the district’s food distribution warehouse, which is an enormous

(BMR) and then the total

As if to impress upon me the magnitude of the task, she takes me

(or Basal) Metabolic Rate

space housing gigantic refrigerators and various other equipment

calorie expenditure per

the place where pallets upon pallets of bulk foods are unloaded, sorted

data, she can determine

pieces. In the summer, it’s all quiet, but during the school year this is

and stored and then sent to various school cafeterias according to

their orders. Altogether, Cody oversees nearly 600 employees who

work in Nutrition Services.

In the 2015-16 school year, the district will also expand yet another

day. Armed with these how many calories a per-

son should consume to lose weight in a sustainable

way. Then she goes one

federal program called Fresh Fruit and Vegetables. These healthy

crucial step further by

encourage the consumption of produce but also to expose students to

take into the types and

goodies will be served outside of regular meals and aim not only to

foods they may not be familiar with, such as kiwi, snap peas or jicama.

For Cody and her staff it means more work, but that’s not a problem.

“What’s interesting about our department is that people who apply

“Every time you eat, make sure that you include some protein in your snack or meal.

It stabilizes not only your blood sugar, but also your energy level and your ability to focus and be productive.”

– Jan Tilley

translating that calorie in-

quantities of food a client should consume per meal.

In addition, she advises them to follow the five steps she considers

essential for healthy nutrition: 1. Eat every three hours; 2. Since carbs

for jobs here don’t understand fully what these programs entail,” ob-

are digested quickly, combine them with protein to feel satisfied

in a child’s life. Then, like me, they never leave because they become

starving); 4. Exercise, ideally for 30 minutes six days a week, and 5.

are getting healthier. “School meals are healthier for sure, but we don’t

ing statement,” says Tilley.

serves Cody. “These are important programs that make a difference

passionate about what they do.” Yet she hesitates when asked if kids

control what they bring to school or eat outside of school. Yet I don’t

see many overweight kids anymore.”

If You Need Help

Since most of us take care of our own food shopping and cooking,

where do we turn for help when we need it? Yes, there are books and articles galore on healthy nutrition, but how do you apply all that in-

formation in ways that work for you?

That’s where a qualified nutritional consultant like Jan Tilley

comes in. A registered dietitian with a master’s degree in nutrition, Tilley and her associates at JTA Wellness will hold your hand as they

longer; 3. Don’t let your hunger get ahead of you (eat before you are

You are only one meal away from success. The latter is her “cheerlead“The only meal you need to get right is your next one. If I can get

a client to follow this regimen for 30 days, I know they’ll be successful.

They start feeling better and they see weight loss, and then they are motivated to continue.”

“I focused on a day at a time,” adds Mary. “There was definitely

a learning curve, but it worked. Cravings are gone, and I feel so much better.”

Tilley, who worked for United Supermarkets in Lubbock and with

H-E-B before opening her own practice, has also compiled a book of

good-for-you recipes, Healthy Meals for Hurried Families, that are

teach you how to eat right to maintain or improve your health. On the

easy to fix and enjoyable to eat. (This writer has sampled several, and

I’ll call Mary who lost 50 pounds and slashed her cholesterol levels

tion can heal, or at least ameliorate, a number of chronic conditions,

day I arrive in her office to interview her, she introduces me to a client

significantly since she’s been following Tilley’s advice. Mary says she

knew quite a bit about what to do to help herself but “general knowl-

edge doesn’t always translate into a change of behavior.” At JTA she 20 | sawoman.com

they all pass the taste test!) Like Dr. LaBarba, she believes that nutri-

and she collaborates with physicians who refer certain patients to JTA

Wellness. Her practice also accepts insurance. One thing she espe-

cially emphasizes is the anti-inflammation diet. “Research shows that

Photo by JESSICA GIESEY

chronic inflammation is a root cause of a number of diseases, such as

says the dietitian.

cline (dementia),” notes the dietitian. “In one recent study 11 people

classes, including some for children, and works with corporate clients,

diabetes, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, even cognitive de-

in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s disease were put on an anti-in-

flammatory diet, and after six months they were all able to return to

work.” (Published in the journal Aging, September 2014).

Not surprisingly, the anti-inflammatory diet consists of the now

familiar good aliments such as fruits and veggies, oily fish, whole

grains, beans… you know! But there are two additions – spices like

ginger and turmeric and probiotics found primarily in yogurt. Her

new book, Eat Well to Be Well, which focuses on this subject, will be

published this fall. “I spent a lot of time developing the recipes for this

book. Fortunately, I love to cook,” says the mother of four and grandmother of 11, who is the picture of good health.

While the anti-inflammatory diet is good for everyone, some

clients may require more specific help for conditions such as IBS (Ir-

ritable Bowel Syndrome), MS, kidney disease, cancer or any of the

aforementioned diseases. “A good nutritional program can help you

manage and even reverse diabetes,” Tilley points out. “It’s really pretty

amazing. We see it all the time.” Other times, success may be more

elusive, but she will not give up. One recent client was a woman who

suffered from not one but three illnesses — MS, diabetes and IBS.

After dealing with a variety of doctors, she came to see Tilley, accom-

panied by her daughter who was taking care of her. “She had no hope,

and I was able to offer that glimmer of hope. Both she and the daugh-

ter cried with relief. It was so rewarding to see that glimmer of hope,”

In addition to individual counseling, the practice offers group

offering counseling for their employees, who again are often covered

by insurance. As a motivational speaker, Tilley also delivers her message to audiences across the country.

So I ask her the same question posed to Dr. LaBarba. What’s the

one piece of advice she would like everyone to hear?

“I would say, every time you eat, make sure that you include some

protein in your snack or meal. It stabilizes not only your blood sugar

but also your energy level and your ability to focus and be productive.”

A Healthier City

The City of San Antonio and its Metropolitan Health District have launched a number of programs and initiatives that aim to reverse the unhealthy lifestyles of local citizens.

Thanks to multiple partners and sponsors, the measures include fitness classes in the parks; an increased availability of walking and biking trails; events such as Siclovia (now run by the YMCA); a nutrition initiative called Por Vida that recognizes restaurants that offer and identify lower-calorie meals; the Mayor’s Fitness Council’s recent Veg Out SA! campaign promoting fresh produce; the Healthy Workplace Recognition Program sponsored by the San Antonio Business Group on Health in collaboration with the Fitness Council; and others. Bravo to all involved!

W PROFILE

Striking a balance between Business & Community Kimberly C. Ford sets an example for caring

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF Photography by JESSICA GIESEY

About six years ago, CPA Kimberly C. Ford had an

Much as she values the forensic side of her job, she has not aban-

pened one night when her partner, Gerald Hill, handed her a box

dividuals and businesses with tax and general accounting issues.

“aha!” moment that opened a new professional door for her. It hap-

of documents relating to a divorce case in Uvalde. He wanted Ford

to meet with the spouses and handle the case. “That husband is so

arrogant, and the wife is very insecure,” he told his younger colleague. “I know they have assets, and we should be able to find them

and get her some money.” The husband had maintained that he

could only afford to give his wife a $30,000 settlement.

Ford spent hours examining the papers and organizing the chaotic information on a spreadsheet. “When I was done, I realized that the

doned the more traditional role as the professional who helps in-

Unlike forensics, which consists of specific, unrelated projects,

these services build long-term relationships with clients who often

become friends. The firm likes to describe its cooperative involve-

ment by using the metaphor of driving along with the client. If the

latter is in the driver’s seat, the Hill & Ford accountant is sitting

next to him in the passenger seat, helping the driver reach the cho-

sen destination.

Thanks to her expertise, in 2012 Ford was invited to participate in

total value of their community property was about $1 million. It was

a White House forum on how changing tax laws impact small busi-

with satisfaction still detectable in her voice. “She was able to start a

the tax world,” she recalls. “The Bush tax reforms from the early

one of those ‘Yes!’ moments. We can help this woman!” says the CPA new life after the divorce, and that was heartwarming for me.”

The case led Ford to focus increasingly on forensic accounting “because it truly helps people.” Today, as managing partner of Hill &

Ford, P.C., about half Ford’s time is devoted to it. In this type of ac-

ness in America. “At the end of 2012 crazy things were going on in

2000s were set to expire, and the question was, were we going to

go over the cliff? At the same time, Obamacare was coming on line.

Lawyers and accountants all over America were going crazy… It

was a bad time to leave my clients, but I thought of my dad, who

was a county commissioner and believed in doing right by the com-

counting, a CPA uses her skills to investigate financial assets and

munity. He would have said to me. ‘If you don’t go, who will?’ So I

claims, suspected thefts and divorces, often working closely with a

“but we still don’t have either; very frustrating!” Still, it was cool to

debts in relation to litigation, probate cases, business splits, damage

lawyer. Hill & Ford has established a solid reputation in the field,

thanks to a strong team of CPAs, including a former FBI agent. “It’s

always about money, and someone has to do the calculations,”

notes Ford, who underwent additional training to become a Master Analyst in Financial Forensics. In that capacity, she has appeared

in court as an expert witness multiple times. Not her favorite thing,

she admits, but what she appreciates about it is the opportunity “to

tell the story that needs to be told to help the wheels of justice turn.”

24 | sawoman.com

went.” Small business wants stability and permanence, she notes,

visit the White House.

2012 was tough for her small accounting firm as well, as one of

the partners left, taking some clients with her and upsetting the

rest of the team. Yet Hill & Ford has not only bounced back but

has grown so much since then that this past July the San Antonio

Business Journal gave it its Fast Track Award, an honor given to

the fastest-growing businesses in town.

Literacy is important to Kimberly C. Ford, managing partner of Hill & Ford.

Under her leadership, the company has supported San Antonio Youth Literacy (she currently serves as board chair), San Antonio Food Bank, Elf Louise Christmas Project, Avance San Antonio and Haven for Hope. And every year, Hill & Ford donates 1 percent of its gross income to charity.

september/october 2015 | 25

W PROFILE

She started with a math team

While we are talking in her pleasant, light-filled office, photos of her with Hill,

other colleagues and close relatives are soundlessly rolling across a screen be-

hind her. When I ask about it, she explains that this digital photo display was

put together in honor of her 30th anniversary with the firm two years ago. More

photos, albeit of the print variety, stand on a side table showing her with her

mother and daughter. When I remark that she resembles her mom, Ford reveals

that she was adopted. It’s good for a laugh, but she agrees that there’s indeed a

resemblance.

Adopted as a newborn, young Kim grew up in the small West Texas town of Andrews as an only child. Riding horses and competing in barrel racing were a big

part of her childhood until the age of 12, when her interests began to change.

(Today her many trophies are tastefully arranged on a wall in the Hill & Ford

conference room.) As a teen, Kim joined the high school math team, which not

only participated but usually won regional and state competitions, thanks to “a

great coach.” The young girl first heard about accounting as a profession from

a senior team member she was dating at the time. The fellow was planning to

26 | sawoman.com

Below: Kim Ford competing in the Pole Run at 4-H State Finals in Ft. Worth Texas, Sept.

1971. Ford took home the 1st place trophy (at left).

Ford (center) enjoying a moment with mother, Jean Chesney (left) and daughter (right), Heather Ford Caussade.

major in that field. Then one night, Kim was babysitting for the

children of a local CPA, who, after chatting with her about her in-

terests, told her to apply for a job in his office when she got her

driver’s license. She did and loved it from the start. “I knew I had

something that she experienced herself for years while rearing her daughter as a single mother.

With her child all grown up, however, Ford, a woman of deep faith,

found my niche,” says the CPA.

has had opportunities to extend her horizon of caring. Her re-

Following graduation from Texas Tech with an accounting degree,

spicuously enough when a client, the late Mary Denman, asked

the young woman found employment with Gerald Hill’s firm and

Pedro Playhouse. But what really lit the fire in her heart was a

Ford and her new husband moved to the San Antonio area, where

never looked back. In 1994, she was promoted to managing partner.

For two years in a row – 2014 and 2015 – Hill & Ford was recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in San Anto-

nio in the small business category. Since the ratings are based

on anonymous employee surveys, that’s something this managing

partner is especially proud of. Ford makes sure that the employees are well taken care of, especially during the long hours of tax season.

Massages and dinners are provided for everyone, and concerns or complaints do not fall on deaf ears. “We try to really listen,” is the

way she puts it.

Another award that pleases her is the 2014 Women’s Leadership Award, also bestowed by the Business Journal. Women have

markable charitable involvement in the community started incon-

Ford to help with a capital campaign for the renovation of the San

speech by former Mayor Henry Cisneros, who spoke about breaking the cycle of poverty through education during a San Antonio

Youth Literacy breakfast. “That really hit me, and I brought the

message back to my team (in the office),” recalls Ford. “We de-

cided to focus our efforts on that.”

Today Ford is the chair of the San Antonio Youth Literacy Board

as well as a Reading Buddy to a second grader for the entire school

year. Under her leadership, the firm has also adopted other causes,

such as the Food Bank, the Elf Louise Christmas project, Avance

San Antonio and Haven for Hope. Every year, Hill & Ford donates

1 percent of its gross income to charity, but more remarkably, they

all roll up their sleeves to pack food boxes, work in Haven’s

kitchen, build recreational facilities, etc. What’s more, employees

made significant inroads in her profession, with a good number

get paid time off to engage in community initiatives.

quires attention to details, and women are more detail-oriented

For those who feel overwhelmed by the vast needs that exist here

becoming leaders like herself. In her opinion, accounting reby nature. In addition, they tend to be more “relational” in dealing with people, which helps build stronger teams. But she also

points out that the culture of the profession allows for flexible

hours, an enormous help for mothers with young children and

and in the world in general, Ford has some advice, the same advice

that helped her and which comes from the popular Atlanta-based

preacher Andy Stanley. He encourages his listeners to “give to one

as you would love to give to everyone.”

september/october 2015 | 27

W AT HOME

Refined HILL COUNTRY HOME Art and Carey Yeager build the house of their dreams

By ROBYN BARNES Photography by AL RENDON

A rectangular pool and spa are the focus of the backyard in the Cordillera Ranch home of Art and Carey Yeager.

The expansive view takes in the golf course and the hills beyond. Above, an unusual gate installed for privacy also adds architectural interest.

28 | sawoman.com

Cordillera Ranch is an exclusive master-planned community on 8,700 acres of some of the finest Hill Country heaven you can find.

“We were drawn to the Texas Hill Country and Cordillera Ranch for many reasons, but at the top of our list was the privacy of the area, the spectacular golf course club amenities, the lovely people and close proximity to family.” That may sound like an advertisement, but it’s the sentiment shared by Art and Carey Yeager, two California transplants who love their Cordillera home.

Carey was a Southern California real estate professional for approximately 33 years, and Art was retired from the corporate world when they began looking for a Hill Country home five years ago. Art had been stationed with the Air Force in San Antonio prior to and after a tour in Vietnam and has a daughter and two grandchildren living here.

“This is our house of houses,” Carey says. “We spent a great deal of time talking about the kind of house we wanted to build, the architectural details and the finishes. Art and I were very specific in these discussions, and by the time we were ready to move forward with the home design, we knew exactly what we wanted.”

In the selection of Damon Christofilis of Burdick and Chrisofilis, Ltd. as their builder, the couple entered the building process with a high level of expectation. “Damon and his superintendent, Jason Hirt, not only exceeded those expectations but gave us a wonderful and successful experience,” Carey says.

Through Damon the Yeagers met Barbara Berger of Studio Domaine Interior Design, who handled their design requirements and won the prestigious 2015 Summit Award for this home.

Because Art and Carey had done so much preliminary thinking on their home, they were able to hand a fairly complete outline of their requirements to Damon and Barbara. The approximately 4,600-square-foot home was completed with no major design changes — something rarely heard of in custom homes.

“This is a refined Hill Country home,” Carey says. “It’s very eclectic and transitional, both in furnishing and architecturally.

We’d had a Tuscan home in California and didn’t want that again.

We wanted something lighter, something that would feature the beautiful views we have. At the same time, we didn’t want a house that looked like everyone else’s.”

Thus, all the granites used throughout the house are different; there are no repeats in any room. Arches are a repetitive theme, as are the ceiling beams. All the wrought iron in the home is handmade and one-of-a-kind. There are four fireplaces and a variety of ceiling treatments throughout the home.

“Our goal was a flow that is comfortable, relaxing and functional, not just a home for show,” Carey says.

CLASSIC COURTYARD

Access is achieved through a wrought iron gate entering the courtyard, where the arch motif begins in the fencing and continues

through the front door. A fountain in the midst of ferns and roses burbles in time to the birdsong in the background.

The bronze sconces flanking the front doors came from their previous home. The heavy arched front doors are of bronze and glass, providing a peek into the spectacular entry hall.

The entry is well-proportioned, with tall bay windows pouring natural light onto the baby grand piano. Polished travertine insets in the limestone floor are matched to the black tones in the piano.

The groin vault ceiling is painted in gold with muted black flecks.

Arches lead down the hall, marking entrances to rooms.

To the right of the entry hall is a guest room. Silver accents are used throughout, from fabrics to furniture. The upholstered headboard is custom-made with a chair to match. The bed base is upholstered in the same fabric. Deep moldings tie the ceiling and walls together.

The guest bath features two vessel sinks and a sunny walk-in shower. The floor is made of tile that appears to be reclaimed wood, a theme carried into the shower walls. The large rectangular mirror over the vanity is framed in tiny wood squares. Opposite the vanity is a cowhide bench beneath a painting of bison.

“I really like the way the colors in the bison painting tie in with the granite countertop,” Carey says. “I’m also taken with the glass september/october 2015 | 29

W AT HOME vessel sinks that look like wood; they repeat the wood pattern found in the floors and shower walls.”

Across the hall is Art’s office. This masculine room features hardwood floors, built-in cabinets, a large stone fireplace and one wall of ceilingheight windows. The coffered ceiling lends an Old World feeling.

Taking pride of place in this room is a series of clown serigraphs created and signed by Red Skelton. Each picture has a story associated with it. Comedian Skelton was known for his smiling, lovable clowns, and his art is highly collectible.

To the left of the entry hall is the dining room, the most formal room in the house. The golden barrel ceiling presides over an alabaster chandelier.

The rectangular table seats eight. The Mediterranean painting hanging over the adjacent buffet is an original by a Palm Springs artist. The tall window at the far end of the room is accented by treatments hung from medallions.

What is the small window framed in brick and iron for? “It lets you peek into the wine cellar,” says Carey. “I didn’t want to hang a picture there; anyone could do that. How many people can peer into a wine cellar from their dining room?”

The hallway terminates at the bar, a popular spot for entertaining. The curved bar, surfaced in granite, offers seating for four. Woven into the stools’ fabric are recipes for making cosmopolitans. Behind the bar, the wall is faced with wood paneling and wainscoting, providing a good backdrop for the antique barware cabinet.

Hanging over the sink is a painting of a bar scene. “This is by San Diego artist Michael Flohr,” says Carey. “We bought it when he was first getting his start in the art world. We have three Top: The dining room, with its golden barrel ceiling and alabaster chandelier, is the most formal room in the home. Hanging above the buffet is a painting by a Palm Springs artist. At right,the great room features an entire wall of ledge stone laid in linear sheets. Comfortable furnishings and a long, narrow hearth of black granite provide seating for family and friends.

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W AT HOME

An antique barware cabinet and a painting by San Diego artist Michael Flohr decorate the bar, which seats four. Below, a view of the baby grand piano in the sunny entry hall.

of his impressionistic restaurant scenes.”

Left of the bar is the wine cellar. Within the wine cellar are two antique chairs, positioned beneath a small handmade chandelier.

Beyond the bar is the kitchen and great room. Carey spent a great deal of time researching design elements for the kitchen because she loves to cook and entertain. “I wanted a working kitchen,” she says.

“It had to be functional and beautiful, which is a tall order.”

The six-burner Wolf stove and oven combination features a griddle and a separate convection oven. There’s a warming drawer and refrigerator drawers built into the island. The island prep sink is convenient to the refrigerator.

The kitchen feature she especially likes is the range hood. She didn’t want a wall of limestone or tile, like other houses she’d seen. Instead, she designed a faux stone hood built into a niched cabinet wall featuring tall artistic vases and glassware. “Again, functional and beautiful!” Carey exclaims.

The kitchen is separated from the breakfast nook and great room by a long semi-circular bar seating five. The bar and kitchen countertop is one very long, heavy piece of granite with special beveled edges.

The breakfast nook is centered beneath a domed ceiling. The graceful chandelier hangs over a round wooden custom-made table. The bay windows provide great lighting for another Flohr painting.

“We searched and searched for a chandelier that wouldn’t impede

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W AT HOME Taupe gold is the relaxing tone chosen for the master bedroom's bedding and padded headboard.

Decorating the wall are two Paris street scenes.

There is a floor-to-ceiling limestone fireplace for warmth on cool evenings.

our view,” she says. “I wanted something to be in balance with the room and complementary to the table. When we found this, I knew it would be perfect.”

The great room features an entire wall made of ledge stone laid in linear sheets. The corner fireplace has a long, narrow hearth of black granite with a leather finish and chiseled edge. Furnishings include a generous sectional, two leather chairs, custom coffee table and cowhide ottomans.

The great room opens onto an expansive patio area complete with two dining areas and a grill kitchenette. An outdoor television near a fireplace offers a cozy space to watch a football game on a cool fall day.

A rectangular pool and spa are the focus of the backyard, as is the expansive view over the golf course and hills beyond. To the right of the pool and down some steps is another seating area, facing a stone angel built into the wall of the house. “That’s a seraphim angel,” Carey says. “She has moved to every house we’ve lived in. “ Nearby is an unusual blue gate the Yeagers installed between their property and the neighbors for architectural interest and privacy.

34 | sawoman.com

SWEET SUITE

The spacious master bedroom is slightly more formal than the other bedrooms. The handcrafted floor-to-ceiling limestone fireplace provides warmth and ambience on cool evenings. The stepped ceiling is curved to mimic the arches throughout the house.

Taupe gold is the theme of the bedding and padded headboard. A nearby chaise sits beneath two Paris street scenes by Jean Faurege.

“Our master bath is fun!” Carey exclaims. It’s easy to see why.

Large windows in two walls open onto Hill Country views. In the evening, rope lighting along the step ceiling highlights the wide glass-walled double shower. The large slipper tub inspires visions of relaxing bubble baths.

“We have his and her sides of the room,” Carey says. Both sides, however, have marble countertops in addition to custom-made mirrors and cabinets.

The large walk-in closet is a shared space that is highly organized with double rods and built-in drawers. There’s not a shoe out of place.

The second guest room features twin beds. “Good for the granddaughters,” Carey explains. It’s a simple room, with tall, custommade headboards that lead the eye to the miter ceiling.

september/october 2015 | 35

W AT HOME This guest room’s bath also has a walk-in shower with walls of limestone tile and a bench seat. Sunlight streams into the shower through a small clerestory window. The vanity backsplash tile matches that of the bench seat. A tall sconce made of horn provides ambient lighting for the room.

LABOR OF LOVE

The Yaegers put a lot of thought into their home, and a lot of love went into building it.

“Damon’s team poured so much care into this home’s construction, and we love them for it,” Carey says.

“Every detail has a story behind it, a purpose for inclusion. We want our friends and our family to be comfortable here, to feel loved the minute they cross the threshold. I know it sounds corny, but this is our Hill Country haven.”

36 | sawoman.com

Large windows in the master bath open onto Hill Country views. A double shower, large slipper tub and hisand-hers marble countertops and cabinets complete the room.

W STYLE

38 | sawoman.com

W STYLE

40 | sawoman.com

JULIAN GOLD Celebrates 70 Years of Style

By NICOLE GREENBERG Photography by ELIZABETH WARBURTON It’s been 70 years since women of San Antonio discovered Julian Gold, a destination for exquisite style and personal service.

went on, we decided Julian Gold would offer everything in style that a woman wants. We try to fill their wants.”

