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Elizabeth Vail Kathryn Smith John Briscoe Jennifer Briscoe A PALM BEACH STATE OF MIND PROMPTS SUPPORTIVE ARBORISTS TO RIGHTEOUSLY REVEL — ALL ON ACCOUNT OF THE ROOTS, MIND YOU. T his year, Root Ball chairmen Laurie Allen, Renee Lewis, and Susanna Moldawer indulged Mother Nature and, in turn, the trees, by permitting the heavens to open and wash out what would have been an alfresco evening by the charming pool of a private club in close proximity to the park. Knowing this inconvenient bit of rain was destined to help the roots (after all, this night was all about them), they merely pitched a tent and kept things moving — although "moving" might be an understatement. The night, which raised nearly a quarter of a million dollars for beneficiary Trees for Houston, was a study in perpetual motion. First, there was the requisite trip to the bar for a Bayou Breeze cocktail, which was the boisson de facto ce soir. Then there was the necessary lap to admire what the tables were wearing: crisp arrangements of wheatgrass and tulips atop chipper citron tablecloths set with silver-plated flatware — you know, the kind these types of clubs specialize in. The truly generous were seated at transparent banquet tables topped with restrained sprays of palm fronds, mere steps from the dance floor. Lap number three was dedicated to taking in the fashion, which were classically elegant and festively toned in keeping with the Palm Beach theme. Think a lot of Pucci, pastels and sockless feet (with a healthy amount of J.McLaughlin, one of the evening's underwriters and host of the ball's kickoff). The dinner bells' chime sent everyone scurrying to the buffet, which doled out such club classics as scalloped potatoes, vegetable soufflé, freshly steamed asparagus, fried chicken, beef tender (with horseradish, in the raw and as a sauce, as well as béarnaise) and dangerous bite-sized biscuits already dabbed with butter. To this day, I reminisce about the dessert — chocolate ice cream cake — in quiet moments of hunger. Afterwards, dancing ensued, with the chairmen leading the charge. Austin's The Pictures, equipped with lights and a smoke machine, kept things hopping as the witching hour neared with not one, but two sets of enticing grooves. Dandy dendrologists: the chair trio's better halves, Randy Allen, John Cary, and Palmer Moldawer; Trees for Houston executive director, Barry Ward, with wife Bonnie; Marita and J.B. Fairbanks; Jay Baker; Ceron and Todd Fiscus; Gretchen and Andrew McFarland; Mary Tere Perusquia; Cedar Baldridge; Carson and Arthur Seeligson; Laura Sweeney; Karol Barnhart; Kathryn and Jeff Smith; Greg Fourticq Jr.; Cherie and Jim Flores; Cliff Helmcamp and Jerry Jeanmard; and, Trees for Houston director of development, Jessica Keener. SETH VAUGHAN GOES OUT ON A LIMB. PHOTOGRAPHY ANTHONY RATHBURN. IN HONOR OF BARBARA WALTERS' CLASSIC KATE HEPBURN INTERVIEW, WE ASKED: IF YOU WERE A TREE, WHAT KIND WOULD YOU BE? "American beech!" — Thomas Woltz "I would be a magnolia. The scent is intoxicating, and the leaves are both vivid green and warm brown all at once." — Renee Lewis "Frangipani, because its scent is amazing and it grows where I love to be … in the tropics." — Susanna Moldawer "I would be a pecan tree because I am a nut." — Laurie Allen "A redwood!" – Ceron "Magnolia ... They live forever, and it is acceptable for them to get broader with age. People also use their foliage for Christmas decorating, and I love Christmas. And, it's Southern." — Laurie Morian A N N U A L R O O T B A L L B E N E F I T I N G T R E E S F O R H O U S T O N P O O L PA RT Y THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2014 THE BAYOU CLUB, 8550 MEMORIAL DRIVE 7 TO 11PM C M Y CM MY CY CMY K PALM BEACHPBPP 17x11.3e.pdf 1 1/26/14 3:35 PM The Trees, Darling, Todd Fiscus John Cary Sara Dodd Michelle Foutch Stacy Andell Chipper tabletops Eliza Stedman Mary Tere Perusquia Vesta Frommer Laura Sweeney Laurie Morian Chairman Renee Lewis Chairman Laurie Allen Chairman Susanna Moldawer Andrew McFarland Gretchen McFarland Jay Baker Vivie O'Sullivan Palmer Moldawer Steve Reckling Randy Allen Galen Reckling Marita Fairbanks J.B. Fairbanks Sarah Pitt Florence Gautier- Winther Sonume Dan Princewill Obi Nnanna Ashley Crosby Lynn Campbell Carroll Shaddock Paul Weathers Barry Ward Bonnie Ward Dorry Shaddock David Smitherman Stuart Stedman Here's to you, Bayou Breeze Karol Barnhart Cedar Baldridge John Andell Jessica Keener Heidi Patterson Valerie Infantozzi MAY | PAGE 10 | 2014 Win Campbell Poppi Massey Tommy Crosby Lauren Hudson Carson Seeligson Susan Solcher Ceron THE TREES!