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38 THE $21 MILLION GALA BY NATALIE GEMPEL. PHOTOGRAPHY SHERYL LANZEL, JON STRANGE, TWISTED FOCUS MEDIA. S triking the perfect balance between entertain- ment and inspiration is a skill that Black Tie Dinner has honed for 36 years. The event has brought renowned figures to Dallas — Maya Angelou, Geena Davis, Lily Tomlin, and Connie Britton — and the dinner has raised more than $21 million for dozens of local and national ben- eficiaries promoting and supporting equality and human rights. The nation's largest LGBTQ fund-raising dinner was as uplifting as ever this fall: Taking over the ballroom of the Sheraton in Downtown Dallas, Black Tie Dinner co-chairs Nate Robbins and David Robinson devised an evening equal parts empowering and entertaining, recognizing Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally, who was presented with the Ally for Equality Award by his husband, Tom Kirdahy, and Rev. Eric Folkerth of Northaven Methodist Church, a believer in "the separation of church and hate," who received the Kuchling Humanitarian Award. Equality trailblazers Eric Fanning, the 22nd Secretary of the Army and the first openly gay head of any service in the U.S. military, and New Hope mayor Jess Herbst, the first openly transgender elected official in Texas history, gave moving speeches. While the evening was filled with emotional touchstones, the mood was nothing short of optimistic — after all, this is the most financially successful dinner in the country supporting the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. On the entertainment front, Black Tie Dinner welcomed Grace Stockdale for a sneak preview of the Broadway show Waitress, which Dallas Summer Musicals is bringing to the Music Hall at Fair Park later this year. An electric performance by Tyler Glenn, singer and former lead vocalist of Neon Trees, closed the evening. SPOTTED: Rey Ocanas, Charlotte Allison, Nedd Ross and Erik Bohdan, Chad Wallace, Morgan W. Cox, III, David W. Carlson, Vance Louis Hines, Zack Hicks and Justin Leach, Farhad Niroomand, Dan Waldmann, and Greg Ruvolo. Terrence McNally Nate Robbins, David Robinson Nicole Veale, Caroline Kraddick Ron Corning Nedd Ross, Erik Bohdan LeeAnne Locken, Justin Leach, Cassandra Cass Raquel Blake, Rob Bradford Tyler Glenn Paul Howell Joe Riggs Michelle Brannon Brookshire Lindsay Day, Tim Berry, Karlee Butler