We sat down with Julian Gold co-owner and president Bob Gurwitz and chief operating officer and partner James Glover, to talk about the longtime retailer’s early days and how the store has led fashion and styling for women in San Antonio and throughout Texas.

Defining the philosophy of personalized service “Our philosophy is to service our clients in the best way possible,” says Glover. “Every customer is unique and we look to offer them a personal experience catering to their style and personality. We are incredibly proud of our staff and their ability to assist the specific needs of each client.”

Retail in the DNA “Julian Gold was a great retailer,” states Gurwitz.

“From his early years, Julian watched and learned from his father, who worked in retail. Years later, in 1945, Julian Gold and wife Dorothy launched Julian’s namesake store on Main Avenue. They started small and built on that,” adds Gurwitz. “He was very well respected in the retail community and in the San Antonio community,” explains Glover.

Julian Gold was not only a great retailer, he also became Bob Gurwitz’s father-in-law when Gurwitz married Julian’s daughter, Gail. Like Julian Gold, Bob Gurwitz grew up in retail in the city of Three Rivers, Texas, a small town in Live Oak County.

“My family owned general stores named J A Gurwitz in Three Rivers, Mathis and Tilden, Texas,” explains Gurwitz. After high school, Gurwitz attended The University of Texas at Austin. While there, he lettered three years (1958-1960) playing Longhorn football for legendary coach Darrell Royal and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Later, he earned his CPA license.Then Bob married Gail and they moved to Houston for a short time. While working as a CPA, Bob did business in San Antonio and commuted from Houston every week. After a few years, Julian asked Bob to work for him at the Main Avenue store. As Bob tells it, he was there the next day.That was 52 years ago. Today, as longtime residents of San Antonio, Bob and Gail Gurwitz are proud parents of three and grandparents of eight.

Beginning with the basics When Gurwitz joined Julian Gold, the company had stores in San Antonio and Midland. Then, 50 years ago, the store outgrew its space and moved to McCullough Avenue.

“Originally, Julian Gold sold coats, suits, dresses and blouses. It was a dress shop. By the early ‘70s, we started doing coordinated sportswear. We had a hat shop, and the cosmetic department was a leased department,” explains Gurwitz. “As time 44 | sawoman.com

When asked to describe a customer’s first impression of Julian Gold in its early years versus today, Gurwitz says, “There are no differences. Julian Gold was all about service then as it is today; being nice to people, making them happy, and servicing them and ultimately making them look good. If we do that, they will come back to our store.”

“While the trends are constantly changing, our basic principles have not,” agrees Glover. “We want customers to feel welcome and at home. To shop and socialize in an environment that is friendly and professional. We hope they are able to find what they are looking for and so much more.”

Gurwitz adds, “We want them to feel like they have walked into our home, and they should be treated the same way. We always introduce them and show them around, and that is what we want them to experience in the store.”

Staying on trend “We know customers can get product anywhere.

It’s a matter of how people are treated, and we have always been very good at that. We are a service organization, and we are also about the people who do the work,” Gurwitz tells us.

Glover goes on to say, “The shopping experience can sometimes feel impersonal in today’s retail market, but not at Julian Gold.” He highlights unique services their customers value and have grown to expect. “We offer services like before- and afterhours appointments, exclusive trunk shows, inhouse alterations, complimentary gift wrap and more. We want their experience to be enjoyable and convenient. This also includes allowing customers to take merchandise on approval to try on in the comfort of their homes.”

A presence throughout Texas Today, Julian Gold maintains locations in San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi and Midland.Today, Julian

Gold employs an estimated180 people (about 80 in San Antonio). “We often refer to our stores as ‘your source for absolute style,’” explains Glover.

“We offer everything a woman may need from head to toe including contemporary sportswear, designer sportswear, evening wear, lingerie, bridal, jewelry, shoes, handbags, cosmetics, athletic wear, etc. We are a generation store offering merchandise for all age ranges.”

History with its customers When asked to explain their secret for maintaining relationships with customers of different generations, Glover points out, “Loyalty and support. We greatly appreciate and value our clients and their families. What is important to them is important to us. Whether it’s a social event happening in their lives or a community organization they are involved with, we look to help them on many levels.”

Supporting the community Julian Gold does have a history of supporting causes. It hosts events for nonprofits at its stores throughout Texas and style events at fundraisers.

“The community does a lot for us. We support just about any organization. We support charities that are important to our customers, and we want to be part of the community. Our director of marketing, Courtney Percy, does a great job for us on that front,” says Gurwitz.

“Just as our community supports us, we support them,” Glover says. “We are highly involved in a number of charitable causes across the state. There is nothing more fashionable than supporting a good cause.”

Julian Gold’s new look Both men agree they are excited about a remodel planned for the store. The store currently spans 40,000 square feet of space. Pursuing a more modern look, remodel plans were driven by the growing importance of its contemporary collections. In addition to contemporary, shoes and eveningwear will also grow in space. “Expanding our floor space will allow us to bring in more designer names and a larger selection of merchandise,” comments Glover.

Anniversary plans Aside from the remodel, the store will have celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary. “We plan on celebrating the anniversary with a number of events, trunk shows, style shows, etc. We host/participate in such events regularly, but we plan to elevate them to a different level,” says Glover.

Bob Gurwitz and James Glover

Julian and Dorothy Gold (inset) and vintage view of Julian Gold store. Courtesy photos from Julian Gold.

Continuing the legacy When asked about who will carry on the leadership of Julian Gold when he retires, Gurwitz responds that while his children will not assume his role, they will remain involved. Glover is poised to take the helm of the business. “James, his family and my family will continue the legacy of Julian Gold. I don’t want to sell it,” Gurwitz says.

september/october 2015 | 45

W FASHION CALENDAR September 1-2 Julian Gold Marisa Baratelli Eveningwear Trunk Show

September 19 Neiman Marcus Project Beauty Cosmetics

October 6-7 Julian Gold Planet Lifestyle Trunk Show

October 20-21 Julian Gold Starfire Jewelry Trunk Show

September 9 Saks Fifth Avenue David Yurman Jewelry Trunk Show

September 19 Neiman Marcus The Cusp Event Cusp

October 7-8 Julian Gold Gypsy Jewelry Trunk Show

October 21 Tiny Finch Art Show Featuring Mary Baker

September 9-10 Julian Gold Sympli Active Wear Trunk Show

September 23-24 Julian Gold Fur Remodel Clinic

October 8-9 Julian Gold St. John Designer Trunk Show

October 22-23 Julian Gold Naeem Khan Designer Spring 2016 Trunk Show

September 9-10 Julian Gold Cheryl Default Jewelry Trunk Show September 10-12 Saks Fifth Avenue Nini Jewels Jewelry Trunk Show September 15-16 Julian Gold Craven Jewelry Trunk Show September 15October 2 Saks Fifth Avenue SFA Men’s Wardrobing Event Men’s Apparel

September 24-25 Julian Gold Dian Malouf Jewelry Trunk Show September 24-25 Julian Gold DL1961 Premium Denim Trunk Show

October 8-10 Saks Fifth Avenue Nini Jewels Jewelry Trunk Show

September 24-26 Neiman Marcus Christian Louboutin Trunk Show Ladies Shoes

October 10 Neiman Marcus Konstantino Personal Appearance Designer Jewelry

September 25-26 Julian Gold Lian Carlo Bridal Trunk Show

October 13-14 Julian Gold Macs Munch and Schacky Designer Trunk Shows

September 30 Saks Fifth Avenue Ippolita Jewelry Trunk Show

September 16 Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus 10th Anniversary Jay Strongwater Personal Appearance and Signing Event Gift Galleries

October 1-2 Julian Gold Peggy Jennings Designer Trunk Show

September 16-17 Saks Fifth Avenue Coomi Jewelry Trunk Show

October 1-2 Saks Fifth Avenue Rene Escobar Jewelry Trunk Show

September 17 Elaine Turner Fall Launch Party Benefiting Junior League of San Antonio

October 1-3 Neiman Marcus Manolo Blahnik Trunk Show Ladies Shoes

September 17-18 Julian Gold Natura Bisse Cosmetic Spa Event

October 1-4 Neiman Marcus Gown Show Dress Collections

September 17 Julian Gold Trask Shoe Trunk Show

October 1-10 Saks Fifth Avenue Fall Beauty Event

48 | sawoman.com

October 8-9 Julian Gold Carlos Falchi Handbag Trunk Show

October 14-15 Julian Gold Oscar de la Renta Jewelry Trunk Show October 14-15 Saks Fifth Avenue Katy Briscoe Jewelry Trunk Show October 15 Saks Fifth Avenue Key to the Cure Runway Event Benefiting CTRC October 15-17 Neiman Marcus Valentino Trunk Show Ladies Shoes October 16-17 Julian Gold Raoul Contemporary Trunk Show

October 22-23 Neiman Marcus Staurino Fratelli Personal Appearance The Precious Jewels Salon October 27-28 Julian Gold Lela Rose Designer Spring 2016 Trunk Show October 28-29 Julian Gold Hammitt Handbag Trunk Show October 29-30 Julian Gold Escada Designer Spring 2016 Trunk Show October 29-31 Saks Fifth Avenue Dena Kemp Jewelry Trunk Show November 1-8 Fashion Week San Antonio 2015 Spring 2016 Collections fashionsa.org November 5-7 Saks Fifth Avenue Nini Jewels Jewelry Trunk Show November 11-13 Saks Fifth Avenue Piranesi Jewelry Trunk Show

W FAB FINDS GIFT’D

• A Unique Gifting Experience • Gift Wrapping that provides Heightened Gift Presentation • Exclusive Gifts, Luxury Gifts, Luxury Gift Baskets and Gift Boxes • Like No Other

210.612.3332

bestow-gifted.com

PEÑALOZA & SONS

STACK RINGS – If one is good, then two or three can only be better. Mix and match colors and styles to coordinate with the latest spring and summer fashion trends.

Available at Peñaloza & Sons.

2001 N.W. Military Hwy.

210.340.3536

penalozaandsons.com

FAMILY STORIES VIDEO

Do you want to preserve family history or commemorate the life of an elderly family member who is still alive? Family Stories Video is a unique service that can create a videotaped interview and storytelling session by a professional interviewer with your cherished family member for $349. It will be on DVD and last about an hour. We come to you for the session, and you don’t have to prepare a thing! This DVD will become a priceless heirloom for all to enjoy and an important way family members will be able to learn about your loved one. Texas locations only.

For more information call Roy Kamin, Family Stories Video

210.724.2394

roy@familystoriesvideo.com familystoriesvideo.com 50 | sawoman.com

CHOICOLATE – ARTISAN CHOCOLATES

Handmade artisan chocolates truffles, available in 20 unique flavors and crafted with natural ingredients and premium European chocolate.

BUSINESS LOGO SPECIAL 20 percent DISCOUNT Get 1,000 one-color logo prints (regularly $250) plus a 5 percent discount on 2, 5, 10, 20 or 30 Truffle Box purchases that include your company logo.

700 E. Sonterra Blvd., Suite 210

210.495.2464 choicolate.com

FAB FINDS W

ETHAN ALLEN

Ethan Allen’s Shelton Sofa, or should we call it "Showstopper Shelton"? Dramatic. Fashionable. Fresh. Shelton is all about relaxed glamour with classic diamond tufting and perfect curves.

Its stunning silhouette can float beautifully in a room. Tailored by hand in Ethan Allen's North American workshops, it includes two 21" toss pillows and is available in your choice of split- or bench-seat styles. See it today at the San Antonio Ethan Allen Design Center.

12862 IH-10 W.

210.341.8108

www.ethanallen.com/sanantonio

TORY BURCH

FROM TORY BURCH - Fringe-disc statement necklace, Izzie watch in ivory/patent/gold, Logo dome stone ring and red, blue and orange bracelets. Look for these fabulous Tory Burch finds and more at Neiman Marcus and at the Tory Burch store at The Shops at La Cantera, located by Neiman Marcus.

TORY BURCH - 15900 La Cantera Parkway, Suite #4465

210.877.9265

NEIMAN MARCUS - 15900 La Cantera Parkway

210.558.8000

MORRIS KAYE & SONS FURS AND FASHION

Stay in fashion with Morris Kaye & Sons Furs and Fashion!

For over 80 years, Morris Kaye & Sons has been transforming fur into the most fashionable trends of the industry. Experts in their field for generations, Morris Kaye & Sons has designed the most updated fur garments and accessories of the finest quality. Their line is extensive and includes Mahogany Mink and Leather Chapeau, $495; Stenciled Kidskin Vest, $895; Mahogany Mink Bear, $395; Brown Italian Leather and Mink Gloves, $140; and Stenciled Kidskin Overnight Bag, $895, as shown below.

555 E. Basse Road, Suite 104

210.820.3877

CHALET COSMETICS

morriskayefurs.com

Outsmart Shine! Pumpkin Powder with Matipure is changing the game in the way of makeup. This lightweight powder provides flawless coverage and immediate matifying action. The breakthrough technology is the first of its kind, a unique patented formula that works efficiently as a system to continuously absorb oil without drying the skin. Matipure keeps working for hours so your skin looks fresh even at the end of a humid San Antonio day.

Infused with pumpkin seed and black cumin to soothe even the most sensitive skin, Pumpkin Powder has you covered!

5926 Broadway 5535 W. Loop 1604 N.

210.829.7700

ChaletCosmetics.com

september/october 2015 | 51

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W HEALTH MATTERS

NEW DRUG THERAPIES FOR TREATING BREAST CANCER Two San Antonio Physicians are Studying Breakthrough Drugs

By PAMELA MOOMAN

The diagnosis of cancer may seem like a nightmare. Possibilities for recovery, however, are stronger now than ever before, thanks to progressive—even radical— medical research. Advances in drug therapies to treat breast cancer are particularly dramatic, and some of these revolutionary developments are being born right here in San Antonio.

Amita Patnaik, M.D., FRCP(C), used her medical expertise and her passion for healing to co-found START, or South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics.

“As a researcher, my mission when I co-founded START was to accelerate the development of anti-cancer agents for the treatment and eventual cure of cancer,” she says. “Events of the last eight years have reaffirmed my faith that perseverance can pave the way to achieving the seemingly unattainable, and in doing so, one can redefine the arc of a cancer patient’s life.”

Additional START centers in Madrid and Shanghai also pursue cancer cures. START conducts the world’s largest Phase I medical oncology program. Phase I clinical trials involve patients who volunteer to try out new drugs and therapies to determine if they are safe, to find the best dose and to create an efficient schedule for future research.

Dr. Patnaik and her colleagues at START have developed several pivotal drugs for breast cancer treatment that are now used to help patients everywhere. These breakthrough drug therapies include gemcitabine (Gemzar®), lapatinib (Tykerb®), eribulin (Halaven ®) and ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla ®). Dr. Patnaik expects another drug, abemaciclib, which was also developed at START, to be approved to treat breast cancer in the near future.

Dr. Patnaik’s research primarily focuses on patients with advanced cancers that have not responded to any conventional treatments.

“My goal with every patient I evaluate is to provide concrete therapeutic strategies consisting of novel and cutting-edge anti-cancer therapy; however, the most important facet to me is to provide hope when no other meaningful options exist,” Dr. Patnaik says. “Some of the treatments that we have been developing at START could have been considered within the realm of science fiction just a short time ago but are now very real possibilities for patients living with advanced cancer.”

She is optimistic about her research with cell cycle inhibitors, which have produced promising results in both patients with advanced cancers and those with triple negative breast cancer. These types of drugs hinder cancer cell division and growth and, if combined with other types of anticancer therapy, could be a vital part of an effective treatment regimen for breast cancer patients.

“Our experience demonstrates that certain patients can derive durable, long-term benefit over the course of years while retaining a good quality of life,” Dr. Patnaik says.

Another San Antonio-based medical researcher is Virginia Kaklamani, M.D., D.SC., a professor of medicine and chief of the breast oncology program at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center. Like Dr. Patnaik, she also concentrates on finding new treatment possibilities for patients with triple negative breast cancer that has not responded to standard treatments, and, also like Dr. Patnaik, she studies cell cycle inhibitors and their role in effective breast cancer treatment.

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W HEALTH MATTERS

HEALTH CHECK TIMELINE FOR WOMEN Ages 20-39 • Pap tests and pelvic exam, every two years • Breast self-exam, regular self-exam • Cholesterol and glucose levels, as directed by physician • Blood pressure, every two years • Skin cancer check, regular self-exam

Ages 40-49 • Continue all checks as directed by physician • Eye check, every two years or as directed by physician

Age 50 and later • Continue all checks as directed by physician • Bone density scan, as directed by physician • Hearing assessment, as directed by physician

An additional current project for Dr. Kaklamani is working to distinguish biomarkers that can identify what types of drugs and chemotherapy will best treat individuals with resistant types of cancers.

Another new treatment possibility that has both of these savvy medical researchers excited is immunotherapy.

“New and very exciting therapies that have been evaluated at our facility demonstrate that one can harness the capability of the body’s own immune system to fight cancer,” Dr. Patnaik says. “These therapies have changed the outcome of many lives from one of certain death to that of living cancer-free and being able to have a second chance at life.”

Dr. Kaklamani says several drugs are at different stages of research, and that she and her colleagues are searching for how they can be combined with chemotherapy to maximize the overall therapeutic effects of both.

In short, patients with breast cancer, including the most resistant types, have good reason to hope, and two of the leading women researchers in the field encourage them to do so.

“There are so many advances these days that the rates for survival with metastatic disease are increasing,” Dr. Kaklamani says.

“The good news is that the majority of women being diagnosed with breast cancer are cured of their disease.”

Dr. Patnaik says that while a diagnosis of breast cancer may seem like a dark time, it is important for patients to remember that there are excellent therapies that can increase survival rates and improve quality of life.

“Better screening programs are leading to earlier detection such that many more women are being diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, which is curable,” Dr. Patnaik says. “It is important to rely on loved ones to get through the very difficult days, but one should never underestimate the power of one’s own strength, determination and courage.”

Dr. Kaklamani says it is an extremely difficult moment in a study when a participant takes a new drug for the first time, unsure of what the results may be, but that the courage and willingness of participants is what allows research to continue.

“We need to remember that this research happens because a lot of brave women agree to give us their tissue,” she says.

Dr. Patnaik says her mission when she co-founded START was to accelerate the development of anti-cancer agents for the treatment and eventual cure of cancer. Her work as a researcher, however, is as much about people as it is about disease.

“At a deeply personal level,” she says, “I see myself in each patient who walks through my doors, and at a human level, it is paramount to me that they be able to fulfill their life’s dreams, just as I have the opportunity to fulfill mine.”

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A variety of wellness learning opportunities are available to women and men moving into and through breast cancer treatment at Whole Life Wellness from Baptist Breast Network. It is personalized support that addresses questions concerning exercise, fatigue, nutrition, pain and emotional strength. From artistic healing and support groups, to yoga classes and educational events, the Whole Life Wellness program offers something for everyone.

Newly diagnosed breast cancer survivors embarking on treatment, or those who have moved into post-treatment survivorship, as well as caregivers of loved ones touched by breast cancer can benefit from the Whole Life Wellness program. They can learn how to tackle treatment as well as emotional support and risk reduction techniques.

More information can be found at BaptistBreastCenter.com.

Benefits of Whole Life Wellness?

• Group Exercise • Nutritional Education • Peer to Peer Support • Family Support • Stress Release • Risk Reduction • Resource Library • Community Resources

Whole Life Wellness Includes: • Artistic Healing • Support Groups • Lunch and Learns • Look Good, Feel Better • Lymphedema Education • Yoga Classes • Whole Foods Store Tours • HealthLink Fitness Memberships • Sisters in Healing Mentor Program • Friends & Family Spiritual Care Support Group

Pictured (left to right): Kathy Friedrichsen, Ethel Garrett enjoying a great finish at the 2015 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

W BUSINESS WOMAN SPOTLIGHT

Lisa Mochel

Photography by JANET ROGERS

Strategic Business Consultant eESI (eEmployer Solutions, Inc.)

What do you do? I consult with businesses to assist them with human resources, workers’ compensation insurance, employee benefits and administration and payroll needs.

Length of time at this job: Over a year.

What is it that you like best about your job? Helping people and the challenge it presents.

Education/Major: Bachelor’s degree in business, and I am currently working on my MBA in management.

What did you want to be when you were growing up? I wanted to get married and raise a family. I have a beautiful daughter of whom I’m very proud.

What career path led you to where you are today? I was in the banking industry for 20 years and wanted to try something totally different. It was the fact that I would still be working face to face with people and helping them that convinced me to make the move. I was ready to try something totally different.

When did you know that you were in the right place in your career?

I’m still not completely certain that I am, but I do like helping people, and I believe that the services eESI has to offer help people. This makes me feel that I’m in the right place.

Who were your mentors?

Joe McKinney, vice chairman of Broadway Bank. He was the one that taught me to ALWAYS step outside my box and get out of my comfort zone.

Would you encourage your children to go into the same field?

Absolutely, as long as they are happy and enjoy people. I think we need to figure out for ourselves what makes us happy. I believe everybody is different, and that’s what makes the world go round.

What do you enjoy doing on a day off? Spending time with my husband and our dogs in the Hill Country.

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What community groups or notfor-profit groups are you involved with as a volunteer?

President of my HOA, president of The Builders Exchange, North San Antonio Chamber Enterprising Women’s Committee, North San Antonio Chamber Networking Breakfast facilitator, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Junior Achievement, Habitat for Humanity, Elf Louise, KLRN Live Auction, SAMM Shelter, Texas Public Radio, Community Bible Church.

What type of music do you like?

I like all different types of music. I don’t like to limit myself, but rock’n’roll oldies bring back some good memories for me.

Who has been the biggest influence in your life personally and professionally? My Dad. Unfortunately, it’s too late to tell him, but as I’ve become “wiser,” I realize it was my Dad that gave me my work ethic, truthfulness and just trying to live life to the fullest.

What do you like most about San Antonio? I love that San Antonio is so people-friendly. We have everything at our fingertips, and, of course, our five-time NBA champions, the San Antonio Spurs.

How do you find balance in your life – career, community and home life? I’m not sure there really is a “balance.” I believe in giving 100 percent to everything, but I have to prioritize every day. I know I cannot do it all … all the time. I also make certain that if I cannot give 100 percent or don’t really enjoy giving the effort, I remove it from my plate.

What are your goals? I’d prefer to refer to it as my “bucket list.” No. 1 is to finish my MBA, hopefully in 2016.

With the completion of my MBA, I’d like to be an adjunct professor within the Alamo Community College District. Most of all, I want to be happy at whatever endeavor I pursue.

What is the best advice that you have ever received? To treat people like I would like to be treated.

Being nice doesn’t cost anything.

What person do you most admire?

I don’t really have just one person that I admire.

I know and admire several people who have had or currently have difficult challenges they managed to overcome through perseverance, determination and persistence.

For more with Lisa Mochel, go to sawomanconnect.com.

september/october 2015 | 59

W ACCORDING TO LINDA

What’s Relevant in San Antonio by LINDA ELLIOTT

Understanding Behaviors to

Achieve

Succeed

Every single one of us has our own very distinct gene pool that sets us apart from the world. To my knowledge, the ability to create exact clones has not yet been mastered. Therefore, we each remain one-of-a-kind beings. Sure, life would be so much easier if we were a bunch of robots and didn’t have to figure out how to interact effectively. But that’s not the case, which means we have to work smarter in order to improve our communication skills.

I’m a big fan of the many assessment tools available to us for learning more about ourselves and how we can adapt our personalities and behavior styles to those with whom we communicate. In fact, over the past few months I’ve become even more intrigued with the power of these tools. In my case, it has been the DiSC Profile.

Elliott Connection was retained to conduct some workshops for a large national company. Learning of the wide diversity of the company, it struck me that bringing in a subcontractor who is certified and well-versed in behavioral profile systems would be just the answer. Enters my friend, Jon, and our team was set. It’s been a great ride. He facilitates DiSC Profile training while I focus on the importance of being able to identify personality characteristics to be successful in connecting with others.

