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Conference co-chair Annise Parker Gala co-chair Lauren Rottet Honoree Joanne King Herring Bob Cavnar Conference co-chair Gracie Cavnar 39 WOMEN ROCK Honoree Hillary Rodham Clinton Catherine D. Anspon has a front row to history: Hillary Rodham Clinton is honored, and International Women's Forum comes to town. Photography Michelle Watson for CatchLight Group. T he woman who has been a force in presidential politics and shattered glass ceilings, Hillary Rodham Clinton, arrived in Houston for an historic visit days before the 40th anniversary of the fabled National Women's Conference. (That milestone in the women's movement took place in Houston in 1977.) The PA by the former U.S. Senator/Secretary of State capped the International Women's Forum World Leadership Conference attended by some of the world's most dynamic and infl uential women. Diverse fi elds and regions of the globe were represented at the three-day think tank and empowerment gathering: Fortune 500 CEOs, astronauts, philanthropists, nonprofi t leaders, former members of the U.S. presidential cabinet, activists, and trailblazers. Co-chairing the convergence at the Hilton Americas-Houston were two Houston female leaders no stranger to the spotlight: Recipe for Success founder Gracie Cavnar and immediate past mayor of Houston Annise Parker. (Cavnar launched the Houston Chapter of IWF in 2013, which has grown to 95 vetted women, and threw the city's hat in to host the 2017 conference.) A HISTORIC NIGHT The crescendo of IWF in Houston was Friday night's gala, which was attended by many generations of women, grandmothers to preteens with their moms. The ticketed black-tie evening brought out nearly 1,000 from near and far. Clinton appeared, not just to give a speech — one that was both honest and uplifting about the work to be done for the women's movement worldwide — but to be inducted into IWF's International Hall of Fame. As such she joined a lofty list of past honorees, including Civil Rights hero Rosa Parks, Chilean author Isabel Allende, Vietnam Memorial architect Maya Lin, and Prime Minister of Great Britain Margaret Thatcher. The timing, closely following upon the release of her new book, What Happened, proved also that Hillary Clinton is authoring a resounding next chapter in her life. Introducing Clinton were former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, who served in the Clinton cabinet, and most movingly, the presidential candidate's childhood friend from Chicago Ann Drake, who is now chairman/CEO of DSC Logistics. (Both Shalala and Drake are IWF members.) Also being applauded were nine Women Who Make a Difference honorees, from points around the globe including Jordan's Reem Atalla Habayeb and Jamaica's Minna Israel, reinforcing a message of diversity. Houston's own Joanne King Herring stood out upon the dais for her timeless energy, and fi gure-skimming red ball gown. (The fi lm Charlie Wilson's War details only one small chapter in Herring's remarkable life of grit, purpose, and glamour.) HILLARY CLINTON'S BIG TALK Delivering remarks in a dynamic, forceful manner, Clinton also came off as warm and real. She joked about wearing a boot after a recent household injury, and rebelling against doctor's orders to come to Houston anyway. And she began her speech praising Houston's resilience with a nice "Go Astros" greeting — immediately winning over the crowd. Chairing the night were architect Lauren Rottet and philanthropist Susie Criner. POWER POWWOW: IWF prez Teresa V.-F. Weintraub, and IWF Texas-Houston members including Barbara Davis, Leisa Holland-Nelson, Alicia Smith, Kitty Rabinow, Rice University's Y. Ping Sun, Anna Eastman with daughter Abby Eastman, Loretta Cross, Janet Gurwitch, Catherine Mosbacher, Opening Night co-chairs Barbara McKnight and Clare Sullivan Jackson (who co-chaired the reception nights earlier at the MFAH that we lcomed global IWF leaders to town), Barbara Paull, Melanie Gray and husband Mark Wawro, Susan Pye, Mary Kelly, Natalye Appel, Beth Wolff, Susan Bischoff, and Sheryl Rapp; joined by supporters Donna Alexander, Lorraine and Ed Wulfe, Bob Cavnar, Lynn Mathre, Angela Shah, Sylvia Forsythe, Lynda Wood, Kim Padgett, Whitney Bossin Burns, Jane Mosbacher Morris, Jannette Maye, and the co-chairs' daughters Annie Criner Eifl er and Evan Rottet. Gala co-chair Susie Criner Beth Wolff Deborah Duncan Darian Ward Alicia Smith