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An Enormous Disco Ball, A Tremeeeeee eeeeeeeendous Check Bill & Joann Crassas Nick Florescu Dominique Sachse Aimee Witherspoon, Justin Cornett, Nancy Douthey, Kristen Andreasen Chairs Sue & Lester Smith A Multi-, Multi-Million-Dollar Night at Texas Children's Cancer Center's Evening with Disco Legends Margaret Williams Jim Daniel CATHERINE D. ANSPON RECORDS THE ACTION FROM THE DANCE FLOOR. PHOTOGRAPHY PETE BAATZ. Mark Wallace, Gloria Gaynor Shannon Wallace Fund-Raising Fever, Indeed S Peter Bagnato ometimes less is more. What can you say about Houston's biggest benefit ever? In every sense of the word, it was one for the record books. We were there: an outrageous, fun fund-raising example of extraordinary philanthropy set to the greatest disco hits of all time, performed by the headliners who made them famous. Can you guess how much moolah was raised at the George R. Brown Convention Center at the Evening with Disco Legends benefitting Texas Children's Cancer Center? Not a mere $2 million, nor $5 or 10 million. Still more. Even $20 million would be too low. The final figure was an astounding $32.26 million for game-changing pediatric cancer research, of which half ($16-some million) came from The Lester and Sue Smith Foundation, which matched dollar for dollar every contribution made. Chairmen Sue and Lester Smith (he, a survivor who has triumphed after dozens of cancer surgeries; she, having lost her sister to breast cancer) took to the dance floor to their own tune, "I Will Survive," moments after the presentation of the big check. Lisa Brenneman Rick & Cindy Fulmer Vivian Wise A Pointer Sister croons. Nile Rodgers Rachel & Tom Regan "You gotta dance like no one's watching!" Emily Crosswell Limor Smith John Reed Travis Donnell Elle Florescu Hannibal Trent Sarah & Chris Downey — chair Lester Smith Side A: The Talent Gloria Gaynor * The Pointer Sisters * Nile Rodgers Late night — DJ Ultragrrrl Side B: We Are Family Legends event co-founder Emily Crosswell and husband Holcombe Texas Children's prez and CEO Mark Wallace and wife Shannon Texas Children's Cancer Center director Dr. David Poplack Wells Fargo honcho Chip Carlisle and wife Susan TCCC advisory board prez Steven Arnold Party impresario Richard Flowers, who devised the dazzling disco-rama Indrani and Hemant Goradia Cynthia and Tony Petrello Beth Madison Linda and Lawrence Levy Jonathan and Amy Homeyer Curing Children's Cancer Fund's Rob Ferguson and wife Sarah Lee GHBA, Newmark Homes and David Weekly's Mark Welch, Peter Houghton and Seth Tobey Mother's Against Cancer prez Donna Lewis Snowdrop Foundation's Trish and Kevin Kline Kelli and John Weinzierl Sybil Roos Trish and Rock Morille Mallori & Chris Ramey Andi & Stephen Berkman APRIL | PAGE 8 | 2012 Ronnie & Dorothy Cuenod Michelle & Alan Smith