Fortunately, there are no styles that are what one could consider bad or flawed. You cannot fail in life because you score “F” on the personality profile test. It doesn’t work that way. But you can fail if you can’t relate with others in a congenial fashion, just as you can soar if you’re able to adjust to adapt to the circumstances.

All of the tests use different descriptive indicators. One might use animals, such as an owl, fox, deer, lion, sloth, octopus, cat. Another might use colors. I’ll use what I’m most familiar with – the DiSC, which uses a quadrant map: • D for Dominance – Person places emphasis on accomplishing results, the bottom line, confidence. This person likely has behaviors such as – Sees the big picture – Can be blunt – Accepts challenges – Gets straight to the point

• I for Influence – Person places emphasis on influencing or persuading others, openness, relationships. This person likely has behaviors such as – Shows enthusiasm – Is optimistic – Likes to collaborate – Dislikes being ignored

• S for Steadiness – Person places emphasis on cooperation, sincerity, dependability. This person likely has behaviors such as – Doesn’t like to be rushed – Calm manner – Calm approach – Supportive actions – Humility 60 | sawoman.com

• C for Conscientiousness – Person places emphasis on quality and accuracy, expertise, competency. This person likely has behaviors such as – Enjoys independence – Objective reasoning – Wants the details – Fears being wrong • And combinations of any of these

For those who know me, it should come as no surprise that I am a high I-D. I’ve taken this test numerous times over the course of years, and my score never changes. You would think that maturity and new directions in life would perhaps make a difference, but in my case – not. So I’m convinced that it’s in the genes. Though my dad left this world many years ago, I have no doubt that our scores would be very similar.

Given what little description I’ve offered you above, where are you – in your very humble opinion? Are you someone focused on details who must know how/why the clock was built? Then perhaps you are primarily a C. If you strive to serve your boss in the best way possible, you demonstrate S tendencies. If you are in sales and just love interacting with people, you will surely have some I in you. And if you are a CEO focusing on the bottom line, you’ve got some D qualities.

You don’t live in a bubble, so think about the people around you.

Who are they and where do they align? Look at your team members.

Are you in sync with them by making the necessary adjustments in order to be more effective?

I’ll share with you how I deal with my team members. Though I have not performed DiSC on any of them, I’ve got a very good feeling about where we are.

One team member is VERY detail-oriented, and he must explain his thoughts well beyond my comprehension. I, of course, being an I-D, lack the patience and comprehension to get through his explanations, though I truly respect his attention to details. I asked him to bullet point his recommendations and tasks. And he did, but he also color-coded them. WOW – that was way over the top for someone like me! So how did I deal with this wonderful team member? I assigned him to two other team members who are more S-C. It turned out to be the perfect solution.

Have some fun. Figure out what your profile is. Then use that knowledge to decipher how you need to adjust your strengths and your weaknesses to best connect with your target audience. As I reflected on my personal situation, some of my strengths are actually weaknesses in dealing with my team member. If I had not made changes in either myself or the circumstances, I can guarantee that we would not have the great working relationship we have. I would have definitely driven him away with my natural God-given personality. I needed to make adjustments or arrangements to make our relationship healthy. And it works – in spades!

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS W

Financial Planning for Life’s Stages

By WENDY ATWELL

ith long workdays and busy schedules, we can get caught up in the daily drill and forget what it’s all for. If we don’t take a step back and assess our situation every now and then, our autopilot may take us in the wrong direction. These four women help others financially plan for life’s different stages. They specialize in financial advising, life insurance options and estate planning and administration.

Sarah Trenchard, who works with New York Life Insurance, describes life’s different stages in insurance terms as the “protection, accumulation and distribution phases.” During each of these stages, the goals vary accordingly, and there are a multitude of strategies.

“When we start talking industry jargon, people just glaze over,” says Liz Crawford, investment adviser and managing director of Sendero. So Crawford works “to empower women in managing and investing their wealth.”

Carol Mani Johnston, who runs the Mani Johnston Group at UBS, learned the importance of financial planning from her father.

“Your profession is what you earn your living with,” he taught her, “but your investments are how you really are able to get the rest of the things that you would want in life that might be over and above what your income can produce and provide.”

“Sometimes there’s a hesitancy just to even talk to somebody about doing a will or any kind of estate planning because it’s hard to think about,” says Lauren McLaughlin, a board-certified attorney who practices estate planning.

Photography by ELIZABETH WARBURTON

Women need to take the time to pay attention to their finances, consider their goals and make a plan, whether they are just starting out, getting married and having children, rising to the top in their careers or retiring.

Carol Mani Johnston

Thirty years ago, Carol Mani Johnston recalls that when she was starting out in the brokerage business at age 22, “There was only one question the person who was interviewing asked me. He said, ‘Is your skin thick enough to handle it?’”

Thanks to her perseverance and competitive spirit, it was. Three decades later, Johnston runs the Mani Johnston Group at UBS. She’s weathered the market crisis in 1987, the terrorist attacks in 2001 and the financial crisis in 2008-2009.

Johnston is grateful for the host of mentors and training she’s had along the way. In the mid-80s, she recalls, “it was a lopsided field and at a time when women had not really gained any kind of acknowledgment that they also could be a good adviser.” Yet Johnston, who double majored in international business and math, and played competitive tennis, didn’t subscribe to the myth that these needed to be male-dominated fields.

She believes that women’s abilities to multitask, as well as listen carefully to “the intricate details of people’s lives,” are vital strengths of financial advisers. At UBS, Johnston loves the family atmosphere and small, boutique quality of the company. It allows her the time september/october 2015 | 63

W WOMEN IN BUSINESS and support that can then flow directly to her clients.

“To deliver financial advice that is really helpful, you have to have time for contemplation, you have to consider all the various challenges that the individual may be going through,” says Johnston, who caters to the 50-and-over group. She helps them to determine their goals and how to prioritize them.

According to Johnston, a person’s financial portfolio is like the spokes in a wheel: the financial, health, tax and legal concerns. Johnston and her team consult with each client “in order to complement and make sure investments are in line with long-term legal aspects and taxation, whatever the entity may be, and the caring and providing so you don’t outlive your money.” They work with a multigeneration client base to make sure “the passing of wealth can be as efficient as possible.”

A person’s biggest fear, she explains, is to outlive his or her money, which is a genuine threat for the sandwich generation—the demographic of people who find themselves in a position of caretaking for both their elder and younger generations. Johnston has personally felt the squeeze. When she was in her 30s, her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the young age of 50. Johnston spent the next 23 years helping her mother through her illness, as well as the expense of health and nursing care. Then, near the end of her mother’s life, Johnston gave birth to her first child, which, by chance, coincided with the beginning of the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

“I found incredible strength I never knew I had,” says Johnston. “Helping worried clients, caring for a newborn and aging family member gave me the real perspective that so many investors face today. I am a better adviser because of this experience.”

Johnston works to make sure her clients understand why they own what they do. Her role as a financial adviser is “an ongoing process” that can and often does last decades, “through good and uncertain economic periods and the obstacles that we all experience through life’s challenges both unexpected and anticipated. We continuously monitor and modify their investment portfolios to reflect their current and revised longer-term goals and legacy.”

Liz Crawford

“This industry is really good at not talking to the woman, not looking her in the eye, patting her hand and telling her not to worry about it,” says Liz Crawford. As an investment adviser and managing director at Sendero Wealth Management, she can understand how “that’s very infuriating, particularly if you’ve built a business, or if it’s your wealth and they assume it’s his.”

As a businesswoman, wife and mother of four children, Crawford brings multiple perspectives to the table, so she understands the diverse roles women play. “We try to be very cognizant of the people that we’re working with,” she says.

Crawford learned from her father, who was a stock analyst and portfolio manager. “I used to watch him pace the halls at night wor64 | sawoman.com

rying about a client’s assets, worrying about bad things that were coming, and how he was going to prepare for it, and I would think, ‘I would never do that for a career.’ But never say never.” She received a BA in psychology from Boston University, but when she was having a difficult time finding work, her father asked her to join him at his firm until she found something. That marked the beginning of her own financial career.

“After the four years together, I had a great understanding of stocks and bonds, why you trade them, what’s attractive about them, what’s not, what to avoid,” she says. “He took the time to tell me economic indicators and how they play into the stock market and what it means, so it was a great base.” Yet her psychology studies have also helped her to better understand and counsel her clients.

“We’re people and we work on emotions. If you’re only looking at the numbers, the data and the performance, you’re missing half of the client experience, so we really try hard to bring those two pieces together,” she says. Sendero manages $3.5 billion in assets for around 80 clients. This small environment allows Crawford to treat her clients like family so that she can really get to know them and their needs.

She explains, “Part of managing money is not beating an index, it’s what does this money mean to you? What do you want from this money? What are your goals?” Once she understands these

ited money.” She and her clients determine the plan after building in the cost for fees and inflation. She works to educate her clients about the choices in their portfolio: “It doesn’t happen overnight.

It’s consistently talking about it.”

Lauren McLaughlin

specifics, Crawford arranges the asset allocations accordingly.

“Investing is half of managing the wealth. There’s also an emotional component to it that most people don’t address,” she says.

For example, Crawford and her colleagues have found that families who were successful are “clear communicators; they made sure everybody was brought up-to-date and had access to information, and those families worked together beautifully.” On the other hand, families who were uncomfortable talking about wealth have had problems.

Crawford describes Sendero as “one of the best-run firms I’ve ever seen.” What makes it that way, Crawford explains, are processes in place: “It’s just very forward-looking, while most firms are very reactionary.” Sendero works with latest technology, such as providing a secure portal to their clients, so they have access to their information 24/7.

There is a $5 million client minimum at Sendero. Crawford explains that this money “is not easily replaceable. They say that they could not for the most part make the money again. They sold a business that they spent a lifetime or decades building, or they’ve inher-

In estate planning, the first step is the hardest. Lauren McLaughlin, a board-certified attorney who practices estate planning at Strasburger & Price, LLP, says people need to consider what will happen when they are gone.

“I don’t want people to feel like it’s such a morbid thing to think about,” says McLaughlin. Yes, you have to face your mortality when creating a will, but “for all the years that I’ve been doing this, I’ve seen enough horror stories of unintended consequences when somebody doesn’t have a good will in place.”

In Texas, if you die without a will, default laws will go into effect, and people need to understand what will happen. Also, “If you’re in a blended family, you need to be even more aware and understand the ramifications of that. The Texas Estates Code states where your money will go if you die, and without a will, in blended families that can sometimes not flow how you would otherwise expect or think it would. Once you have that information, you can make good choices about it,” McLaughlin explains.

She spends half her time helping clients create wills and the other half administering estates. Because she sees both sides of the process, she’s gained important insight into how things can go right — and wrong.

After learning the law, clients need to put key documents, such as wills and lifetime instruments, into place. McLaughlin advises her clients to think about what they want to do with their money and what their intentions are. Planning correctly not only helps to assure their intentions are carried out, but it can also allow for the possibility of reduced estate taxes and protection of their money, depending on who will inherit it.

Ideally, McLaughlin would love to have all of her clients’ advisers sitting around the table, and everyone would collaborate, because “sometimes when you’re each working in your own little silos, things can slip through the cracks.”

Originally from San Antonio, McLaughlin finished her undergraduate degree at the University of Texas in three years and then attended Columbia Law School in New York. She is the mother of four young children and has been practicing estate law for 11 years.

She loves the wide range of specialists at Strasburger, which allows them to be “full service” for their clients. As the youngest partner in her group, she can rely on the experience of other partners who have been practicing longer. “I feel confident in saying you never stop learning and you never stop seeing something new,” she says. That’s what makes her job interesting.

“I always felt like estate planning was the right niche for me. I really like how much you interface directly with clients,” McLaughlin says. “I feel like I’m really helping people through what otherwise would be a very difficult time, such as to understand how to get through an estate administration after a loved one has died. And on the planning side, it’s a very personal thing to help people plan for how their money and how much of their money is going to eventually reach their children and grandchildren.”

One of her favorite parts of the job is getting to work with multiple generations. She often begins with a matriarch and paseptember/october 2015 | 65

W WOMEN IN BUSINESS triarch, but then their children come in to make sure their wills collaborate with their parents’, and then they bring in their children.

Meanwhile, Strasburger has “been wonderful working with me and making the juggling act a little bit easier,” she says. “I feel like I’ve hit my stride. I’m where I’m meant to be.”

Sarah Trenchard

At the young age of 30, Sarah Trenchard is already a partner at New York Life Insurance Com-

pany, where an infinite variety of insurance and financial products are offered to help with clients’ estate and financial planning. She helps to run the office, which has almost 100 advisers, as well as to train and develop agents and advisers.

As the only female and youngest person on the management team, Trenchard has accomplished quite a bit at an early age. She won the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table for three consecutive years and was one of the top female advisers under the age of 25 in the nation. “This opportunity has changed my life and is actually a lot of fun,” she says. She owes her success largely to her drive and authenticity, but she also stresses the importance of relational skills in her industry.

“Numbers are not what we do; that’s the back end,” she explains. “What we do is connect with people. We build relationships because we’re helping them make changes in their lives. We’re helping them protect their families and their assets, so our conversations are very personal. I can’t tell you how many times somebody has cried in my office.

We almost take on a counselor role, and that’s why women are so good at this.”

According to Trenchard, “about 70 percent of women prefer to work with a female adviser.” Her major objective now is to recruit new talent. “It’s a fantastic opportunity. It’s great for single moms because the schedule is very flexible and the income potential is really just up to you.” While recruiting new agents, she looks “for people that are genuine and have a deep desire for more — for themselves, their families ... It’s all about relationship building and just being yourself.”

The life insurance industry allows Trenchard to track society’s changes. “Women make up over half the workforce,” so the need for financial advising is rising, she explains. Women need to understand their finances, she points out, because they live longer than men, and more women are waiting to get married, often because of their careers.

Instead of making assumptions, Trenchard and her colleagues assess their clients by asking them a series of questions. This investor profile helps her to get a better understanding of her clients’ most important financial goals and concerns. “For example, when you go to the doctor, he cannot give you a diagnosis without hearing your symptoms first. That’s what we do,” she says.

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There are multiple ways to address a client’s needs, depending on their circumstances. Life insurance has the benefit of being taxfree when you pass away; annuities have the benefit of a guarantee.

Also, Trenchard offers long-term care insurance, which pays the nonmedical expenses for in-home or nursing home care.

When helping clients, Trenchard doesn’t speak the dry jargon of finance but turns to analogies instead. “This is why I’m good at what I do, because I take very complicated concepts and make them very simple to understand,” Trenchard laughs. An annuity “is a form of a retirement vehicle, like an IRA or a 401(k); it’s just a different wrapper around the candy bar.”

An annuity’s benefits are customized, based on her clients’ needs, such as with a fixed rate of return or with a guaranteed floor, which assures that clients will get their principal back, no matter what happens with the economy.

The main point is that financial planning with life insurance and annuities allows tax advantages and savings while minimizing risk.

“Tell me what you are concerned about,” says Trenchard, “what’s most important to you, and then we’ll devise a plan.”

W WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Financial experts weigh-in on events that often happen to women.

What financial advice can you give a woman who is an empty nester recently divorced and is dealing with credit challenges because of her situation?

“It is critical to get professional financial advice prior to the divorce being finalized, not afterwards. A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™ (CDFA™) can work with the divorce attorneys evaluating the financial impact of various settlement options, both immediate and long term, to help ensure that the assets the spouse receives in an equitable settlement are adequate and liquid enough to provide a stream of income or other financial security. We respect the training and the qualifications of this CDFA™ designation so much that we maintain a CDFA™ on our team.”

Jeanie Wyatt, CFA CEO and CIO South Texas Money Management

What do you tell the woman who recently sold her business and wants to protect and invest the proceeds of that sale?

“Selling a business is an emotional experience that takes a long time and can consume many resources. Much of an owner’s identity is tied to the business and she may feel some loss of purpose. We recommend a series of meetings to determine the amount of capital needed to maintain her lifestyle and how much should be invested for the long-term. In today’s low interest rate environment the amount of money needed to produce a sufficient level of income can be a surprise. Most women instinctively need the security and peace of mind to know they will not outspend their money. This requires a serious review of assets and liabilities. There can be some hard choices but with candid answers and the hiring of a Registered Investment Advisor and input from her CPA, a customized investment portfolio can be constructed to provide income and future financial security.”

Alexander W. Pierce III (Rusty) Partner Portfolio Manager-Analyst Oxbow Advisors

What financial advice can you give a young professional whose goals are to someday have a family, buy a home and send their children to college?

What financial advice would you give a married woman who has inherited wealth and wants to maintain and grow this money for her retirement and children?

“Often I have found that my female clients may feel overwhelmed when it comes to their goals and finances. Women actually control an estimated $14 trillion in assets — this is more than 50% of private wealth. I always advise women to get educated about their financial options to help them gain confidence in making their own financial choices. Women may make 51.4% of the US population, but they influence 85% of all purchasing. Because of this purchasing power, I encourage women to find the best professional for them, who will care about their personal goals and will guide them in the right direction. As women start their families, they generally assume the role of CFO 85% of the time. With such a significant family responsibility, I believe it is important to align with a financial professional so you can build a trusted relationship and work through your goals one step at a time in order not to overwhelm yourself. “

“This advice is for everyone, not just women.

First, do your homework.

It is important to have advisors you trust and communicate well with, but there is no substitute for being informed. Second, there is no low-risk, high-return investment.

The potential for higher returns always comes with a commensurate amount of risk. And most importantly, budgeting and managing your lifestyle is far more important than complicated investing or reaching for returns. If you spend less than you earn and invest conservatively for the long term, you will likely become a good steward over the assets you inherited, and a good example for your children.”

Jennifer L. Scroggins Investment Advisor Representative Platinum Wealth Solutions of Texas, LLC

68 | sawoman.com

Laura Ehrenberg-Chesler Partner/Co-CEO Crossvault Capital Management, LLC

september/october 2015 | 69

W ROLE MODEL

Role Model Brooke Lanie

Changes Directions Her love of sports and people brings her to UTSA

By KRISTIN MEARS Photography by ELIZABETH WARBURTON No one would have expected, not even Brooke Lanie,

manager of donor relations, engagement and communica-

UTSA Athletic Development, I decided to postpone the doc-

torate and take a job with UTSA — right timing, I suppose,”

tions for UTSA Athletic Development, that a San Antonio

she explains.

economy at UT Dallas would find her way back to her

sister, Lanie was always the person to confide in and rely

letic Development. It’s a completely different career path

an avid believer in “trying to help others,” Lanie is a co-

native pursuing her doctorate in public policy and political

hometown to accept an unpaid internship with UTSA Ath-

that veered from her childhood dream of becoming a lob-

byist or attorney.

Coming from a family of three half sisters and a twin

on. “They gave me the nickname Dear Abby,” she says. As

partner in a new initiative with athletic director Lynn

Hickey and career counselor Stefanie Cisneros, to aid men-

“I love sports and people,” says Lanie. “So when my dad,

toring to women student athletes with the help of promi-

was intrigued and wanted to see where all the money went

community. The program, called WINGS, stands for

who is a donor to UTSA, told me they had an internship, I and how it is used to benefit the student athletes.” Taking

a leap of faith, she landed her dream job as manager. She

nent and influential women in the surrounding

Women Inspiring and Nurturing Greatness in Student-

Athletes. “There are two programs we have come across

has the privilege of seeing the direct impact the money has,

that are similar, one at Auburn as well as California State

Having spent seven years furthering her education,

ing to create an environment for women athletes to be pre-

not only on the student, but on the community as well.

Lanie is a testimony to other women to be optimistic, a

leader, and to push for what they want. “I’m one of those

people who is literally in school forever,” she says. “I want my character to speak through my reputation.”

While achieving a degree in political science/pre-law

with minors in English and Spanish at Louisiana Tech Uni-

University Bakersfield (CSUB),” says Lanie. “We are want-

pared after they leave UTSA, and hopefully this will be the catalyst to do so.”

You won’t find Lanie just organizing events for UTSA

Athletics or orchestrating her talents on the soccer field.

She might be practicing her football skills for the upcoming

Alzheimer’s Association inaugural Blonde vs. Brunette Flag

versity, Lanie also played Division I soccer. She then went

Football Game this spring to be sponsored by the San An-

ternational studies: human society, education and devel-

father’s mother suffered from Alzheimer’s disease,” she

to Oklahoma State University to pursue her master’s in inopment. “I wrote my thesis on Argentina’s economy since

the 1980s and the social/political/economic status of the

tonio & South Texas chapter at STAR’s Toyota Field. “My

says. Named co-chair for the fundraising committee this

year, she has goals to raise awareness and money for the

country through different presidencies,” she says. “I stayed

organization that she holds dear to her heart.

agriculture group from Oklahoma State, then stayed on my

possible way. She offers her mentoring and nurturing abil-

in Argentina and traveled around with an international

own to research for my paper.”

After a volcanic eruption occurred next door in Chile,

Lanie was forced to take a 24-hour microbus to Buenos Aires and was stuck in the city until she was able to catch a

flight out. “After coming back home, I decided to pursue my

doctorate at UT Dallas, but after getting an internship with 70 | sawoman.com

Lanie continues to give back to the community in every

ities to the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization as a

Big Sister. “I want to be there for someone who is going

through many things I went through as a child and going

through life stages and changes,” says Lanie. “I had great

role models and mentors growing up, but there is nothing

like having one-on-one time with someone.”

BROOKE LANIE Age: 26 Why she’s a role model: With seven years of education under her belt and childhood dreams of becoming an attorney, she decided to take a leap of faith and accept an unpaid internship at UTSA in a completely different field, postponing her doctorate. She is using her love for sports and people to mentor and make a difference in the lives of women student athletes at UTSA, as well as impact her community any way she can.

Her role models: UTSA athletic director Lynn Hickey and Amy Poehler and Tina Fey for their charisma and passion in everything they do. “I admire how they speak to women who live in a man’s world.”

Words or phrases she lives by: The Hebrew word chazaq, which means the strongest form of courage. The Bible verse “Her mouth speaks from that which fills her heart,” Luke 6:45. Also, “You can never be overdressed or overeducated” (Oscar Wilde). “I have so many; I like quotes way too much.”

Last book read or favorite book: The last book she read was Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. Her favorite book is Immanual Kant’s Perpetual Peace or anything by Donald Miller.

Favorite band: ZZ Ward is her favorite singer; her style is jazz/blues/pop.

Favorite movie: The 1953 film Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn. “I love anything with Audrey Hepburn. She is also a role model of mine for her philanthropy.”

Favorite pastime in San Antonio: Playing co-ed soccer. “I actually played Division I soccer. I play four times a week now with my friends; it’s not so much competitive as it is relaxing.”

Where she grew up: “Actually here in San Antonio.

I spent seven years furthering my education in different schools, and I moved back here last December.”

Most memorable moment as a youth: Not so much a “good” memorable moment, but the most influential was when her grandfather passed away. “I was eating cereal with my twin sister, Whitney, watching Saturday morning cartoons. My dad came in and told us he passed, and my first reaction was to laugh because I thought he was joking. I didn’t think this could happen to such a strong person like my grandfather. It is one of those times where you can remember every little detail; it just stays with you.”

Describe a personal goal: “To continue to be a person anyone can confide in; I enjoy trying to help others.

I also want to strive to have the best character I can have; I want it to speak through my reputation.”

Describe a professional goal: “To continue to climb the ladder, and whatever I’m doing, I want to make a difference in the community.”

september/october 2015 | 71

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MOMMY MATTERS W

PUBERTY

THE BRAIN How to Set Your Adolescent Up for Academic Success

By NICOLE CRAWFORD When I was young, my family moved a lot. By the

time I was in eighth grade, I had attended five dif-

ferent schools. You would think I would have been

used to moving around, but I vividly remember driv-

ing to school in eighth grade and holding back tears

due to nerves and anxiety.

Now looking back, I understand. It wasn’t the school. I loved

my classmates and teacher and did just fine academically. It wasn’t

my family, my friends or anything external that caused the anxiety. I’m

convinced the reason for my difficult adjustment was something we all expe-

rience: puberty and raging hormones.

What happens during puberty

Puberty triggers increases in emotionality, risk taking, sexual interest and sensitivity to social factors.

At the same time, the portions of the brain responsible for reasoning, problem-solving and self-regulation have not fully matured.

Puberty affects everyone differently, as you probably know if you’ve worked

with children of this age group. For some adolescents, its effects are subtle and

manifest internally. For others, the changes going on inside their bodies might

manifest externally – specifically, at school.

Since my own children are still young, I thought I’d discuss this issue with psy-

chologist Justine Hansen. She works as the school psychologist and special education consultant at Great Hearts Monte Vista. I asked her why puberty can

be such a tumultuous time for kids and parents.

She explained, “Puberty triggers increases in emotionality, risk taking, sexual

interest and sensitivity to social factors. At the same time, the portions of the

brain responsible for reasoning, problem-solving, and self-regulation have not

yet fully matured. When you add to this the fact that today’s adolescents face

significant challenges at increasingly early ages, it’s no wonder that puberty is

stressful time — for teens and parents alike.”

september/october 2015 | 73

W MOMMY MATTERS Being sensitive to physiological and neurological changes that take place during puberty can help parents gain perspective into changes in behavior and academic performance.

A rapidly changing brain

This conflict also goes on at other stages of childhood. (My 2-year-old is clearly going through something similar, in fact.) But during puberty, the changes occur at a rapid-fire pace. In his ex-

cellent book, Why Do They Act That Way, author David Walsh, Ph.D., discusses the way the brain’s

basic developmental processes – known as blossoming, pruning, and myelinization – accelerate

during puberty:

“…key brain areas undergo their blossoming and pruning periods only during adolescence. Further,

the corpus callosum, which connects the right and left hemispheres, is still undergoing major con-

struction from childhood into adolescence. The myelination process in certain parts of the teen

brain actually increases by 100 percent from the beginning of adolescence to the end. One of the

circuits involved in emotional regulation, for example, is still being myelinated during adolescence,

which accounts for the lightning-quick flashes of anger when you, for example, tell an adolescent she has to get off the computer so other people in the family can use it.”

You’re not alone

As with many parenting struggles, knowing these changes are normal can help put things in perspective. Hansen stressed the

importance of respecting the process and supporting adolescents during these challenging stages of development: “It is important to keep in mind that these changes signal normal, healthy development. While parents should respect their child’s in-

creasing need for independence, it is also important to provide supervision and guidance during this period of pre-adulthood.”

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The power of sleep

One simple way parents can provide this support

is by encouraging healthy sleep patterns. As noted above, the brain is going through some intense

changes during puberty, and getting enough sleep

is one of the best ways to help adolescents and

teens perform their best in school. Hansen ex-

plains, “Getting enough sleep is an important chal-

lenge during adolescence. One reason for this is that sleep cycles shift, causing teens to fall asleep

later at night and sleep later into the morning. So-

cial activities, school work, jobs and other activi-

ties

also

contribute

to

later

bedtimes.

Unfortunately, morning schedules do not always

allow for the later wake times teens naturally want.

“Although the amount of sleep needed nightly de-

creases during adolescence, CDC research shows that less than one-third of adolescents get at least 8 hours of sleep nightly (teens need 8.5 to 9.5

hours sleep per night). While poor sleep is associ-

ated with a host of difficulties, the benefits of ade-

quate sleep include increased learning and

memory, normalized hormone production, better test performance and higher grades. Parents can

support their child’s sleep needs by protecting bed-

times, avoiding caffeine, ensuring daily exercise,

turning off screens and dimming light one hour

before bedtime and modeling good sleep habits.”

So now looking back on my eighth-grade struggles, I can say, Mom and Dad, it wasn’t your fault. I was

just going through puberty. Hopefully I can re-

member that when it’s my turn to guide my own kids through this challenging and exciting period of development.

september/october 2015 | 75

HIGHER EDUCATION W

3

Secrets to

Unlock

the Kingdom of

College Acceptance

By PAMELA LUTRELL

The Search for the Golden Diploma … in a fiercely competitive world, parents have

begun to play this game on behalf of their children. They play with intense, focused finesse in order to help students rise to the top in the college registrar’s office. Today’s parents are more involved and determined than ever before to see their students enter top collegiate programs.

New businesses open daily dedicated to serving families and making the quest for college an easier one. Not to mention that parents may even choose to hire assistance for test preparation, some of which guarantee an increase in SAT scores. With mailboxes full of promotional materials and guidance for college preparation, there are some basic pieces of information parents should keep in mind and secrets often ignored.

1

BEGIN COLLEGE PLANNING IN MIDDLE SCHOOL

As soon as a student enters middle school (MS), parents should become educated as to what lies ahead on the path to successful education. Begin with a visit to www.schoolcounselor.org and click on the PARENT page at the top. This will start the parent’s education process for working with the high school (HS) guidance office. Guidance counselors recommend parents of eighth-grade students understand there are subjects that will transfer to high school. Math, foreign language and speech will give a jump-start into high school curricula and recommended and distinguished programs. A student who begins algebra in MS will likely be recommended for calculus in HS if grade requirements are met.

Also, MS is the time to begin the critical college conversations. HS guidance counselor Tina King says, “Begin to speak with your eighth-grader about college. Which ones do they like and get excited about? Even if it is because of an athletic team, take your student to the campuses and visit at this early age. When they see what they are working toward and get excited about it, the student often begins to work harder and take academics with more serious intention.”

Local families do not have to go far to find the excitement of college campuses. Thriving universities exist within and around the city with student population numbers continuing to grow past projections for 2015. To get a student college-focused, consider visits or attending athletic competitions for these campuses (see sidebar).

Once parents begin to understand the colleges their student desires to attend, then visit those websites and make note of the college admission requirements for the specific campus. Sit down with the student and review these requirements at the beginning of their high school career. Suzanne M. Petrusch, vice president for enrollment management at St. Mary’s University, adds, ”At St. Mary’s, we recognize the importance of our own site, but we understand that we also have to be accessible through external sites and planning tools such as Cappex, Chegg, CollegeView, My College Options, Private Colleges & Universities, and Welcome to College, which, incidentally, was launched by my colleague Justin Bayer to help students explore potential schools where they are likely to create meaningful relationships.”

Opposite: Top: Trinity University; bottom (L-R): St. Mary’s University Tower; students at UTSA, and UTSA Main Campus. Courtesy photos. september/october 2015 | 77

W HIGHER EDUCATION For the college search, the best relationship you can develop is with the high school guidance counselor.

In large public schools, these offices will deal predominately with the student, so parents will need to call and set up appointments to make sure important conversations occur.

King says, “It is most beneficial to take your student to visit colleges during the school year when the campuses are full and functioning. Sit in on classes and walk the campus. This is the best way to see if it fits your student and family.” Also, before going for the visit, make an appointment with the college admissions counselor and allow them to speak with your student and map out academic goals. These goals can be taken back to HS and a track developed with the HS counselor to set your student on the right path to attend the college they desire.

PHOTO COURTESY TRINITY UNIVERSITY

Remember, each student is different. They have unique likes and dislikes, and some possess different learning styles. This means parents should consider which college programs are the best for their student. Some will be fine in large urban universities; some in smaller suburban colleges; some may function better with online programs; and some will flourish in smaller specialty colleges for specific fields. There will be students who prefer private religious schools, which are excellent throughout Texas. Again, visits to the campuses online and in person are critical and may begin early.

“At the outset, I recommend students visit different types of schools – a large public, a medium-sized institution and a small private – so they can get a feel for the type of institution at which they might be most comfortable,” explains Petrusch. “As they narrow their search, they should schedule visits to schools likely to be in their application set. It’s OK to make visits as a junior. The campus visit is also the time to assess your student’s gut reaction when they are asked, `Is this a place that you could call home for four years?’”

Of course, these visits and conversations are times to allow your student to understand the importance of grades and testing. Not only do they play a key role in acceptance, but also a key role in financial scholarship opportunities. Top scores can equal money on the table, and this is why so many families seek tutoring for the ACT and SAT tests.

“Your high school experience does matter,” agrees Petrusch. “Over the course of my career, I have met too many students who say that they wish they had understood the consequences of not caring during the first year or so of high school. I recommend students choose challenging courses and give their best effort every day. They should take the SAT and ACT as a junior and also be sure to sit for the tests again as a senior. Apply during the fall of senior year, and never let a deadline slip past.”

2

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GAIN PURPOSEFUL EXPERIENCE

An overlooked yet important step is to build a résumé in high school that reflects a well-rounded and career-focused student. Local graduate Samuel Wolfe understood this in high school and built an impressive résumé toward attending a top college for his future communications or law career. He enters college this fall at Texas Tech University with a résumé from high school that includes a purposeful parttime job for two years at Best Buy, an internship with the San Antonio Police Communications Department, a football season part-time job with WOAI TV, attendance in Washington, D.C., at a national journalism conference at George Mason University and returning the next year as a counselor, and participation for four years on the school’s broadcast journalism team.

september/october 2015 | 79

W HIGHER EDUCATION PHOTO COURTESY UTSA

Wolfe says, “What helped me most to focus on college in high school was definitely the extracurricular. I got hands-on experience in the field, and I got to talk to people who have achieved what I want. Education in the classroom can only take you so far.”

University of Texas at Austin junior Logan Cheney agrees with doing the most extra work and focusing it on your field of interest in high school. Cheney says, “I do believe the biggest thing that gave me a competitive edge over my peers was credible experience in my field while in high school. There were friends of mine with perfect grades in high school that weren’t accepted into the same school I was, simply because their résumé was barren. They have told me many times that they wished they had focused more on gaining needed experience through internships early on, because now they are playing catch-up with me.

Some of my peers are at the same professional level right now that I was when I was a junior in high school. Internships in high school are a springboard for a competitive edge in the workforce immediately after high school and especially during undergrad.”

These outside jobs and internships also provide opportunities for the much needed letters of recommendation many colleges and scholarships require.

These are best provided through teachers, bosses or industry professionals from the career field the student desires to pursue. Finally, the additional experiences provide lessons learned that may be the theme for college essays. One of the topics in Texas for the essays requests the student write of lifetime goals and career goals.

Parents should make sure the student gives proper attention to the résumé and letters of recommendation. Seek help from the school guidance office and even consider if the family should hire an education professional to guide the student through the process. These steps are important even if the student begins by attending a two-year college such as in the Alamo Community College District, Blinn Community College in Bryan-College Station or Austin Community College in Austin. All provide excellent guidance to point the student toward success in a top university program.

PHOTO COURTESY UTSA

3

SUBMIT ALL DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING FAFSA

Finally, all parents need to fill out and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

“It is a common misconception by parents that they do not need to fill out FAFSA if they do not have a financial need,” King says. “Colleges are required to gain this information regardless of the family income. Also, colleges will require the FAFSA form in order to regulate and award academic and merit scholarships and not just financial need scholarships.” Many parents will forgo the document, and this can slow the acceptance process. Families may use tax information for the previous year for early acceptance applications, and then update after the first of the year with new information.

Beginning early, enhancing the high school résumé and submitting all documents, including the FAFSA, are often overlooked keys to the college acceptance kingdom. San Antonio and the surrounding area boast of premier collegiate programs. From the new thriving field of cyber security at UTSA and Texas A & M San Antonio to creative fields, including animation and fashion design, at the San Antonio Art Institute, the area is full of career opportunity for students and higher education tailored especially to career goals. It just requires determination, focus, diligence and a well-researched plan of action put in place by parents and students together.

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Colleges by student population LOCAL COLLEGES

Our Lady of the Lake University (1,555) St. Mary’s University (2,400) Trinity University (2,400) The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) (28,000) Texas A & M University – San Antonio (3,600) University of the Incarnate Word (10,000) San Antonio College (21,000)

COLLEGES OUTSIDE OF SAN ANTONIO

Abilene Christian University, Abilene (5,000) Texas Christian University, Fort Worth (8,200) Baylor University, Waco (17,000) Texas Tech University, Lubbock (34,000) The University of Texas, Austin (52,000) Texas A & M University, Bryan/College Station (58,577)

Note: Population numbers are approximations for fall 2015.

PHOTO COURTESY ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE –

a matter of the head & heart HEAD:

Availability and breadth of the academic programs Quality of the academic programs Access to faculty Class size Graduation rate Experiential-learning opportunities Distance from home Net price (availability of scholarship and financial aid) Student life opportunities

HEART:

Does the school feel right?

Is there an emotional draw?

Do you believe that you can flourish in the environment?

Will you be pushed to grow intellectually and emotionally?

What is the mission of the institution? Does it resonate with you?

Courtesy: St. Mary’s University

september/october 2015 | 81

W HILL COUNTRY GUIDE

Stop & Smell the

Peaches and other must-do moments in Blanco, Johnson City and Stonewall

By JANIS TURK

Many San Antonio locals take scenic Sunday drives up U.S. 281 to places like Marble Falls, Burnet, Lake Buchanan and Llano, or they make the turn off 281 onto Highway 290 and head to Fredericksburg for winery tours, dining and shopping.

Those tried-and-true towns are always worth the trek for a weekend road trip, but along the way, drivers often pass through other friendly little towns without stopping. It seems they’re always in a hurry to get to places they’ve already been.

That’s too bad because towns along that route, like Blanco, Johnson City and Stonewall, deserve more than a passing glance. Why not slow down and explore the unexpected surprises of these under sung spots?

Blanco offers more than just its attractive old courthouse, and Johnson City is not just a lovely little place to make a left-hand turn onto Highway 290. Famous for its tiny summer peaches, Stonewall is always a sweet stop, too. The entire area is home to tree-lined rivers, like the Blanco and Pedernales, historic sites, state parks, antique shops, down-home diners, food trucks, lavender farms, breweries and wineries.

So stop and smell the peaches—or sip a cold brew—in these amazing, though often overlooked, small Texas towns.

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Blanco

Sure, the Texas Hill Country is known for fields of grapevines and wildly popular wineries, but in Blanco, it’s all about beer.

Since 1996, Blanco (population 1,876) has been home to the Real Ale Brewing Company, an award-winning craft brewery where visitors (with designated drivers, of course) can spend an afternoon visiting the new tap room and taking a tour. Real Ale began as a small family operation in the basement of Cranberry’s Antiques in downtown Blanco, but it has grown to a full-scale brewery on the edge of town that now employs more than 45 people. Making some of the highest-quality craft beers in the state, today this little Blanco brewery produces over 58,000 barrels of beer. The taproom is open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.- 5 p.m., and beer is available for purchase starting at 11 a.m.

Free tours are given on Friday and Saturday afternoons.

Never been to Blanco and not sure where to start?

Blanco is also big on small town restaurants, such as the Blanco Bowling Club Café (featuring 9-pin bowling) and fine little organic bistros like the Redbud Café and Market, Oak Creek Café, and local favorite spots like the Chess Club and Old 300 BBQ. It’s also a fun stop for shoppers who enjoy art and antiques and gifts at places like Rain Bird Rustic Furniture, Art and Antique Gallery, Cranberry’s Antiques and The Vintage Cottage. Others head to Blanco for fishing and other outdoor fun along the Blanco River or in Blanco State Park. (Note: Call before you go, as the park had to close in recent weeks because of flooding). Guest houses, rural ranch resort properties and little bed-and-breakfast inns are also big draws in Blanco.

One more thing to know about Blanco is that it is also the “Lavender Capital of Texas,” so, depending on the season, it’s the place to start a lavender trail road trip, too.

Here are 10 “Best-of-Blanco” things to do.

1

2 3 4 5

6

Bask in the beauty of Blanco State Park.

Have a tour and taste at the Real Ale Brewing Company Tap Room (try the Devil’s Backbone beer or the Fireman’s #4 blonde ale.)

Tee off at the Vaaler Creek Golf Club, voted the “#1 Golf Course in the Texas Hill Country” by Golf Now. The 18-hole championship course, designed by Michael Lowry, provides a challenging, yet relaxing round of golf for players of all skill levels.

Duck into the Rain Bird Gallery to check out the rustic handcrafted wood furniture.

Visit the Buggy Barn Museum Complex with its exceptional collection of vintage buggies, wagons and carriages from across the U.S. and Canada. On display are unusual wagons and buggies dating from the 1860s to early 1900s, including Studebakers and Deere & Webbers. Some of the buggies, carriages and wagons here have appeared in movies such as True Grit, Lonesome Dove and There Will Be Blood.

Cut your own lavender at the Hill Country Lavender Farm. Lavender season generally runs from late May through early July, and in

7 8

9 10

June they just celebrated the 11th annual Blanco Lavender Festival. During lavender season, visitors may even reserve a special lunch served beneath a large live oak in a breezy spot with lovely views of the lavender fields.

Meet the potters at Brieger Pottery, offering their own handmade functional stoneware pottery and pieces by other local artists and craftsmen, as well as Hill Country Lavender products.

Stroll around the grounds of the Old Blanco County Courthouse and visit the stands and stalls of local vendors on Blanco Market Day, held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the third Saturday of each month, March through November, with a special Christmas Market Day on the second Saturday in December.

Play shuffleboard at the Blanco Riverside Bar, throw darts, sit outside and sip a brew, or stay late for live music on Saturday nights.

Visit Uptown Blanco, a one-stop art and entertainment complex including its Art Center with local arts and crafts; its Textile Studio, where visitors can get lost in fabric; and its courtyard and ballroom, a wedding and special event venue. september/october 2015 | 83

W HILL COUNTRY GUIDE

Johnson City & Stonewall

Most people think of these two small towns as the epicenter of the Lyndon Baines Johnson legacy — and, of course, they’re right. But this is also the sweet spot where fruit orchards line the highway and little Texas peaches are sold from friendly folks at roadside stands each summer.

Whether heading to historic sites like Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park, playing along the Pedernales River, or sipping wines on a vineyard tour, be sure to stop at a peach stand during peach season.

The two towns, and the tiny communities all along the 16-mile stretch of Highway 290 in between, are ideal family road trip destinations.

Here are 10 great stops in Johnson City, Stonewall and all the peach stands in between.

1

Visit the LBJ Ranch and tour Lady Bird and LBJ’s “Texas White House” at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in Stonewall near the banks of the Pedernales River.

6

7 8

2 3 4 5

Visit the white-picket-fence wonders of Lyndon B. Johnson Boyhood Home in Johnson City, also part of LBJ National Historical Park.

Experience the natural beauty of Pedernales Falls State Park and Pedernales River Nature Park.

Feed the animals and enjoy the petting zoo at the Exotic Resort Zoo (just outside Johnson City).

Visit the Sculpture Ranch and Galleries, a 144-acre ranch with large-scale sculptures from a selection of artists scattered throughout the property, as well as an art gallery set in a hangar that once housed LBJ’s helicopter. (Just 6 miles west of Johnson City).

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9 10

Visit Hill Country wineries and vineyards or take a Hills of Texas Wine Tour with winery tours and tastings from Johnson City to Fredericksburg.

Stop and taste the jerky at Whittington’s Jerky and General Store.

Stop and eat the peaches (and peach cobbler!) at Gold Orchards in Stonewall. Taste homemade peachthemed pastries, pies and treats (including peach ice cream), or grab a bag of peaches for the road. They often sell farm-grown vegetables there, too.

Show your kids how cool science and technology can be at the Hill Country Science Mill, a family destination offering a fun, interactive learning environment for all ages.

Grab a slice of heaven (authentic home-style pizza), a big juicy hamburger or their own housemade craft beer at Pecan Street Brewing in Johnson City, or better yet, make a pit stop at the local favorite farm-to-market-fare food truck, Lot 102, parked along Main Street—said to serve the best homemade pie in the Hill Country.

september/october 2015 | 85

W TRAVEL

Where Summer Never Ends Enjoy endless-summer fun this fall along the Texas Gulf coast

By JANIS TURK

Head to any Texas beach town this weekend, and

you’re likely to see someone you know. Maybe you’ll

bump into your Alamo Heights friends at a conven-

ience store, see moms from your kids’ school at the

pool, or spot your neighbors driving golf carts on the

beach. If it weren’t for the water water everywhere,

you’d swear you were still in San Antonio.

Lots of Alamo City locals enjoy the sand and sun fun

of the Gulf of Mexico on weekends year-round. After

all, Corpus Christi is only a two-hour drive from San

Antonio, and it’s only 30 miles farther to Port

Aransas on Mustang Island. After Labor Day, condo

and vacation rental rates drop, and a Texas Gulf

Coast getaway weekend becomes even more family-

friendly and affordable. Since South Texas remains

warm well into late autumn, anytime is the right time to head to the coast.

“Port A,” as Texans call Port Aransas, is just

about everybody’s favorite Texas beach town.

Wind-swept and wonderful, with sandal-friendly

streets and pastel-colored buildings bleached by the

sun, Port Aransas is an adorable little one-horse-

town on Mustang Island. Filled with T-shirt shops, folks in flip—flops, seafood markets, candy and donut shops, dolphin cruises, seafood restaurants,

hamburger huts, daiquiri bars, family-sized condos and handsome beach homes, it offers much to do and see. Visitors can enjoy deep sea fishing trips, outings

of crabbing and fishing in Aransas Bay, dolphin ex-

cursions, sunset cruises and even pirate ship adventures. There are also great wildlife viewing

opportunities as well as bird-watching adventures at

six sites along the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail.

86 | sawoman.com

Top: Sunset dining by Dennis Dreyer Municipal Harbor, Port Aransas, TX. Middle: Heading for a swim, photo by Janis Turk Below: George W. Fulton Mansion, Rockport-Fulton, TX.

Clockwise from top left: Rockport Beach, photo by Diane Loyd.

Seafood delights at Charlotte Plummer’s Seafare Restaurant, Rockport-Fulton.

A foursome on the golf course at Palmilla Beach Golf Club. Blue Crab rental house at Cinnamon Shore, Port Aransas, photo

by Janis Turk.

Discovering the ocean’s marvels at the Texas State Aquarium, Corpus Christi;

If you like beachcombing, take a short jetty boat ride to San Jose’s

larity of some of Florida’s most successful

miles of undeveloped shoreline for camping along Mustang Island,

side, WaterColor and Rosemary Beach.

Island (locals like to call it St. Joe’s or St. Joseph’s). There are also 18 including sites in Mustang Island State Park.

But don’t worry; you needn’t sleep in the sand to spend the night in Port

A. There are budget hotels and vacation rental cabins and condos all over town, including the historic Tarpon Inn with its long rocker-filled front

porch within walking distance of the beach. Some visitors like to stay in popular condominiums like Port Royal Ocean Resort & Conference Cen-

ter or the Dunes Condominiums — lodging that has lured San Antonio

locals for years. Other families rent large beach houses sleeping 10 or

more. In fact, many Port A condominiums and homes are privately owned by San Antonio locals who rent them to vacationers through

VRBO and property management companies guests can find online.

South Walton beach communities, like Sea-

Cinnamon Shore is one of the most coveted

coastal addresses on the Texas Gulf shores.

With its Town Center, two pools, three restau-

rants, two small lakes, fitness room, outdoor fire pit,

play area on the Great Lawn, a small outdoor concert

venue at Terry’s Place, private boardwalks to the beach and new retail

spaces on the horizon, Cinnamon Shore features an idyllic neighbor-

hood setting of pastel-colored, multi-storied $1 million-plus homes. No

wonder it was chosen as the site of the 2015 Coastal Living Showhouse, as well as the 2009 Southern Living Idea House. Thanks to such na-

tional coverage, Cinnamon Shore is garnering lots of accolades and in-

terest. It’s also the perfect vacation rental place for families, whether

These days Port Aransas is booming with growth, thanks to the devel-

they stay in a small condo or fill a three-story mansion.

homesite and vacation rental investment properties like those at Cin-

Not far away, Palmilla Beach Resort & Golf Club also offers attractive

opment of so many carefully planned coastal communities, with second

namon Shore, Palmilla Beach Resort, Paradise Pointe, Island Park Es-

homes and homesites, condominiums, restaurants, swimming pools

also a new high-end development coming soon to Port Aransas, with

Links Style Palmilla Beach Golf Course, which has been named “One of

tates, the Moorings at Mustang Island and others. Sunflower Beach is

homesite lots set near the Palmilla golf course. With posh planned com-

munities springing up faster than grass in sand dunes, some predict

that in fewer than 10 years Port A will rival the success, size and popu-

and more—all with the added draw of the Arnold Palmer Signature the top 10 courses you can play in Texas” by Golfweek Magazine. The

Dallas Morning News ranked it Top 3 in the State of Texas (Resorts and Public Courses).

september/october 2015 | 87

W TRAVEL

FOR FRESH SEAFOOD, spaghetti, burgers or even great Tex-Mex at the coast, try...

Allegro Bay Bar and Restaurant and Marlin Bar – Rockport/Fulton

Charlotte Plummer’s Seafare Restaurant – Rockport/Fulton Fins Grill and Icehouse – Port Aransas Inferno at Liberty Hall – Port Aransas

La Playa Mexican Grille – Port Aransas Corpus Christi, Texas, is home to the USS Lexington, CV-16, a WWII-vintage Essex Class aircraft carrier that serves as a museum to naval aviation and aircraft carriers in national defense. Photo by Pisa Photography

If we don’t see our friends out on the golf course there, we’re sure to find them fishing along a bridge, pier or jetty in nearby Rockport/Fulton. Or maybe we’ll see them enjoying

a big shrimp boil feast at The Boiling Pot or having lunch at Charlotte Plummer’s. Rock-

port and Fulton are two adjacent small towns huddled together on a pretty peninsula

between Copano Bay and Aransas Bay, forming one fun family coastal escape destina-

tion. Many San Antonio locals own vacation homes there with boat slips set along canals

in gated communities like Key Allegro.

Latitude 28 02 Restaurant and Art Gallery – Rockport/Fulton

Lisabella’s Restaurant at Cinnamon Shore – Port Aransas

Louie’s Backyard – South Padre Island Paradise Key Dockside Bar & Grill – Rockport/Fulton Roosevelt’s at the Tarpon Inn – Port Aransas

The Boiling Pot – Rockport/Fulton Venetian Hot Plate – Port Aransas

While in the area, be sure to take the little ones to Rockport’s small, clean Blue Wave

Certified Beach, with its playground facilities for youngsters. Want a nontraditional beach stay? Check into the big yellow Victorian mansion on the corner, Hoope’s House

bed-and-breakfast inn, built in the 1890s. If you love history and old houses, be sure to stroll around the grounds of Fulton Mansion State Historic Site, built in 1877, a Texas

Historical Commission property. This mansion and small museum is under renovation,

but be the first to tour it when it reopens October 24. The Fulton Mansion’s Education

and History Center is located behind the mansion with interactive exhibits, a garden

and a gift shop.

Many families also love Corpus Christi, not just for the beach but because Corpus (as locals

call it for short) is home to family-friendly attractions like the USS Lexington battleship,

the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, the South Texas Botanical Gardens &

Nature Center, the Art Museum of South Texas, and more. In fact, Corpus Christi is also

proud to present a new Schlitterbahn Waterpark and Resort, which opened this summer

with a country club, restaurant and all-new water park experience that boasts the longest

interconnected river system of any of Schlitterbahn’s other water parks.

Another wet and wild attraction in Corpus Christi is Hurricane Alley Waterpark, a sea-

sonal family-friendly water park located in the Sports Entertainment and Arts District

downtown. And be sure to visit the Texas State Aquarium, which is currently undergoing a $50 million expansion that will double its size. The new addition will be called

“Caribbean Journey” and is expected to open in early 2017. Once the expansion is complete, it will be one of the largest aquariums in the country.

88 | sawoman.com

Fall asleep to the sound of waves at...

Blue Crab House at Cinnamon Shore – Port Aransas Hoope’s House – Rockport/Fulton Laguna Reef Condominiums – Rockport/Fulton

Port Royal Ocean Resort & Conference Center – Port Aransas The Lighthouse Inn at Aransas Bay – Rockport/Fulton The Tarpon Inn – Port Aransas

TIP NOTHING BEATS FRESH SEAFOOD For the freshest shrimp you’ll need to head to the wharf and look for the shrimp boats.

Get there early in the day or they may run out. - And bring cash!

Some Texans say their favorite coastal getaway is South Padre Is-

land, home to 34 uninterrupted miles

of some of the whitest beaches and

bluest waters along the Texas Gulf

Coast. Here you can enjoy horseback rides on the beach, play a round of ten-

nis or golf, hike, go bird-watching or

climb to the top of the historic Port Is-

abel Lighthouse. South Padre also is proud to have a large Schlitterbahn Wa-

terpark and Resort, where families can play in the water all day and head to the

beach in the evening. And, of course,

there are dolphin cruises, sunset cruises, fishing excursions and more at South Padre. While you’re there, don’t forget

to visit the many restaurants and clubs along the bay known for prime sunset

watching spots—places like Louie’s Backyard with its all-you-can-eat prime rib and seafood buffet and fireworks dis-

plays every Thursday and Friday night

all summer long. Nature, sea creature

and animal lovers will also enjoy South

Padre Island Dolphin Research & Sea Life Nature Center, as well as Sea Turtle

Inc., an entertaining and educational nonprofit attraction run by conserva-

tionists with a mission to rescue, reha-

bilitate and release injured sea turtles.

Sure, it’s a long drive to South Padre (291 miles from San Antonio), but it’s

also not far from all the popular shop-

ping spots and restaurants of McAllen,

Brownsville and Matamoros. A week at

the beach at South Padre is a special treat, and even there—that far away

from the Alamo City—you may see someone you know from San Antonio.

So next time you head to the coast, re-

member to behave yourself at the beach:

There’s no telling who might be tanning

on the towel next to you.

september/october 2015 | 89

W SOCIETY

Supporting the Community September 11 Art To The Power of Ten Benefiting McNay Art Museum McNay Art Museum 210-805-1722

September 26 Down Syndrome Association South Texas Buddy Walk Heroes Stadium 210-349-4372

September 16 Smart Women Series San Antonio Women’s Chamber of Commerce San Antonio Food Bank 210-299-2636

September 26 UT Health Science Center’s Annual President’s Gala Honoring Mollie and Bartell Zachry Grand Hyatt San Antonio 210-567-2028

September 19 Walk to End Alzheimer’s Benefiting Alzheimer’s Association AT&T Center 210-822-6449

September 30 Plate Changers Les Dames d’Escoffier Pearl Stable 210-473-5976

September 19 Free to Soar Gala Benefiting Morgan’s Wonderland Morgan’s Wonderland 210-495-5888

October 1 Green Spaces Alliance Sweet Honey Soiree Honoring Linda Hardberger The Veranda 210-222-8430

September 21 Centro San Antonio 20th Anniversary Golf Tournament Brackenridge Park Golf Course 210-225-3862 September 22 YWCA Women of Influence Awards Luncheon The Plaza Club 210-228-9922 x232 September 24-26 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Barbecue Cook-Off San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Grounds 210-225-5851 September 25 Any Baby Can 27th Annual Adopt-A-Doll Luncheon Pearl Stable 210-227-0170 September 26 An Evening of Enchantment Gala Benefiting The Moonlight Fund Eilan Hotel 210-445-0971 September 26 Art Heals Heart: Open Art Studio The Ecumenical Center 210-616-0885

90 | sawoman.com

October 3 The Ballet Ball Soiree of the Swan Club Giraud theballetball@balletsanantonio.org October 3 NAMI Walks for the Mind Benefiting National Alliance on Mental Illness Morgan’s Wonderland 210-734-3349 October 3 Red and White Ball Benefiting South Texas Blood & Tissue Center Marriott Rivercenter 210-249-4498 October 4 My Princess and Me Benefiting St. PJ’s Children’s Home The Tobin Center 210-531-8592 October 9 10th Annual Fore Nursing Scholarships Golf Tournament Canyon Springs Golf Club 210-358-9860 October 10 Light the Night Walk Benefiting Leukemia & Lymphoma Society La Villita 210-998-5400

CANCER AWARENESS October 10 Wine Down at the Garden San Antonio Botanical Garden 210-207-3250 October 15 2015 Texas Conference for Women Austin Convention Center www.TXConferenceforWomen.org October 19 Don Harris Golf Classic Benefiting Family Services Association La Cantera Golf Club 210-299-2409 October 19 Witte Museum 45th Annual Witte Game Dinner The Witte Museum 210-357-1905 October 24 Art Heals Heart: Open Art Studio The Ecumenical Center 210-616-0885 October 24 Tejas Rodeo Run Brew-Ha Roundup Half Marathon and 5K Kids Run Tejas Rodeo 210-736-4847 ext. 249 November 4 Eating Healthy Day American Heart Association Citywide 210-617-2600 November 8 Young Women’s Leadership Academy Foundation’s Butterfly Run San Antonio Botanical Garden 210-845-6944 November 13 A Taste of Success Casino Night Benefiting Dress For Success Sheraton Gunter Hotel 210-737-9510

September 13 Wild Brazil - 15th Anniversary Celebration of Life and Hope Benefiting WINGS Hyatt Hill Country Resort 210-946-9464 September 24 American Cancer Society Ranch Chic Fashion Show Rosenberg Sky Room University of the Incarnate Word 210-595-0249 October 1 8th Annual Charity Golf Tournament and Helicopter Drop Benefiting Karen Franklin Gastrointestinal Cancer Memorial Fund The Quarry Golf Club karenfranklin.org October 8 6th Annual Girl’s Night Out Hosted by North Central Baptist Hospital and Village Stone Oak Shopping Center 210-297-4910 October 9-18 CTRC Council Partners Shopping Card Benefiting Cancer Therapy & Research Center Participating retailers 210-450-5571 October 10 Cure Fur Cancer Gala Franklin Park Senior Living with Style 210-820-3877 October 15 Think Pink: Women In Medicine and Law Dinner Baptist Breast Center Think Pink Campaign Event Benefiting Susan G. Komen Foundation Holy Trinity Catholic Church j1947holt@aol.com October 17 37th Annual Cattle Barons Gala Benefiting American Cancer Society Rio Cibolo Ranch 210-595-0249 October 17 4th Annual Paint the Parkway Pink 5k Run/1 Mile Walk/Kid’s Fun Run North Central Baptist Hospital 210-297-4910

september/october 2015 | 91

SENIOR CARE GIVING W

FINANCIAL PLANNING for SENIORS Avoiding Retirement Debacles

By ROBYN BARNES

As consumers go through life, they face different financial scenarios. First there are college loans, then marriage expenses. Children come along, houses are purchased, and cars are financed. Every milestone seems to be accompanied by a major financial decision.

Becoming a senior citizen brings a new set of financial choices. Now every penny counts because your money has to last to the end of life. What is the best way to guard your finances?

FDIC Consumer News(1) offers these tips for protecting your finances in your senior years:

1. Prepare for the possibility that you may be unable to handle your finances. Write down a list of your financial institutions and account numbers and keep it in a safe place where your family can access it in an emergency. Work with an attorney to decide if you need a durable power of attorney, which will allow one or more persons to make decisions for you if necessary.

2. Review your credit reports even if you aren’t planning to apply for a loan. Mistakes or errors on your credit reports could make it more costly for you to buy insurance or get a loan. Monitoring your credit reports also allows you to detect identity theft. Order your free credit report once a year from each of the three main credit bureaus by calling 1-877-322-8225.

3. Use credit cards with care. It’s easy to rack up debt using credit cards; many seniors carry considerable credit card debt. If you can’t pay the debt off at the end of the month, finance charges may begin to multiply, increasing your debt. Pay cash when you can and use the credit card sparingly.

4. Reverse mortgages must be paid back with interest. Reverse mortgages have become a popular way for seniors to borrow against the equity in their homes without having to make monthly payments as long as they meet the terms of their loan agreement. The money borrowed must be repaid, usually by the heirs when the house is sold.

5. Find a way to turn a hobby into a part-time job. Even though you may be earning Social Security, supplementing your income is an important part of staying financially secure. Americans are living longer and want to maintain their lifestyles. In many cases, the only way to do this is to continue working.

september/october 2015 | 93

W SENIOR CARE GIVING 6. Make it easy to manage your money and your bills. Consider consolidating accounts so there are fewer bank statements requiring attention. Move your investments to one institution, if possible. Close accounts you no longer use. Look into direct deposit for payments you receive from pensions and tax funds. You can also authorize automatic withdrawals from your bank account to be deposited into a savings instrument.

7. Look for additional ways to save time and money. You may find it easier to authorize automatic bill pay for regular expenditures such as utilities or insurance payments. This can help you avoid late fees or service interruptions.

8. Organize and protect your important documents. You may know where every important document is, but if you become incapacitated, will your family be able to find them? Find a secure place for birth certificates, passports, bank statements, brokerage accounts, will, power of attorney, Social Security and pension records and other papers your family might need on short notice. Secure documents from water damage.

Social Security — What it is and isn’t.

Are you counting on Social Security as a financial backup plan?

Think again.

Social Security was never conceived as a retirement plan. It was created as a supplement to the financial resources a person arranged for himself over a lifetime. According to the Social Security Administration, the average benefit for a retired worker is about $1,230, while a study by Genworth Financial found that the median cost of a onebedroom apartment at an assisted-living community was about $3,300. (2) One of the biggest mistakes people make is collecting their checks too early. Michelle Wood of Edward Jones explains that, depending upon your situation, you could gain thousands of dollars in your Social Security account just by waiting until age 70 to collect.

“You can actually claim Social Security benefits at age 62, but this is several years before the deadline for receiving full benefits at your full retirement age (FRA),” she says. “Many people collect early because they don’t understand how to make the most of their benefits.

There are calculators available to help seniors determine the right time to begin withdrawing benefits, depending upon their financial situation, and people should take advantage of these tools.”

94 | sawoman.com

Senior scam alert

“The biggest issue for seniors right now is the investment scam,” Wood continues. “We see so many people being taken advantage of by scam artists, and women are twice as likely as men to be victims of senior fraud.”

If you are receiving invitations to expensive dinners or free lunch investment events, beware. FINRA.org, the financial industry regulatory authority, recently issued an alert on the free lunch seminar: “According to a 2013 survey by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, 64 percent of respondents age 40 and older had been invited to a meeting that offered a free meal and ‘educational’ information for some sort of investment,” the alert says. “Not all of these invitations are being tossed out; nearly one-third of respondents said that they attended a ‘free lunch’ seminar. On the other hand, the good news is that only 4 percent of respondents actually lost any money at one of these seminars.

“In a 2007 report, securities regulators, including FINRA, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and state regulators, conducted more than 100 examinations involving free-meal seminars.

In half the cases, the sales materials—including the invitations and advertisements for the events—contained claims that appeared to be exaggerated, misleading or otherwise unwarranted. And 13 percent of the seminars appeared to involve fraud, ranging from unfounded projections of returns to sales of fictitious products,” the alert reports.

Seniors should be aware that if they attend a free lunch seminar, a hard sell awaits them. As FINRA’s alert says, “Savvy investors refuse to be rushed. Rarely—if ever—do you have to invest your money on the spot. A good investment will be available tomorrow or next week or next month, when you are ready and understand where your money is going. While a free meal or prize might be enticing, remember that there are unbiased, noncommercial places to go for information about investing.”

Seniors with questions about investments, including these free meal scams, can always call FINRA Securities Helpline for Seniors at 844-57-HELPS (844-574-3577), Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

Long-term care insurance

Purchasing long-term care insurance can be one of the best tools for safeguarding your financial future, yet it is one of the most neglected, says Stephanie Fox-Marin of Bankers Life and Casualty.

“Medicare says that at least 70 percent of seniors over the age of 65 will need long-term services at some point in their lives,” she says.

“Yet seniors don’t understand that Medicare does not pay for custodial care. Medicare only allows for 20 days of care in a skilled nursing facility and then only after you’ve been in the hospital for three days.

Without long-term care insurance, how will you afford a longer stay?”

A patient needs long-term care when his physical situation keeps him from performing two daily activities —- such as dressing, toileting or feeding himself — for 90 days. This is when a long-term policy will go into effect.

“Apply for long-term insurance when you are young and healthy,”

Fox-Marin says. “You should apply about the time your children are graduating from college. Policies are expensive but not nearly the cost of a day in a nursing home, which can run from $150 to $200.

And with long-term care insurance, you choose the facility you want to use; with Medicare, you have to go where they send you, and that’s not always a pleasant place.”

Underwriting a policy calls for complete medical record submission.

A cognitive test is performed by a nurse over the phone. Blood and urine samples must be provided, and there’s an extensive application.

Fox-Marin says the investment is worth the time and the money.

“Do this for your children,” she says. “Do it to save your family grief.

If you are 70 percent likely to need long-term care, why would you even think of neglecting this kind of financial planning?”

References

(1) FDIC Consumer News, summer 2013. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

(2) “6 Financial Planning Mistakes to Avoid.” Anderson, Jeff.

september/october 2015 | 95

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W SUSTAINABLE GARDENING

Gardening in the ‘Hood Fresh food is only one advantage.

By JOSIE SEELIGSON A garden is a place of growth, and a community is a place of sharing.

Used together, a community garden grows not just vegetables, but

life’s work, pleasures and relationships with family and neighbors.

Sprinkle water and chat with the lady down the block who knows

how much water tomatoes need, or the guy from around the corner

who can tie cucumber vines up a trellis. Watch kids poke seeds in

dirt or search for squash. Learn harvest sizes or recipes, along with

news of the neighbor kid’s new job.

Return home with fresh vegetables to eat that almost always pleasure

more than store-bought. Our first-world modernity offers conven-

iences of prepared food, take-out services and fast food lines, but we

do pay prices of disconnect. Community gardens invite neighborhoods back to some basics by luring people from behind screens and

their front porches to reconnect with fellow humans and nature.

Currently 37 community garden plots, facilitated by Green Spaces

Alliance, quietly spread leaves across San Antonio, Bexar County and

the seven other surrounding counties. Angela Hartsell, Green

Spaces’ Community Gardens program manager, says, “The joy and

beauty of community gardening is that you don’t need to know any-

thing at all. You show up, and everyone offers a variety of tips. If you

tried it alone in your own backyard, you’d spend so much time on-

line, researching, making mistakes. Community gardens utilize all levels of people and skills; everyone brings something.” Multiple gen-

Green Spaces Community Garden’s Program.

Images courtesy of Green Spaces Alliance.

98 | sawoman.com

erations converge, and almost everybody learns something practical

and personal.

and planting spring vegetables. Summertime, they tend and har-

vest the spring gardens and prepare and plant fall gardens. Au-

tumn, it’s time to harvest summer vegetables, then prepare and

plant winter ones.

Toward the peak of each growing season, Green Spaces hosts a

“Harvest Blitz,” a day of sharing produce and eating a meal together.

“Being connected to your food is so much about being connected to

your community,” says Hartsell. “That’s why people love farmers markets. They want to meet the people who grew the food they’re

eating, to remember how it used to be when people ate together.”

Sharing is encouraged between the blitzes too. “If a garden has a

bounty of tomatoes, then share bags of tomatoes,” says Hartsell—

even if it means knocking on neighborhood doors to offer them.

Hartsell tells of one grandmother who has bought, cooked, eaten and served brussels sprouts her entire life, yet gasped in shocked delight when she realized, during a harvesting demonstration, that

the balls form on stalks; she had never seen them grow. “Really?” she said. “That’s how brussels sprouts are grown? I thought they

were roots underground!” Her grandchildren’s ears perked up at

her enthusiasm, and as the kids watched her discovery delight,

they paid more attention. Hartsell says, “Every generation has the

capacity to learn sometime new in the garden. There’s a really fun intergenerational story of where food comes from.”

The community garden program offers “Plot to Plate” workshops,

Others become aware of local growing, meal prep and gathering.

A garden steward, selected from within and by the community,

leads each community garden. This steward isn’t necessarily the

person with the most garden skills, but rather someone with good

people skills. Community groups truly need all types; often the

person with nature knowledge tends to be quieter; likewise, the

person adept at rallying troops may not garden at all. Green Spaces

offers leadership classes for skill-building, to help synchronize

these varying and vital skill sets.

“An alliance is a collaboration,” says Hartsell, noting they work

with many organizations to engage and educate city populations

to create green venues for natural reconnection in the urban world.

seasonally focused during Texas’ three growing seasons. The work-

A new goal is for each community garden to feature a Harvest Sta-

finally into a meal, ideally shared with others. During springtime,

garden, with a table and sink for washing freshly harvested pro-

shops educate people about food process from seed to harvest and

neighbors tend and harvest winter produce while preparing for

tion — basically a shade structure set within a vegetable or fruit

duce. Some plots already include an ad-hoc table and a bucket of

september/october 2015 | 99

W SUSTAINABLE GARDENING water to rinse dirt off, but Green Spaces is working

with the UTSA School of Architecture and other de-

signers to create attractive and functional stations.

The purpose is simple: to eat a snack, right there,

straight from the garden. Tasting a carrot or a bean

immediately after picking it is another way to learn

firsthand about local seasonal foods’ sources, while

sharing food experiences with others in nature’s

most basic elements of soil, water, sunlight and

open air.

Each community provides its own plot, water sources and volunteers. Green Spaces can add a

measure of financial support, access to a tool li-

brary, plus professional knowledge on implemen-

tation, gardening and water methods. Green Spaces

COMMUNITY GARDENS How to apply:

• Consider wants, needs, available plots, components (veggies, flowers, shade trees, butterfly attractants, etc.), water sources, community interest and leadership.

• Visit greensatx.org, and scroll to the tab titled, Resources for Gardeners or Educational Series, under the Community Gardens tab, for information on planning, prep, maintenance and funding application.

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employs five full-time and two part-time staff

members, yet enjoys the equivalent of 26 full-time

employees, The rest are volunteers, who logged 54,000 hours for community gardens in 2014.

That is some real green sharing and growth for our

larger cultural community.

SAARTS.COM W

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF

Theater Awards Mark 25th Anniversary It seems incredible, but it has been 26

years since this columnist and nine other

theater professionals and enthusiasts got

together at the San Pedro Playhouse to found the Alamo Theater Arts Council

(ATAC) and the Globe Awards. The inten-

tion was to recognize and celebrate

achievement in the thespian arts, from

acting and directing to new scripts, design

and original music. I was the theater critic

for the San Antonio Light at the time, and

the paper agreed to be the sponsor of the

seminal event. The first Globes were

awarded in 1991 at the packed Playhouse,

followed by a reception that went on into

the night until the wee hours. I left at midnight, exhilarated but exhausted.

And here we are now, 25 years later!

Under the leadership of current presi-

dent Mellissa Marlowe, ATAC is preparing to celebrate the Globes’ silver

anniversary with a grand Globe Show and Gala at the Empire

Theatre on Oct. 25. All the details were not yet available at press time, but the event is always great fun. Excerpts from winning

www.atac-sa.org.)

Now that I bragged about “my baby,” let me point out to you

two other worthy events. The first-ever locally produced Swan

Lake will be presented by Ballet San Antonio (BSA) Oct. 9-11 at the

productions are performed throughout the evening, so it’s a good

Tobin Center. The choreography is by internationally known

we have a lot of talent here in our city! You really don’t need to

know, by Tchaikovsky. BSA has emerged as one of the dominant

way to sample a range of plays and musicals. And let me tell you, travel to New York or Houston to see quality theater; we have it all here at much more reasonable prices.

This year, two artists who happen to be husband and wife, Rick

and Diane Malone, will receive the Jasmina Wellinghoff Award for

Special Contribution to the Theater. Yes, it’s named after yours

truly, and I am grateful to have been honored in such a lasting way.

I left the board after the first four years, happy to see that so many

hard-working volunteers were willing to continue what we, the ini-

tial 10, had started with so much enthusiasm and excitement. This

is my opportunity to thank them all, as well as the future boards,

sponsors and judges. As Diane Malone said, there are always new

generations of artists who deserve to have their work recognized.

Indeed! (Tickets $20-$35, through Ticketmaster; for info,

dancemaker Ben Stevenson, and the luscious music … well, you

companies on the local art scene, and Swan Lake is one of those

“don’t miss” events, so don’t miss it! (For tickets contact tickets@

tobincenter.org.)

Another event that San Antonio should be proud of is the Fla-

menco Festival, which is scheduled for the same weekend, Oct. 9-

11, at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. Founded by flamenco

aficionado Joel Settles — now director of programming at the cen-

ter — the sixth annual fest will showcase groups and solo artists

from San Antonio and Austin who specialize in this fiery Andalu-

sian dance genre (www.guadalupeculturalarts.org).

Ballet and flamenco on the same weekend? I say, go

for it! I’ll be there.

september/october 2015 | 101

W ARTBEAT

through Photography Fotoseptiembre has helped to shape Lauri Garcia Jones as an artist

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF

One bit of advice that art photographer Lauri Garcia Jones has received from other artists is to never describe her work as “play.” The implication is that talking about “play” diminishes artists’ work. But she disagrees. “For me it’s a necessity to play and explore ideas. You get your best ideas that way. I apply creative play to everything,” says Garcia Jones, who is probably best described as an emerging artist.

On this hot summer day, we have gotten together at the Southwest School of Art, where she is a student in the new BFA program launched in the fall of 2014. In a cool, computer-equipped classroom on the Navarro campus, she shows me the latest results of her creative

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Photography by JANET ROGERS

play. It’s a photo series she has worked on for seven months, the longest and most demanding of her relatively young career. Named Incunabula (Into the Cradle), the project was strongly encouraged

by Fotoseptiembre USA founder Michael Mehl, who developed an interest in her work several years ago after seeing examples of her early efforts at a Northwest Vista College show.

Mehl later invited Garcia Jones to contribute to a planned traveling exhibit of San Antonio women photographers, but when that plan fell through, he offered an even better opportunity: her own monograph to be shown in the Fotoseptiembre’s SAFOTO Web Galleries,

and he offered to curate it himself. “He said I could do whatever I wanted as long as it was a cohesive body of work, based on a concept,” recalls Garcia Jones. “I accepted the challenge.”

The images included in Incunabula show the photographer herself as she is assuming a series of different physical configurations within the tight space of a box. “The idea was to come face to face with my limitations and to become newly aware of myself and what I am willing to do in the face of these limitations,” she explains. “So much of the time (in life) we are away from ourselves. I wanted to do the opposite, to become aware of what makes me comfortable or uncomfortable. My life has been confined in many ways. After a while you discover that challenges that you think are confining can become inspirations; they push you instead of holding you down. That’s what I have expressed visually in Incunabula. In that box you have to find a way that works for you. Toward the end of six or seven months, I found that I could do a lot more inside the box than at first.” Viewed together, the images convey a sense of struggle, further emphasized by the shadowy illumination.

The painstaking work of being both in front of and behind the camera, stopping to readjust the camera and then repositioning herself in the box for multiple takes, taught her discipline and persistence, something she didn’t have before, she says. Though computer manipulation of pictures is pretty much part and parcel of digital photography, the Incunabula images didn’t require any. They stand on their own.

“When she showed me the first images, I knew where she was going,” notes Mehl. “I told her, ‘Don’t hold back and don’t stop working.’ I could see that she understood the profundity of what she was doing… The images are a full and complete expression of herself and her path of self-discovery. There’s a compelling sense of plasticity and a strong emotional and visual component as well. She executed her concept very well.”

Finding Her Calling

It took Garcia Jones a while to discover her passion. Though she recalls liking art and always being the one who took pictures of everybody else, art as a profession never seemed like a viable option. She dropped out of high school, married, had three children, divorced and worked at a variety of jobs she didn’t care for. “I was running away from art until 2011, when I was able to make a life change,” says the petite artist, who looks too young to have a 14-year-old son (she’s 34). “I was able to return to school and now am enrolled here on full scholarship. Photography felt like a natural choice; I was most comfortable doing that. You can’t be happy unless you can do what you love.”

In her earlier work, she often used her children and close friends as models. “People are always my canvas,” is how she puts it. When they were younger, the kids enjoyed being part of Mom’s interesting experiments, but now they want to be paid, she says with a chuckle.

As she gained confidence, the artist started inviting other people to become part of her photo projects, and quite a few agreed. A lot of that early work consists of narrative, carefully composed pictures that invite the viewer to interpret the often enigmatic scenes. In one photo, for instance, a naked woman stands against a wall of a semi-demolished structure, bricks lying around on the ground; in another, a different woman is partially sprawled over a bench, a flower bouquet in

her hand, peering into the camera with a tired, perhaps disappointed expression. “I am telling a story with each photo, but we don’t always know what the full story is,” notes Garcia Jones.

For the Fotoseptiembre 2014 show at Northwest Vista College, however, she presented a more conceptual series of related photographs titled There is No I in Me, which consisted of faces with elements of other’s people’s features superimposed on them. The idea was to show that people with whom we come in contact in our daily life become part of us, she explains. The overall effect is both amusing and intriguing. Other forms she has experimented with include photo collages and painting.

Largely self-taught so far, Garcia Jones is looking forward to the rest of her studies at SSA. Though at first self-conscious about starting college at 34, she now feels OK because “I am here because I know where I want to be.” Eventually, she would like to have a teaching career, and this past July she got a taste of it when she taught a creative photography course for children at the Blue Star Contemporary Art Center. Making a living with art photography alone would be difficult, and working as a commercial photographer doesn’t appeal to her.

Not surprisingly, Garcia Jones is grateful to Mehl and his Fotoseptiembre co-founder and wife, Ann Kinzer, for initiating the month-long photo fest here. “The Festival has created opportunities to show art photography for many artists, especially for me. Had Fotoseptiembre not been here, I don’t know if I would be doing what I am doing now,” she says sincerely. “Just seeing Michael and Ann at all the events is comforting, someone who really cares about what we are doing and offers support.”

september/october 2015 | 103

W GUYS TO KNOW

Mark Richter: Opera Producer He envisions a production about the Alamo

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF Photography by JANET ROGERS

usic has been part of Mark Richter’s life since he was a boy growing up on the South Side. During his school years, he excelled as a viola player but later transitioned into vocal performance and musical theater. Blessed with a beautiful tenor voice and inspired by the famous trio of Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras and Placido Domingo, Richter founded San Antonio’s Three Tenors in 1992 and sang with the group for many years.

M

But most San Antonians know him as an opera and concert producer. After the San Antonio Symphony dropped its operatic programming in the early 1980s, there were a couple of timid attempts to revive the art form, but it wasn’t until Richter launched his Pocket Opera in 1995 that opera grew new roots in the Alamo City. As audiences grew, the name changed to Lyric Opera of San Antonio and eventually to San Antonio Opera. Over the course of 16 seasons, the company presented 65 major works and brought to town big names such as Domingo, Carreras, Andrea Bocelli, Frederica von Stade, Roberta Peters, Patti Lupone, Mandy Patinkin and others.

After the company closed in 2011, it didn’t take Richter long to start a new one, this time a smaller chamber-style enterprise called Opera Piccola, which is launching its fourth season this month. All operas are sung in English and accompanied by a live orchestra conducted by Kristin Roach.

104 | sawoman.com

You have just concluded Opera Piccola’s third season. How would you evaluate it?

I think it was a very successful season. We were able to expand our audiences by offering a diversified season of different types of opera, utilizing regional talent and exposing people to operas in English.

The use of English is important for this generation that I call the “now generation.” It’s a generation that requires their art served to them in an innovative yet uncomplicated way. And because San Antonio is still discovering opera, English is a necessary part of what we are doing.

How do you go about choosing programming for each season?

I have a gifted team that I work with. Besides Kristin Roach, it includes stage director Cynthia Stokes and lighting designer Bill Peeler.

We like to offer our patrons a well-rounded season. We do include contemporary themes, to show that opera is still relevant to our society as it was hundreds of years ago. And we include both comedies and dramas and newer and older works. In the latter case, we may adapt the work with contemporary settings. For instance, the 201516 season includes Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio. We are doing it as an episode of Star Trek. It’s hilarious; one of the funniest things I have seen in my life. We have partnered with director Josh Shaw (of the Pacific Opera Project) to stage it. He’s done it all over California. The production marks the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, so we are going to have costume prizes for people who come in costume and Star Trek parties before and after. That’s the kind of thing we do. We want to stay fresh and new.

Are you seeing different audiences now?

Oh, yes! Our audiences now are the youngest audiences I’ve seen in my life in San Antonio. The average patron is 24-35 years old, mostly professional young adults, of different ethnic backgrounds. About 40 percent are Hispanic. We are removing the things that people may be frightened of when it comes to opera – foreign languages, the perception that opera is too expensive, too stuffy, that you have to wear a tuxedo, etc. Opera Piccola makes opera affordable for everyone – you can get a ticket for $10 or $12; the most expensive ticket is $50 – you can come as you are, and you’ll understand the language. And because of that people are giving it a try, and they are coming back.

For 16 years you were the artistic director of what became the San Antonio Opera. What do you consider your greatest accomplishment(s) during that time?

I think it’s keeping the opera viable under extreme conditions for many years. Part of that time we were always a rogue company; there was never a hall that was built for us. We had to move from venue to venue, and each time we moved we would lose 25 percent of the audience. People don’t like change. It was difficult to keep the electricity alive during all those changes… Among my proud moments I count bringing Placido Domingo to town, and we also brought Andrea Bocelli to do Cavalleria Rusticana. He said he considered the work he did in San Antonio as one of the greatest artistic experiences of his career. Ten thousand tickets were sold for that production. That is probably the biggest classical event that we have had so far in San Antonio.

OPERA PICCOLA 2015-16 Season Sponsored by Valero Energy Foundation OPERA COMEDY CHANNEL A double bill of comic American operas, both staged as live TV shows: Bon Appetit by Lee Hoiby and Gallantry by Douglas Moore Sept. 12 -13; Carver Community Cultural Center

The Abduction from the Seraglio by W.A. Mozart staged as an episode of Star Trek Feb. 6 -7, 2016; The Empire Theatre Phaedra by B. Britten and Acis and Galatea by G.F. Handel May 21-22, 2016, The Empire Theatre

For information call 210-314-6696

What have you learned from that experience that may be useful in the present?

Know that nothing is forever! And that if you are going to be working in the world of nonprofits, you are at the mercy of the board of directors who in big organizations don’t know enough about the operations of the company, yet have the power to make decisions. There are good boards, and there are other boards with people who are in it for the wrong reasons. I now work for the board I have always wanted. I wouldn’t trade the board of Opera Piccola for any other.

Are there some stories from history or fiction that you would like to see turned into operas? If you were in the position to commission an opera, what story would you choose?

I would like to commission an opera about the Alamo. I’ve been talking to some composers, and they are very interested. We are in the process of finding the right book that a librettist could work from. It would be nice if it could be done for the anniversary of the Alamo in three years (300 years since it was founded as a Spanish mission.) I would also like to do the world’s first conjunto opera, so I’ve been in touch with (musician) Augie Meyers, (Tejano Conjunto Festival founder) Juan Tejeda and others, and they are all ready to jump in.

Again, I am trying to find a play that’s out there that we could use. I think the story of La Llorona* would be good. I don’t want to do it alone, however; I hope to partner with others in the community.

Any closing thoughts?

All I have ever wanted to do is produce opera because I have a passion for it. I think this was what I was meant to do. That’s why I am staying in San Antonio. I love my city. *The story of La Llorona is a Hispanic legend about a woman who drowns her children and spends the rest of her life weeping and looking for them.

Mr. Richter’s comments have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.

september/october 2015 | 105

W DINING

SMOKE:

Barbecue purists of the hardcore sort may sniff at Smoke’s sophisticated setting in the former Auden’s Kitchen — no decades-old calendars, no beer signs, no rolls of butcher paper — and no pretentious piles of Post Oak. And they may find the brisket deficient in the classic telltale, pink smoke ring.

But the rest of us will be more than happy to relax in the air conditioning and to revel in chef Brian West’s personal take on what, to many, is Texas’ primary claim to fame. For as much as we tend to tolerate indifferent pintos, wouldn’t you really rather have a can (OK, it’s cute) of impeccably spiced burnt-end beans? And instead of settling for a feckless canned peach cobbler, why not be surprised and thrilled by whiskey-spiced peaches served in (also cute) a tiny Mason jar? We thought so.

It goes without saying that there would be no guava-glazed crispy pig tails in a down-and-dirty Texas ‘Q joint; we didn’t try them, but we did have the braised pork belly with apple butter. And apart from being surprised that the dish was served cool, we found this “snack” a more than worthy starter—just sweet and fatty enough. Same goes for the moonshine pickled shrimp—Southern with a twist and convincingly enough flavored that the accompanying smear of creamy cocktail sauce wasn’t even necessary. Smoked deviled eggs, sampled on another occasion, were also a pumped-up version of a picnic clas106 | sawoman.com

By RON BECHTOL Photography by JANET ROGERS

The Restaurant New Takes on Old BBQ Favorites

sic; the shredded brisket topping was so tantalizing that we wished for more of it.

Salads, yup, are also not a staple of BBQ haunts of the converted gas station sort. And while we laud their availability, the Kitchen Salad with crispy pig ear (pig parts, you will find, loom large on Smoke’s menu) was notable largely for the fact that dressing was in perfect balance and the shredded ear was indeed crisp. Yet we’d be inclined to try the chopped salad, enlivened with mint and red onion vinaigrette on a return visit. That and the Sheldon Sands tacos with hog’s head cochinita pibil might make for a revealing combo.

There are many other plates that would be alien to a City Market or Big Bib kinda place—smoked trout and corned beef ox tongue among them. But we’ve gotta believe that the Urban Cowboy BBQ burger wouldn’t be looked at sideways—despite its tony, house-baked Hawaiian bun. The burger’s brisket grind makes for a juicy, lofty patty, the melty cheddar and crispy onion rings add both taste and texture, and the house-cut fries are way too good. You don’t need to eat them all, I kept repeating.

With the category “from the smoker” we finally arrive at the quintessential Texas plate. Meats by the half pound include brisket (fat and lean), pulled pork and Shiner Bock brined turkey; ribs by the bone are either beef or Dr Pepper pork; and house-made and –cured

selections feature maple bacon, beef sausage and bratwurst. We put together a platter comprising brisket, pork ribs and beef sausage.

Here’s the result.

Other notable eaters around town have apparently had better luck with their brisket being more than adequately “barky”; ours was tender, moist and nicely smoky but came across more polite than profound. This will not be a problem for many, however, and it does mean that the six-pack of sauces can be employed to its fullest advantage.

The squeeze bottles are not uniformly labeled, so here’s what we suggest: Just squirt out dabs of each and play with them. We especially liked the vinegary Hogwash (think pulled pork, of course), the sharply mustardy Colonel Mustard and the dark and sultry Philthy version.

The sausage is plenty good on its own but is accommodating enough to take on a sauce or two. The excellent Dr Pepper ribs, with just enough cling to the bone left to render them real, need nothing more.

The more Lucullan “feasts,” said to serve four to six (we’d bet on the upper number), will require that you come with a crowd. Then you can indulge in a hog head feast with additional beef sausage and brats plus bacon. Or perhaps a barnyard feast with brisket, turkey, sausages and bacon—plus sides, pickle jars (those peaches plus sweet and sour carrots and more) and bread. Not of the pasty white sort, rest assured.

Waiters at Smoke take your order on a thoroughly modern tablet,

and there’s another tablet for the modest but well-selected and -priced wine list as well; you can navigate this one yourself. Just because it’s tech-y, however, doesn’t mean that it’s actually up to date. A selected Crus Bourgeois Medoc was both available and very rewarding, but pinning down a second selection involved several hiccups. Persevere; you’ll actually want wine with many of these dishes.

And you may want a dessert that almost sounds traditional but arrives with West’s usual flair. Ours was an order of chile-laced brownie with a side of house-churned vanilla ice cream. The brownie was perfection, its chile heat expertly modulated. And the ice cream, almost shockingly buttery in color, was the ideal foil. Yes, we’ll still keep going to the smoky joints with grease-stained walls and standup counters, but we’re now convinced that true ‘Q knows no pre-conceived bounds. To the in-between world of commissary chains, however, we remain resolutely opposed.

Smoke’s savory offerings (pictured clockwise) Brisket, turkey and ribs on a board, loaded cauliflower, sexy BBQ meat loaf with red peppers, créme brulee with berries, deviled eggs topped with shredded brisket salad, moonshine pickled shrimp with creamy cocktail sauce. september/october 2015 | 107

TIME EAT to

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2303 N. Loop 1604 W. 13247 Bandera Rd. 318 E. Houston St. 2323 N. St. Mary’s 1900 Blanco 4200 Broadway 1006 N.E. Loop 410 9980 IH-10 W. 16609 San Pedro 621 Pat Booker 1624 E.Commerce 115 Alamo Plaza 8602 Botts Ln.

408-2029 695-4941 247-4000 735-1955 735-3552 826-0800 805-8600 699-1222 494-3333 658-3000 299-8110 223-9944 824-6703

GOURMET BURGER GRILL LONGHORN CAFE MO MAK’S SAM’S BURGER JOINT TEXAS HAMBURGER CO TIMBO’S

18414 Hwy. 281 N. 17625 Blanco Rd. 13838 Jones Maltsberger 330 E. Grayson St. 9010 Huebner Rd. 1639 Broadway

545-3800 492-0301 481-3600 223-2830 699-1189 223-1028

ITALIAN 1203 N. Loop 1604 W. ALDINO AT THE VINEYARD 8539 Fredericksburg ALDO'S RISTORANTE BRAVO CUCINA ITALIANA 15900 La Cantera Pkwy.

CAPPARELLI’S ON MAIN 2524 N. Main CARRABBA’S ITALIAN GRILL 12507 IH-10 W. CERRONI’S PURPLE GARLIC 1017 Austin Hwy. DOUGH PIZZERIA 6989 Blanco 200 E. Grayson, #100 IL SOGNO OSTERIA LORENZO’S 8032 Fredericksburg Rd. LA FOCACCIA ITALIAN GRILL 800 S. Alamo 824 Afterglow LITTLE ITALY LUCE RISTORANTE E ENOTECA11255 Huebner LUCIANO’S 849 E. Commerce 401 South Alamo 521 River Walk MICHELINO’S MILANO RISTORANTE 11802 Wurzbach PAESANOS 555 E. Basse 111 W. Crockett Loop 1604 at N.W. Military 255 E. Basse PIATTI PIATTI EILAN 1701 La Cantera Pkwy., #7 PICCOLO’S 5703 Evers Rd. 16019 Nacogdoches POMPEII ITALIAN GRILL TRE TRATTORIA 4003 Broadway

340-0000 696-2536 877-9300 735-5757 694-4191 822-2300 979-6363 223-3900 692-9900 223-5353 349-2060 561-9700 223-0500 888-7030 223-2939 493-3611 828-5191 227-2782 493-1604 832-0300 251-3542 647-5524 946-5518 805-0333

MEDITERRANEAN DEMO’S COPA WINE BAR GREEK TO ME JERUSALEM GRILL JOHN THE GREEK MIMI & DIMI’S PAPOULI’S GRILL

7115 Blanco 2501 N. St. Mary’s 19141 Stone Oak Pkwy.

5440 Babcock Rd. 3259 Wurzbach Rd. 16602 San Pedro 7159 W US Hiwy 90 8250 Agora Pkwy., #120 255 E. Basse, #384 11224 Huebner, #201

342-2772 732-7777 495-2672 699-6688 680-8400 403-0565 674-3464 659-2244 804-1118 641-1313

MEXICAN/LATIN El Jarro 13421 San Pedro San Antonio, TX 78216 (210) 494-5084 ÁCENAR MODERN TEX-MEX 146 E. Houston AJUÚA! CUISINE DE MEXICO 11703 Huebner ALAMO CAFÉ 10060 IH-10 W. 14250 San Pedro ALDACO'S 100 Hoefgen 20079 Stone Oak Pkwy.

AZUCA NUEVO LATINO 713 S. Alamo CASA RIO 430 E. Commerce BETO’S 8421 Broadway CIELITO LINDO 19141 Stone Oak Pkwy.

EL CHAPARRAL 15103 Bandera 2838 N. Loop 1604 EL MIRADOR 722 S. St. Mary’s EL MIRASOL ALTA COCINA 13489 Blanco IRON CACTUS MEXICAN GRILL200 River Walk LA FOGATA 2427 Vance Jackson LA FONDA ALAMO HEIGHTS 1633 Crownhill LA FONDA ON MAIN 2415 N. Main LA FONDA OAK HILLS 350 Northaven LA HACIENDA DE LOS BARRIOS 18747 Redland Rd. LA MARGARITA 120 Produce Row LOS BARRIOS 4223 Blanco MAMACITA’S 8030 IH-10 W. MI TIERRA CAFE AND BAKERY 218 Produce Row

ORIGINAL MEXICAN PALOMA BLANCA PALOMA RIVER WALK PAPPASITO’S CANTINA PERICO’S BAR AND GRILL PICANTE GRILL PICO DE GALLO RIO RIO CANTINA ROSARIO’S ROSARIO’S NORTH SALSALITO’S SAZO’S LATIN GRILL SOLUNA COCINA MEXICANA TACO TACO TOMATILLOS CANTINA URBAN TACO

528 River Walk 5800 Broadway 215 Losoya 10501 IH-10 W. 10820 Bandera 1439 E. Sonterra Blvd.

3810 Broadway 111 S. Leona 421 E. Commerce 910 S. Alamo 7915 San Pedro 14535 Nacogdoches 11523 Bandera 101 Bowie 7959 Broadway 145 E. Hildebrand 3210 Broadway 290 E. Basse, #105

224-9951 822-6151 212-0566 691-8974 684-5376 402-6006 822-3797 225-6060 226-8462 223-1806 481-4100 646-8088 558-6788 223-1000 930-8070 822-9522 824-3005 332-5149

PIZZA 2920 McCullough BARBARO 7959 Broadway BRAZA BRAVA PIZZERIA CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN 11745 IH-10 W. 255 E. Basse Rd. 7701 Broadway FLORIO’S PIZZA GRIMALDI’S PIZZA 330 E. Basse, #101 618 McCullough GUILLERMO’S MISS ELLIE’S 903 E. Bitters Rd SORRENTO 5146 Broadway 19141 Stone Oak Pkwy.

TRILOGY PIZZA BISTRO VOLARE GOURMET PIZZA 5054 Broadway

320-2261 320-2100 699-4275 424-2014 805-8646 832-8288 223-5587 499-1258 824-0055 404-1818 828-3354

SEAFOOD FISH CITY GRILL FUSION SEAFOOD, STEAK LANDRY’S SEAFOOD PAPPADEAUX SEAFOOD OSTRA ON THE RIVER THE SANDBAR SILO TERRACE OYSTER BAR STARFISH WILDFISH SEAFOOD GRILLE

18130 Hwy. 281 N. 11703 Huebner Road 517 N. Presa 76 N.E. Loop 410 212 W. Crockett 200 E. Grayson 22211 IH-10 West 709 S. Alamo 1834 N.W. Loop 1604

495-3474 694-4201 527-1845 340-7143 396-5817 212-2221 698-2002 375-4423 493-1600

SOUTHWESTERN CALIZA GRILL CANYON CAFE FRANCESCA’S AT SUNSET ORO RESTAURANT AND BAR

420 W. Market 225 E. Basse 16641 La Cantera Pkwy.

705 E. Houston

224-6500 225-0722 558-6500 225-5100

STEAKS 222-2362 877-0600 691-8827 495-2233 222-0561 494-0561 225-5550 225-6718 930-9393 545-6965 695-8302 490-8302 225-9444 479-8765 224-9835 340-1337 824-4231 733-0621 342-8981 497-8000 227-7140 732-6017 341-5424 225-1262

Chama Gaucha 18318 Sonterra Place San Antonio, TX 78258 (210) 564-9400 ANTLERS LODGE THE BARN DOOR BOLO’S ROTISSERIE GRILLE FLEMING’S GREY MOSS INN KIRBY’S STEAKHOUSE LITTLE RHEIN STEAKHOUSE MORTON’S STEAKHOUSE MYRON’S STEAKHOUSE J. PRIME STEAKHOUSE THE PALM PERRY’S STEAKHOUSE RUTH'S CHRIS

9800 Hyatt Resort Dr. 8400 N. New Braunfels 9821 Colonnade 255 E. Basse Rd. 10901 Scenic Loop 123 N. Loop 1604 E. 231 S. Alamo 849 E. Commerce 10003 N.W. Military 1401 N. Loop 1604 W. 233 E. Houston 15900 La Cantera Pkwy.

7720 Jones Maltsberger 600 E. Market Street

520-4001 824-0116 691-8888 824-9463 695-8301 404-2221 225-1212 228-0700 493-3031 764-1604 226-7256 558-6161 821-5051 227-8847

ENHANCE YOUR LISTING!

Call (210) 826-5375 for more information. september/october 2015 | 109

W ENTERTAINING

ENTERTAINING:

Girl’s Weekend Getaway

By NICOLE GREENBERG You look at the calendar and see that Friday is approaching. You

realize it’s time for your annual girl’s weekend getaway at the ranch. And you’re in charge of

the big dinner. What do you prepare and how do you make it fun for everyone?

That was the task this year — and most years — for Lauren Browning, who is a graduate

of the Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park) and is often tasked with overseeing the meals

for this fun getaway. SAN ANTONIO WOMAN sat down with Lauren to talk about her tips for

pulling together a fun (and delicious) gathering with friends.

Browning’s friends originally came together in Houston approximately 10 years ago. The

friends were just married and beginning their families. “As couples, we met through a church

connection. Each time we would meet for dinner at one of our houses there would inevitably

Lauren’s organizing principle for planning the meal

*

be someone who was newly pregnant — detected by their decline of anything alcoholic,” muses

Lauren. It quickly became the “who’s pregnant supper club,” she recalls.

“As life happens, some of us moved to San Antonio, and some moved to Austin, while three

remained in Houston. Over the years, we grafted in two more couples. Although we do not all live in Houston, we stay connected by planning this annual getaway and celebrating the things

that endure – the goodness, beauty and humor of God,” says Lauren.

Annually, the women gather at the family ranch of one of the attendees. It was formerly a

dude ranch with an old concrete slab dance floor located at the top of a hill. “As part of our annual getaway weekend, we always include a hike up to that old dance floor. It’s been a tradition to watch the sunset, and the ladies just savor the experience,” explains Lauren. “We do

that while enjoying a savory spread of cured meats, olives, special cheeses and crackers and chilled rosé wine. It’s a bit of a pain to carry the cooler up, but worth it,” she goes on to say.

Lauren says the girl’s getaway allows for easy conversations that often revolve around sur-

viving and thriving amidst the chaos of a full house. “We sit in rocking chairs for hours, enjoying the view of the spring-fed pond with coffee mugs in hand. Our conversations start

ramping up, and in no time, we are all grabbing our notepads to write down some anecdote

that works or makes sense of a life moment, a parenting tip or something inspirational and

life related – it’s very encouraging. There’s so much wisdom between everyone — we don’t want to miss the pearls — and the laughs,” says Lauren.

“Another favorite pastime that marks the weekend includes a few women bringing musical

instruments (guitar and mandolin) and leading everyone in a few songs on Sunday morning.

It’s an uplifting way to depart the weekend — our faith is what brought us together in the first place. For some, it is their only weekend away. It’s a joy to be with them,” Lauren says.

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Pictured above (l to r): Carol Knippel, Rene Arrowwood, Lauren Browning, Molly Whiles, Lisa Swank.

Lauren’s Tips for a Girl’s Getaway Meal...

Spotlight a new vegetable or preparation method.

Prep the food at home prior to getting to the getaway destination.

Leave the final cooking and assembling for the cooking experience.

Make it engaging. It’s easier to get everyone involved. Attendees can be in charge of projects like making the salad vinaigrette, using a recipe as a guide. Allow them to choose the vinegar, herb or mustard, for example, and create their own new vinaigrette. They can also place prepared food decoratively on serving platters.

Serve food family style.

Make it fun! “I love pre-ordering cocktail napkins to capture a special theme for the weekend,” explains Lauren. (Local website store recommendation for personalized items: “Good Gifts.”)

Enjoy the process of cooking, not just the outcome. “A lot of people will look through a recipe and follow it to the letter. My joy is looking at a recipe for inspiration,” says Lauren. “I like putting flavors together like a puzzle, adding an item here and there for an even better fit. I use my senses and take liberties in layering flavors. For me, creating fresh and delicious food is as exciting as eating it, especially with friends!”

RECIPES:

Roasted Fennel and Tomatoes

Ingredients 2 fennel bulbs cleaned and stalks removed, cut into 8-12 wedges of equal thickness, with root intact

1 carton of cherry tomatoes, halved

2 cloves garlic, minced

Chopped fresh herbs to taste (I like tarragon, basil, chives, and/or thyme, or a mix of many other herbs too)

1/4 cup more or less extra-virgin olive oil

1 lemon, zested (I prefer the microplane zester) and juiced

Kosher or sea salt

Pepper

Optional: 1-2 teaspoons of truffle oil right before serving.

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees on the bake setting or 400 degrees on the convection bake setting. Place a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil. Then place fennel wedges and cook until just tender, but not mushy (about 8-10 minutes – taste to check). Remove from water and cool by spreading out the wedges on a baking sheet with a towel underneath to absorb additional moisture.

2. Place cooled wedges into a large mixing bowl, along with tomato halves, garlic, herbs, lemon zest, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Toss ingredients so that fennel and tomatoes are evenly coated. Taste and add more salt if needed.

3. Spread fennel and tomato mixture on a large rimmed baking sheet. Ingredients should not be on top of one another or they will steam and not roast as well. If baking sheet is overcrowded, distribute between a second sheet. Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes, more or less. If garlic is burning, remove tray at once. Golden, even browning is the key. Serve as a side dish with a lighter fish such as halibut, snapper, or grouper.

Serves 4-6 september/october 2015 | 111

W ENTERTAINING RECIPES Swiss Chard-Wrapped Halibut with CitrusHerb Butter

Roasted Beets with Layers of Herbed Goat Cheese and Pistachio Pesto Drizzle Inspired by Wolfgang Puck’s Beet Napoleon

*When blood oranges are in season, try using them in place of an orange and a lime.

Ingredients ½ cup butter, room temperature

1 lime, zest and juice reserved

1 orange, zest and juice reserved

1 small shallot, minced (need about 1 tablespoon)

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (basil or tarragon also tasty)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1 bunch or 4 large Swiss chard leaves, washed with stems removed

4 thick skinless halibut filets (about 6 ounces)

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Place a pot of salted water on the stove to boil. Then reduce to low boil.

2. Place butter in a small sauce or sauté pan over medium high. Once butter starts to melt, add shallots and pinch of salt. Cook until just translucent.

3. Then add juice from both orange and lime and continue to heat until juice has reduced to about 1 tablespoon and cool.

4. Prepare a bowl of ice water and set aside. Drop Swiss chard leaves into boiling water, remove within a few seconds and place immediately into ice water to stop the cooking process. Gently remove leaves and pat dry.

5. In a small bowl, mix together softened butter, citrus reduction, fresh herbs, citrus zest (about 1 tablespoon or less) and salt and pepper to taste.

6. Pat fish filets dry and evenly sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides. Smear top of each filet with a generous amount of compound butter and wrap with a Swiss chard leaf. Repeat packets for remaining halibut filets. Evenly place into a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for about 15-18 minutes. Discretely test one for doneness — fish should be firm to the touch and opaque when ready.

Serves 4

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Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds beets, washed and trimmed (4-6 beets about same size)

4 cloves of garlic, peeled

Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil

Splash of water

Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Herbed Goat Cheese: 2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives, 1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint leaves (can use thyme or rosemary), ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 (7 or 8-ounce) log goat cheese, softened

Pistachio Pesto Drizzle: 4 oz. fresh basil pesto, 4 oz. roasted and salted pistachios, roughly chopped, 1 lemon, zest and juice reserved, 2-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (to taste), salt to taste Directions 1. For beets, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the beets in a small roasting pan or baking dish in one layer. Toss in garlic cloves, lightly drizzle each beet with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Pour a little water into the pan to reach about 1/4 of the way up the sides of the beets. Cover the pan with foil, and roast the beets until they are tender, 1-2 hours, depending on the size of the beets. To check for doneness, gently insert a bamboo skewer into a beet. The skewer should slide through easily. Remove the beets from the pan, allow to cool, and then peel. Cut each beet into 1/4-inch-thick round slices, keeping beets in order, to preserve beet’s ball-like shape.

2. For herbed goat cheese layers, place all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Using a small offset spatula, spread each beet layer with a bit of cheese mixture to form stacks, keeping each beet shape intact. Think of it like a beet layer cake. Press down on it slightly to ensure it’s “glued.” Place on a platter. (If inspired, cut each beet vertically in half one or more times, using a sharp knife. Must secure beet while slicing or it will come apart easily. Arrange stacks in whimsical pattern.)

3. For pesto drizzle preparation, mix ingredients in a small bowl. (I like texture so I don’t chop pistachios too finely, but for a finer or smoother drizzle, you can put everything in a blender.) Adjust seasoning and consistency to taste – may need more olive oil, lemon juice, or salt. Drizzle over beet platter. If using mint in goat cheese, garnish with extra mint leaves if desired. Consider serving alongside baby greens with more drizzle or separate vinaigrette.

Serves 4-6

Electric Cosmo

The Electric Cosmo combines two main ingredients: the deep red very sweet purple-red juice from the fruit (or tuna) of Texas’ official state plant, the prickly pear cactus, and the liquid of a shrub drink.

Shrub drinks are an artisanal collection of drinking vinegars by local company, Well Seasoned LLC. The name comes from the Arabic shurb, meaning drink, and sharbat, a Hindi word for an aromatic syrup made from fruit or herb and flower extracts, stirred into water and served over ice.

Ingredients • 2 oz. Vodka (Gin plays well too)

• 3/4 oz. Shrub Drinks Texas Prickly Pear Shrub

• 3/4 oz. fresh lime juice

• 4 - 6 dashes orange bitters

Directions 1. Combine ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker.

2. Shake well and strain into a Martini glass.

Source: shrubdrinks.com

september/october 2015 | 113

W AROUND TOWN 1

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Saint Mary’s Hall hosted its biennial Passport fundraising gala themed “Great Expectations” on May 8. The event, co-chaired by Karen Lee and David Zachry, raised a total of $5 million. The Passport gala event raised $800,000 in support of student scholarships, faculty development programs, school programs, curriculum, and firstclass facilities. Another $4.2 million was raised prior to the event for the newly created Windham Fund for Excellence, an endowed fund for teacher salaries and student financial aid, named in honor of retiring Head of School Emeritus, Bob Windham.

1. Saint Mary’s Hall Head of School Jonathan Eades

2. Passport Co-Chairs David and Karen Lee Zachry and Rhonda and Bob Windham, SMH Head of School Emeritus

3. Saint Mary’s Hall alumni Carla (’01) and John Brozovich (’01)

4. Luke and Estee Kellogg and Elise and Craig Boyan

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Board of Directors Steven Krauskopf; 2009 - Board Chair Principal, KFW Engineers & Surveying Dr. Sanjie Garza-Cox; 2014 – Vice chair Pediatrix Brandey Wimberley Orsag; 2014 - Treasurer Jefferson Bank, Senior Vice President / Commercial Lending Officer Brenda Baldwin; 2009 Senior Manager, Capital Group Ed Belmares; 2011 Assistant City Manager, City of San Antonio Patrick Eurek; 2010 VP Marketing and Business Development NuStar Energy Christie Goodman; 2005 - Communications Committee Chair Communications Manager, Intercultural Development Research Association Fernando A. Guerra, MD, MPH, FAAP; 2011 Pediatrician and Public Health Consultant Barbara G. Holmes Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Community First Health Plans Peggy Humm RN, MSN; 2015 – Program Services Committee Chair Clinical Assistant Professor, UTHSCSA-School of Nursing Leni Kirkman; 2015 Vice President, Strategic Communications & Patient Relations, University Health System Mike Koroscik, MHA; 2014 Chief Executive Officer Institute for Women’s Health Consultants in Women’s Health Tammy McQueen; 2011 Mobilization Senior Manager Accenture Learning BPO Services Greg Seiler, 2014 CEO, Metropolitan Methodist Hospital Natalie Sirjuesingh, 2014 Sr. Vice President, Marketing Mission Pharmacal Company David Webb, PhD 2013 Financial Adviser, Eagle Strategies LLC

Staff KJ Feder Executive Director

A fighting chance for every baby As a business owner, father and community advocate, I am proud to partner with March of Dimes and to serve as the Chairman of the Board. With more than 77 years of proven success in research, programs, education and advocacy, March of Dimes continues to lead the fight to a healthier future for all babies.

Anyone you ask will tell you San Antonio is a “city on the rise,” but our thriving city still has places where we fall short: Bexar County still has one of the highest rates of preterm birth in the state, and we continue to wrestle with a low number of women seeking the prenatal care they need. But there is hope — for the first time in our city’s history, Baptist Health System, Methodist Healthcare, and University Health System have come together along with Children's Hospital of San Antonio to support the March of Dimes with their leadership, programs, and finances. These leaders in San Antonio’s health care all understand that working together for stronger healthier babies is the only way to ensure each and every baby gets a healthy start in life.

Community grants are empowering Northside Independent School District and the Children’s Shelter to reach out to hundreds of mothers that may be at high-risk for preterm birth and overcome obstacles to prenatal care, and we won’t stop there. We will continue to push forward with our research into the causes of preterm birth, providing the latest pregnancy health information with bilingual answers to moms’ questions, and advocating for programs that help moms get care and services to improve their health and the health of their babies. Accomplishing all of these resultsdriven programs requires funding, and that’s where you can help. In this special insert, you can read about how to get involved.

Reflecting on the 45th Anniversary March for Babies, we are able to look forward to a continued tradition of San Antonio companies and families joining together to make a difference and raise money for the life-saving research done at the five Prematurity Research Centers across the nation that bring together researchers from all disciplines to dig into the causes of premature birth. Our goal is to reduce the rate of premature birth to 5.5% across the nation by 2030, and the cutting-edge research these Prematurity Research Centers provide has us on the fast track to reach this goal.

But our year isn’t over yet! We are looking forward to the annual Signature Chefs Auction to continue to fund the mission and the fight against premature birth alongside some of San Antonio’s finest chefs. We invite you to join us to Go Purple for Preemies in November to raise awareness of just how big an issue premature birth is and celebrate World Prematurity Day on November 17.

Catherine Alvarado Community Director, Signature Chefs

We are grateful for the support of many San Antonio corporations and families and are honored to recognize our 2015 Top Corporate and Family Teams, Circle of Champions, and the winners of the NEISD Change Challenge. As parents, grandparents, siblings, children, or friends, we are all called to join in the battle against prematurity, and I urge you to help give every baby a fighting change by helping the March of Dimes.

Melissa Holden Community Director, March for Babies

Respectfully,

Higinia “Ginie” Paszkowski Director of Program Services

Erin McGarvey Community Director, Communications San Antonio Division 7410 Blanco Rd, Suite 400 San Antonio, TX 78216 Office (210) 696-1030 Fax (210) 694-0577 www.marchofdimes.org/texas

Steven Krauskopf Principal, KFW Engineers & Surveying Chairman of the Board, March of Dimes San Antonio

Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/MOD_SA A SPECIAL SECTION FOR SAN ANTONIO WOMAN

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There are two things we all have in common.

By Erin McGarvey We can’t pass up great food and we have all been touched by the March of Dimes. At the Signature Chefs Auction, signatures commit to more than just a dotted line; they commit to making a difference.

With this support, research can be done. Vaccines can be discovered. Babies can simply be babies.

Co-Chairs Bellinda Conte and Brenna Nava invite you to Morgan’s Wonderland for an exciting evening out while raising funds and increasing awareness of the March of Dimes mission to give every baby a fighting chance.

Lead Chef Heather Nañez from Bohanan’s and many more top local chefs will prepare their signature dishes– all to honor stronger, healthier babies. In addition to sampling cuisine from San Antonio’s finest restaurants and chefs you will also have the opportunity to bid on exclusive auction packages that include fine dining, resort stays, spa vacations and much more!

“It’s incredible to see so many people come together to benefit babies. The incredible leadership of our chairs and committee members partnered with the generosity of our chefs and sponsors make Signature Chefs better year after year,” states KJ Feder, March of Dimes Executive Director. The financial support from this event allows for the continuation of the foundation’s mission on a local level with research, community services, education and advocacy. Everyone is invited to Fund the Mission with a gift in honor the 2015 Ambassador Family — Cayce, Dulce, and Addison Halm in reflection of the 95 days Addison spent in the NICU. If you’re interested in attending or sponsoring this event, please contact Catherine Alvarado at calvarado@marchofdimes.org or (210) 515-4842. Our Signature Chefs Auction’s elegant combination of fabulous food, great wines, good company, priceless auction packages, and a great cause will cook up an evening to remember!

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Top Right: Lead Chef Heather Nañez from Bohanan’s and Silver Fork Award winner Derek R. Lomax from Bob’s Steak and Chop House celebrate a successful evening benefitting babies.

Bottom Right: From left to right, 2015 Co-Chairs Brenna Nava and Bellinda Conte, Heather Nañez from Bohanan’s, NICU graduate Sofia Alvarado, and 2014 Chair Dr. Sanjie Garza-Cox.

A SPECIAL SECTION FOR SAN ANTONIO WOMAN

THANK YOU

TO OUR 2014 FUND THE MISSION DONORS $5,000.00 ...........Gordon and Maggie Hartman $2,500.00 ...........Monika and Neal Dalrymple $2,500.00 ...........Cody and Dana Henderson $1,000.00............Sophie and Xavier Bardy $1,000.00............Isabel Basaldu-Prado $1,000.00............Timothy Cleland and Lina Marouf $1,000.00............Glenn and Kelly Emery $1,000.00............Steven and Dawn Krauskopf $1,000.00............Maria Pierce $1,000.00............Stephen and Lacey Shiffman $1,000.00............Barbara Haymon $1,000.00............Mark Nichols $500.00 ..............Miguel and Teresa Ayala $500.00 ..............Isabel Basaldu-Prado $500.00 ..............John and Judy Bel $500.00 ..............Diane and James Centeno $500.00 ..............Timothy Cleland and Lina Marouf $500.00 ..............Joel and Courtney Comp $500.00 ..............Mark Croley $500.00 ..............Glenn and Kelly Emery $500.00 ..............Brad and Reenie Galo $500.00 ..............Jorge and Juanita Garza $500.00 ..............Marcus Garza and Irene Flores $500.00 ..............Sanjuanita Garza-Cox and Warren Cox $500.00 ..............Mike and Maritza Goldman $500.00 ..............Ronald and Donna Hagauer $500.00 ..............Cody and Dana Henderson

$500.00 ..............Trey and Jamie Holder $500.00 ..............John and Liza Isaac $500.00 ..............Katharine and Dave Johnson $500.00 ..............Christopher Koob and Bellinda Conte $500.00 ..............Jim and Susan Langenkamp $500.00 ..............Tammy McQueen $500.00 ..............Bob and Carolyn Millet $500.00 ..............Brenna and Alex Nava $500.00 ..............Ed and Donna Nelson $500.00 ..............Elias and Crissy Neujahr $500.00 ..............Maria Pierce $500.00 ..............Eleana and Juan Rubio $500.00 ..............Jim and Janet Siciliano $500.00 ..............Bart and Kim Swider $500.00 ..............Wesley and Amanda Young $500.00 ..............Ken and Cheryl Trainer $500.00 ..............Bridget and Marcus Van Vleet $500.00 ..............George and Ivy Weron $500.00 ..............Terry and Sharon Martin $500.00 ..............Jason Merck $500.00 ..............Brandon Leatherwood $500.00 ..............Mark Nichols $500.00 ..............Lauren Vandeberg $500.00 ..............Brandon Sehlke $500.00 ..............Gerald and Michelle Merck $500.00 ..............Jerry Merck $500.00 ..............Patrick Bean

Bob’s Signature Carrot Glaze INGREDIENTS PART #1 1/2 Gallon (fresh) Orange Juice 2 lbs. (light) Brown Sugar 2 TBSP Ground Cinnamon 1 Cup Water

PART #2 2/3 Cup Corn Starch 1/2 Cup Water

PROCEDURE On medium-high heat in a 4 quart pot, add ingredients from Part I and bring to a boil, be sure to stir occasionally. Once at a boil turn heat down to medium.

At the same time, boil 5 pounds of peeled carrots for about 12 minutes or until the carrots are done. To check for doneness insert a fork into the biggest and thickest part of a carrot, if not soft and tender continue cooking until they are.

In a separate bowl mix together ingredients from Part II until thoroughly mixed. It is advisable to use your hands as this helps eliminate any potential lumps in the mixture.

Once Part II ingredients are mixed turn up the heat on Part I ingredients to medium-high and with a whisk begin to stir while you slowly pour all of Part II ingredients into the pot.

Remove glaze from heat and add carrots, allowing them to simmer and absorb the glaze at least 30 minutes before serving.

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NOTE: The carrots and orange juice in this dish contain folic acid, a B vitamin that is essential in women’s diets before and during pregnancy because it can reduce the risk of birth defects of the brain and spinal cord known as neural tube defects. To reduce the risk of having a child with a neural tube defect, women who might become pregnant should take a multivitamin containing 400 micrograms of folic acid every day, in addition to eating a healthy diet rich in natural sources of folate (naturally occurring folic acid.)

Visit www.marchofdimes.org/pregnancy/folicacid to learn more.

A SPECIAL SECTION FOR SAN ANTONIO WOMAN

Joining the March for Healthier Babies SeaWorld was an ocean of purple on March 28 as emcees Ernie Zuniga and Monica Taylor greeted 14,000 walkers representing family and company teams from all over San Antonio at the 2015 March for Babies. The $800,000 raised supports programs in San Antonio that help mothers have healthy, fullterm pregnancies and funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten babies.

“Premature birth is the number one killer of children under the age of 5,” noted March for Babies Chairman and Metropolitan Methodist Hospital CEO Greg Seiler. “Working toward a day when all babies are born healthy is a job for everyone.”

This year’s march was also a celebration of the 45th anniversary of March for Babies. What began in San Antonio in 1970 as the Miles for Children walk became Walk America and eventually March for Babies.

For the third consecutive year, University Health System stepped up as presenting sponsor. Leni Kirkman, Vice President, Strategic Communic-ations & Patient Relations, spoke to University Health System’s reason for supporting March of Dimes: “At University Health System, we believe every baby deserves a fighting chance. We know the work funded

by March of Dimes is important and the money raised here in San Antonio will have a substantial impact to reduce the rate of premature birth. Because we march, March of Dimes can fund research to discover the causes of premature birth and birth defects, and more women in our community can get prenatal education and improve their chance of having a healthy baby.”

Family teams walk in honor or in memory of a loved one. Parents Erin and Cody Furlong and their children were the 2015 March for Babies Ambassador Family. Even after their first son, Trace, was born full-term and healthy, Erin’s second pregnancy with twins was high-risk. Born at just 28 weeks, Jackson weighed 2 lbs. 11 oz., and Makenna weighed 2 lbs. 10 oz. In their 10 weeks in the NICU, the babies received the advanced care that March of Dimes has researched, funded and supported. Jackson and Makenna are now vibrant, healthy five-year old kindergartners. Erin and Cody, like so many other parents, know it’s important to share their story to spread awareness of the March of Dimes mission. Greg Seiler agreed, “Families are at the heart of March for Babies and Metropolitan Methodist Hospital was proud to have one of our own serve as the Ambassador Family. The Furlongs are proof that miracles do happen and that the work funded by the March of Dimes is saving lives.”

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2016 MARCH FOR BABIES IS ON APRIL 9, 2016!!

A SPECIAL SECTION FOR SAN ANTONIO WOMAN

WAY TO GO 2015 TOP FUNDRAISERS! TOP CORPORATE TEAMS HEB..........................................................................................$151,454 Methodist Women’s Health ....................................................$80,246 Mission Pharmacal .................................................................$77,065 University Health System San Antonio ...................................$76,253 CITI ............................................................................................$64,018 Pediatrix Medical Group.........................................................$22,650 Oak Farms................................................................................$18,932 North East Independent School District...................................$18,274 Capital Group ...........................................................................$13,312 Becton Dickson .........................................................................$11,776 Accenture..................................................................................$10,160 Community First Health Plans...................................................$9,373 KFW Engineers & Surveying......................................................$7,422 Allstate Insurance......................................................................$7,244 AT&T...........................................................................................$6,884 Pacesetters Sponsored by Pediatrix.........................................$6,880 Natural Bridge Caverns ............................................................$6,000 Centerpoint Energy ...................................................................$5,995 CPS Energy.................................................................................$5,470 Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. .........................................................$5,145 Farmers......................................................................................$5,000 Prolacta......................................................................................$5,000 Jefferson State Bank*TX ............................................................$4,818 Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity ........................................................$4,650 Star Anesthesia .........................................................................$4,590

THANK YOU

TO OUR 2015 SPONSORS PRESENTING

PLATINUM

GOLD

TOP NEISD SCHOOL TEAMS IN EACH CATEGORY High School, Robert E. Lee High School ..............................$2,962.73 Middle School, Frank Tejeda Middle School ........................$1,467.00 Elementary School, Huebner Elementary ...........................$2,983.08

TOP FAMILY TEAMS Team Furlong ...........................................................................$14,909 Team Rylan Jacob .....................................................................$7,350 Korie’s Angels............................................................................$4,528 Keep Calm and Fight On .........................................................$4,260 Shiloh Gates ..............................................................................$3,675 Team Atlee.................................................................................$3,336 Team Elliot..................................................................................$3,075 Madison Melissa.......................................................................$2,269 Fight Finley Fight.........................................................................$2,216 Team B-Squared .......................................................................$2,050

SILVER Pediatrix Oak Farms Dairy Capital Group

BRONZE Accenture Community First Health Plans CPS Energy Prolacta

CIRCLE OF CHAMPIONS Greg Seiler – $8,840 Erin Furlong – $8,368 Barbara Keelan – $6,886 Denise Hamlin – $4,590 Ty Gates – $3,175 Anna Martinez – $3,000 Carrie Cunningham – $2,650 Joe Nino – $2,525 Natalie Sirjuesingh – $2,355 Carol Flores – $2,140 Brandey Orsag – $2020 KJ Feder – $1,991 Josh & Kelly Dennis – $1,980 Madison Oliver – $1,910 Guy Acerra – $1,805 Bill Armwood – $1,800 Sherrie Campbell – $1,715

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Dulce Halm – $1,530 Lauren Boone – $1,400 Tom Dooley – $1,400 Robin Somogyi – $1,369 Gwendolyn Oquendo – $1,345 Veena Sagar – $1,300 Janice Friesenhahn – $1,250 Linda Mance – $1,250 Laura Bernal-Chavez – $1,165 Hayley York – $1,150 Jocelyn Cooper – $1,100 Amanda Nino – $1,028 Christi Bond – $1,000 Elizabeth Brackman-Paniagua – $1,000 Melissa Foulke – $1,000 George Hernandez – $1,000

*

Thank you to our media partner, Institute for Women’s Health!

*

Thank you to Macy’s for hosting Shop for a Cause on August 29, 2015.

Results are pending however, in 2014, this event raised $25,225 in San Antonio!

Local Partnerships Improving Local Birth Outcomes

By Carol Schliesinger Stephanie was about to start her senior year of high school and discovered she was pregnant. She and her boyfriend, Sergio, had just gotten back together. They planned on enjoying the last year of high school together before going to college.

Now, they were facing parenthood.

Motherhood does not come with a how-to manual. For many first-time, young and low-income moms like Stephanie, having a trusted source of support can mean making the right choices for her and her baby. When the support comes in the form of a registered nurse, the health benefits for both the mother and infant multiply.

For the past five years, the Children’s Shelter has funded the Nurse-Family Partnership program in San Antonio. March of Dimes supports the program with additional unrestricted funding that allows nurses to conduct educational sessions in the community. The program allows registered nurses to visit moms at their homes during pregnancy and continues with regularly scheduled visits until the baby is two years old. Most nurses average 65 visits per family. Since the program was started five years ago, nearly 800 mothers have been paired with nurses. Currently, the shelter has 190 moms enrolled.

Before the emergency shelter began prevention programs such as the NurseFamily Partnership, many of its children were admitted not necessarily due to abuse but rather neglect by very young, unsupported parents. “When the Department of Health and Human Services decided to start the Nurse-Family Partnership, the Children’s Shelter jumped at the opportunity,” said Annette Rodriguez, president and CEO. The program works. The nurses reach a population that did not have the tools or education needed.

Stephanie and Sergio with Sergio Jr. and their NFP Nurse, JoElda Munguia were chosen for a PBS film demonstrating self-sufficiency and the great outcomes of The Childrens Shelter’s Nurse-Family Partnership program.

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March of Dimes and the Children’s Shelter want to thank Mission Pharmacal for donating prenatal vitamins to moms going through the Nurse Family Partnership Program!

It’s not only infants who are at risk; the mothers too find themselves in fragile situations. “There’s a great disparity in what they should know and what they do know,” said Cheryl Weise, nurse supervisor for the program. “I walked in to a visit and see a one-week old baby sleeping on a couch because (the mom) was couch-surfing.”

From teaching moms that sleeping on soft surfaces increases risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome to discussing the importance of nutrition, each nurse helps their clients become the best possible mom and improve the health of her child. Goalmaking and motivational interviewing are key parts of the program, and help the mom dream of a better future of self-sufficiency for herself and her child. March of Dimes is proud to support this program and their efforts to improve pregnancy outcomes for San Antonio’s moms and the part that this local program plays in helping us reach a day when all babies are born healthy.

Prematurity Rates Plummet in San Antonio Program Even with a wealth of information available online and among friends, expectant parents have lots of questions and often run into conflicting answers. The problem is made worse by limited access to health care and resources. A March of Dimes program, Becoming a Mom/Comenzando bien, has shown how prenatal education improves the health of babies and their mothers.

This bilingual prenatal curriculum educates pregnant women in a supportive group setting. Nine sessions give information on prenatal care, nutrition, stress, things to avoid during pregnancy, labor and birth, postpartum care, and newborn care. And participants become mentors to each other, committed to each other’s well-being.

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In San Antonio and across Texas, the program is showing dramatic results, with 96 percent of participants delivering at full-term, meaning the prematurity rate is only 4 percent compared to the 13.5 percent rate statewide. Plus, more than nine in 10 program moms report making changes for their health, such as improving their diet and exercise

By Christie Goodman

or stopping smoking.

Ginger Pope, Stork’s Nest director, said many expectant moms don’t have a circle of support, and their doctors can’t spend much time on patient education. She added, “There is nothing like that personal interaction and conversation with others who may have the same concerns.”

The program serves women of all racial and ethnic groups and all income and education levels. It also encourages other family members to participate. “We do have some fathers who participate and even grandmothers,” Pope added.

Here in San Antonio, Becoming a Mom/Comenzando bien is offered both by Stork’s Nest, Inc., with the support of the local Alpha Pi Zeta chapter, and by the Texas Healthy Start Program of San Antonio. In addition, local school districts have begun to adopt the program’s curriculum for school-age parenting programs – serving a population that is particularly vulnerable to misinformation, lack of social support and higher rates of prematurity.

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Calendar ART // MUSIC // FILM // THEATER // DANCE // CHARITY // OUTDOORS

Hairspray

delicious culinary offerings from over 35 participating establishments. www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com

September 11 See it on the big screen at the Tobin Center. The Movie starts at 8 - so don’t be late!

September 10

OUTSIDE THE LUNCHBOX LUNCHEON

Now thru September 20

RAINFOREST ADVENTURE The San Antonio Botanical Garden This maze exhibit takes guests inside the rainforest, from the soaring canopies all the way to the forest floor with lessons on ecology, biodiversity, adaptability, and conservation. www.sabot.org

Now thru September 7

DISCOVER THE ICE AGE The Witte Museum Mammoths, saber-toothed cats, bears, cave people and gigantic "terror birds" last seen in Texas and Florida make Discover the Ice Age an exciting and educational exhibition about life during Earth’s last Ice Age. Discover the Ice Age features fossils, casts and several life-sized animatronic models of animals. This exhibition provides a unique and exciting walk through the Ice Age era for families and visitors of all ages. www.wittemuseum.org

September 4

LABOR DAY ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW The River Walk, 11am-7pm Enjoy a stroll along the picturesque River Walk, stop to talk to our vendors who are anxious to share information about their craft, and take home an item that will enhance your home, wardrobe or garden. www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com

The Tobin Center, 12pm Keynote speaker Amanda Ripley will talk about The Smartest Kids In The World and How They Got That Way at The Tobin Center for Performing Arts. www.tobincenter.org

September 11

HAIRSPRAY The Tobin Center, 8pm Hairspray is a 2007 American musical romantic comedy film based on the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name, which follows the "pleasantly plump" teenager Tracy Turnblad as she pursues stardom as a dancer on a local TV show and rallies against racial segregation.

Bring your lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy the movie on our 32foot LED screen! No outside food or drinks are allowed, but concessions will be available for purchase, including full bar service. www.tobincenter.org

September 11

THE H-E-B 31ST ANNUAL ZOO RUN RELAY San Antonio Zoo, 6 - 9pm The Zoo Run Relay is an 8-mile team race. Teams consisting of 4 runners (each runner will run two miles) will compete against each other in a race to the finish line. A portion of the race takes runners through the zoo. www.sazoo.org

September 8

BUD LIGHT - THE TASTE The River Walk, 6 - 8:30pm Bud Light The Taste brings the local San Antonio crowd to Houston Street and the River Walk to sample

September 12

THE H-E-B 31ST ANNUAL KIDS’ ZOO RUN San Antonio Zoo, 8:30 - 10:30am Kids of all ages and their parents can support the zoo by running in this fun race on a route through the zoo. www.sazoo.org

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial follows the moving story of a lost little alien who befriends a 10-year-old boy named Elliott. Experience all the mystery and fun of their unforgettable adventure in the beloved movie that captivated audiences around the world, complete with John Williams’ Academy Award®winning score performed live by the San Antonio Symphony in sync with the film projected on a huge HD screen! www.majesticempire.com

September 12-13

PLANT SALE September 12

ONE MAN BREAKING BAD The Tobin Center, 4 and 8pm A one-man-show, Yo! Los Angeles actor Miles Allen takes Breaking Bad fans on a wild ride as he parodies the greatest television show ever made. See him perform his rendition of popular characters Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, Hank, Walt Junior, Mike and Gus Fring. A hilarious 75minute show. Note: Adult language and content. www.tobincenter.org

September 11 and 12

THE SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY PRESENTS E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL The Majestic Theatre, times vary Director Steven Spielberg’s heartwarming masterpiece comes to the Majestic Theatre. Filled with unparalleled magic and imagination,

The San Antonio Botanical Garden, 10am -2pm Find the perfect plants to make your landscape San Antonio friendly at this two-day sale. Select from hundreds of varieties of natives and adapted plants suited to our climate conditions. Greenhouse volunteers assist in your selection.

Learn from their extensive gardening experience! www.sabot.org

September 12

JON SECADA The Tobin Center, 8pm Jon Secada is a Grammy-winning bilingual artist adored by millions around the world. His lyrics explore love, loss, separation and redemption while always focusing on the positive. His songs generate a tangible sense of hope to millions of fans around the globe. The Cubanborn, yet distinctly American recording artist, producer and songwriter Jon Secada has not only written and produced hit songs for his own career, but also written and

( EDITOR’S PICK ) September 12 -13

OPERA PICCOLA PRESENTS BON APPETIT AND GALLANTRY Carver Cultural Center, times vary Opera Piccola of San Antonio presents a double-bill of comic opera taken straight from 1950s television. Lee Hoiby’s Bon Appetit brings to life everyone’s favorite chef, Julia Child, while she prepares a chocolate cake. Following is Douglas Moore’s hilarious hospital soap opera, Gallantry. Sung in English, both operas star Laura Mercado-Wright, Susan Olson, April Hufty, Heath Martin and Rick Novak. Accompanied by full orchestra conducted by Kirstin Roach and stage-directed by Cynthia Stokes. Tickets are $15, $25, $35, and $50 and can be purchased by going to www.operapiccolasa.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

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produced numerous songs and No.1 hits for such artists as Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin and Gloria Estefan. www.tobincenter.org

September 12

BREWS AND BLOOMS The San Antonio Botanical Garden, 6:30-10pm An evening of craft brew sampling paired with scrumptious food truck fare and music, all set in the gorgeous, blooming Botanical Garden. www.sabot.org.

September 14

BALLET FOLKLORICO DE MEXICO The Tobin Center, 7:30pm A cast of dancers, inspired by Mexican folklore, recreate traditional dances using both modern and classical techniques. www.tobincenter.org

September 13

DON QUIXOTE: PRESENTED BY ARTS SAN ANTONIO Charline McCombs Empire Theatre, 7:30pm Bringing together the passionate, soulful cultures of Spain and India, the Sahrdaya Foundation premieres its production of the 21stcentury stage adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes’ early 17thcentury classic novel, Don Quixote. The production combines poetry, music, dance and theater to unfold a timeless tale with universal relevance. www.majesticempire.com

WWW.SAARTS.COM

SEPT/OCT

Have an Event to share? Contact us at editor@sawoman.com

2015

ART // MUSIC // FILM // THEATER // DANCE // CHARITY // OUTDOORS September 16

FLASHDANCE October 20 The Tobin Center, 7:30pm

DIEZ Y SEIS EVENTS Various venues around the city Marking Mexico's independence from Spain, San Antonio celebrates with special events all over town, including a street parade with floats and marching bands, a gala and celebrations in Market Square. www.sanantonio.gov.

September 17

EXHIBIT OPENING AND RECEPTION J.R. Mooney Gallery - Boerne, 4-8pm Antecedent / Au Courant explores various genres and aspects of represented artists. Join them for an opening reception with the artists. www.jrmooneygalleries.com

September 18-20

BEETHOVEN'S 9TH The Tobin Center, times vary Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, concluding with the exhilarating Ode to Joy, encourages listeners to celebrate our shared humanity. Not just a concert—an unforgettable experience with the San Antonio Symphony. www.tobincenter.org

September 22-27

DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID The Majestic Theatre, times vary Fathoms below, we meet Ariel, the little mermaid who longs to be part of the fascinating world on dry land. Joining her are Sebastian, Ariel’s crabby sidekick; Ursula, the evil sea witch; Triton, King of the Sea; and the handsome and human Prince Eric. Based on the Disney animated film and hit Broadway musical, The Little Mermaid is making its San Antonio debut. The beloved animated classic comes to life on stage with all the songs you love like Under the Sea and Part Of Your World. www.majesticempire.com

BILLY IDOL October 5 The Tobin Center, 7:30pm

October 1 and 3

MADAMA BUTTERFLY The Tobin Center, 7:30pm Following a stunning inaugural season, OPERA San Antonio presents Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, featuring Maria Kanyova as Cio-Cio San and Adam Diegel as Lt. B.F. Pinkerton. Both performances feature the San Antonio Symphony, conducted by Maestro Sebastian Lang-Lessing. www.tobincenter.org

October 5

BILLY IDOL The Tobin Center, 7:30pm Rock legend Billy Idol celebrates the release of his first studio album in almost a decade, Kings & Queens Of The Underground, with this North American Tour that is selling out stadiums across the country. www.tobincenter.org

October 8-11

GRUENE MUSIC & WINE FESTIVAL Gruene historic district, times vary A festival of great food and award winning wines along with live music. Featured performers include Aaron Neville, Pat Green, The Marshall Tucker Band and many more. www.gruenemusicandwinefest.org

October 9

October 20

BACK TO THE FUTURE

FLASHDANCE

The Tobin Center, 8pm A 1985 American comic science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy the movie on our 32-foot LED screen! No outside food or drinks are allowed, but concessions will be available for purchase, including full bar service. www.tobincenter.org

The Tobin Center, 7:30pm Featuring amazing dancers and a score that includes hit songs from the movie, What a Feeling, Maniac, Gloria, Manhunt, and I Love Rock & Roll.

In addition to these hits, 16 brand-new songs have been written for the musical with music by Robbie Roth and lyrics by Robert Cary and Roth. www.tobincenter.org

October 10 and 12

FALL ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW The River Walk, 11am - 8pm Some of the most unusual handmade merchandise available anywhere. Whether it’s jewelry, pottery or fine art you are interested in, you are sure to find what you’re looking for. www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com

October 21

UB40 The Tobin Center, 7:30pm In the early ‘80s this band helped define reggae music in America. Their hits Red Red Wine, I've Got You Babe and I Can't Help Falling In Love With You, topped the charts in 1983. They return for one hot San Antonio concert. www.tobincenter.org

October 22

October 9,10 and 11

LIONEL RICHIE

BALLET SAN ANTONIO PRESENTS SWAN LAKE

The Tobin Center, 8pm Music Icon. International superstar. 100 million albums sold worldwide. Lionel Richie has a discography of albums and singles second to none and is part of the fabric of American pop music. Enjoy his many hits including, All Night Long, Hello, Say You, Say Me, Penny Lover and Stuck On You in this amazing show. www.thetobincenter.org

The Tobin Center, times vary Swan Lake is the story of a sad prince, an evil sorcerer, and a beautiful woman turned swan.

With heart-wrenching and glorious music by Tchaikovsky, this ballet is a feast for the senses, and a must-see whether you are an aficionado or a newcomer to ballet.

With live music by the San Antonio Symphony www.tobincenter.org

LIONEL RICHIE October 22 The Tobin Center, 8pm

October 23-24

LUMINARIA - ARTS COME TO LIGHT Downtown, various venues All manner of creative endeavors — art, music, poetry, performance, light shows — explode across San Antonio. Luminaria is San Antonio's annual celebration of art and artists. Overseen by San Antonio's creative leaders, it is free of charge and showcases all art forms in an outdoor setting and inside various venues downtown. www.luminariasa.org

October 31

BUD LIGHT HALLOWEEN FEST The River Walk 7 - 11pm Bud Light will once again sponsor Halloween Fest downtown on the River Walk. This event features live music, an eerie river parade and a costume contest. Bars will open at 6pm for costume registration. Live music starts at 7pm and the parade begins at 8:30pm. www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com

October 16

YO-YO MA The Tobin Center, 8pm Join Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing and world renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma for a memorable one-night performance with the San Antonio Symphony. www.tobincenter.org

september/october 2015 | 133

DREAM HOME Guide

Luxury homes available for purchase in San Antonio and the Surrounding Texas Hill Country Area

SanAntonioDreamHomes.com

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W Weddings

David Sixt Photography

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Houston Graham (Courtney Elizabeth Dibrell) July 11, 2015

David Sixt Photography

Jenna-Beth Lyde/Parish Photography

Mr. and Mrs. Michael George Payne (Kristin Elise Stouffer) July 18, 2015

David Sixt Photography

Mr. and Mrs. Zachary Langer (Kelsey Bass) July 11, 2015

Mr. and Mrs. Tyler MacKenzie Koeller (Kevin Craig Johnson) June 20, 2015

Paul Overstreet

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Marrin (Jessica Bennett) June 21, 2015

Jenna-Beth Lyde/Parish Photography

Mr. and Mrs. John Early (Valerie Rendon) June 20, 2015

september/october 2015 | 143

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WOMEN ON THE MOVE W

Diana Ochoa-Johnson

Diana Ochoa-Johnson joined the Children’s Shelter senior leadership team in 2012 and has been promoted to chief clinical officer.

She has a 29-year career in child welfare and mental health, with 17 years of experience in senior nonprofit management in Texas and Arizona.

She earned a degree in psychology from the University of Kansas and a master’s in counselor education from the University of New Mexico.

Maj. Gen. Angela Salinas, USMC (Ret.) Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas has selected Maj. Gen. Angela Salinas, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), as its new chief executive officer. Serving as only the 13th CEO in the regional council’s 91-year history culminates nearly 40 years of breaking barriers in the military for Salinas, the first woman to command the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and the Western Recruiting Region. She was also the first Hispanic female promoted to the rank of brigadier general and major general.

Vicki Perkins

The Children’s Hospital Association, a Washington, D.C.based public policy organization, has selected Vicki Perkins to serve on its government relations subcommittee.

She is the director of community engagement and external affairs for CHRISTUS Health, a not-forprofit Catholic faithbased international health system.

She began her health care advocacy career in 1994 and has been with CHRISTUS Health in Texas since 1997.

Samantha Taylor

Broadway Bank has recently promoted Samantha Taylor to assistant vice president, assistant relationship manager, in the commercial real estate department.

Her career with the bank began in 2014 as a credit analyst, and she has three years of experience in underwriting commercial real estate. Taylor graduated from UTSA with a BBA in finance.

She also served five years in the Army, completing two tours in Iraq in 2006 and 2008.

Yvette Sanchez

As the new chief program officer at the Children’s Shelter, Yvette Sanchez oversees departments including family strengthening, permanency (foster care/adoption), emergency shelter, compliance and IT. Her goal is to ensure departments work together to restore innocence and strengthen families.

With a master’s degree and 13 years of experience in human services, she has held positions at JOVEN, United Way of Bexar County and San Antonio and Healthy Futures of Texas.

Shelli Anderson

Shelli Anderson of Phyllis Browning Company has bought and sold several of her own homes and understands the associated stresses. A former teacher, she guides her clients through the unique processes related to buying or selling a home with patience and understanding. Shelli will work out of the company’s north central office.

Cynthia Teniente-Matson

Dr. Cynthia TenienteMatson has been confirmed as president of Texas A&M University San Antonio. She most recently served as vice president for administration and chief financial officer of California State University, Fresno.

Previously, she held a variety of positions at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, culminating in her role as vice chancellor of administrative services.

A San Antonio native, she received a doctorate in educational leadership from Fresno State.

Michelle Collignon

Michelle Collignon joins her parents, Phyllis Browning Company’s own Monette and Larry Kroeger, at the company. She will be adding her own background in home renovation to their more than 25 years of real estate experience.

Michelle will work out of the company’s Hill Country office.

Andrea De La Cruz

Andrea De La Cruz has been promoted to financial accountant and officer in the finance department at Broadway Bank.

She began her career at the bank in 2006 as a telephone service representative and in 2010 was promoted to an accounting specialist II in the finance department. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. Mary’s University and an MBA from Texas A&M-San Antonio.

Liz Schumann

Liz Schumann brings experience and business acumen to her clients at the Phyllis Browning Company.

Her guiding principles are listening and providing the best professional customer service and attention to detail.

She will work out of the company’s north central office.

Angie Martin

Angie Martin has been promoted to vice president, deposit review officer, in the Broadway Bank deposit operations department.

She joined Broadway Bank in February 1981 as a teller and was most recently an assistant vice president, document compliance officer, in the deposit operations department.

Mindie Stewart

Before going into real estate with the Phyllis Browning Company, Mindie Stewart worked for a national animal supplement manufacturer. During that time, she developed specialized marketing and advertising skills and extraordinary customer service that would later aid her in real estate.

She will work out of the company’s Hill Country office.

september/october 2015 | 145

W LOOKING BACK

The windows of Julian Gold light-up Main Avenue the year it opened.

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