By Sheryl Lilly Pidgeon | Editor-in-Chief, GoodLifeFamilyMag.com
Touted as “The Feel Good Event of the Year,” the 15th annual Texas Sized Event, presented by Southwest Jewish Congress (SWJC), will honor 16 DFW-area trailblazers from various disciplines who have been diligent in the pursuit of positive social change. The event will take place on Tuesday, September 10, beginning at 5:30pm at Edison’s Dallas, 1724 Cockrell Ave, Dallas.
SWJC is a Texas 501(c)(3) organization with membership open to everyone. The diversity, leadership and passion of the Board strengthens its ability to reach their main goal: to build bridges throughout the community. Their mission includes providing quality educational programs and events, awarding grants to local nonprofits who provide services to injured veterans, refugee children, at-risk youth, and the homeless.
Each year, SWJC selects and recognizes exceptional community volunteers from many disciplines at its Texas Sized Event. The honorees are selected from dozens of nominations received throughout the year.
“Our present and past honorees include different disciplines, religions, ethnicities and cultures,” said Susan Myers, SWJC Executive Director. “This is a prestigious group to be part of. They build bridges between themselves and between organizations.”
Award-winning sportscaster Dale Hansen is the keynote speaker. Hansen formerly worked as the weeknight sports anchor during the 10pm newscasts on WFAA-TV, Dallas’ ABC affiliate, and retired from the station in 2021. He formerly also hosted Dale Hansen’s Sports Special on Sundays at 10:35pm, consistently one of the highest-rated local programs in DFW. His segment each night garnered an audience of over 300,000 people. He also served as the station’s sports director.
Event Emcees are Kristin Diaz, anchor for NewsRadio 1080 KRLD, and Chris Lawrence, anchor at WFAA-TV.
What started out as an event to honor young women in the greater Dallas community whose leadership often went unrecognized, the event has continued to grow in size and stature, and now is known as the ‘Texas Sized Event.’
“The SWJC Texas Sized Event recognizes leaders throughout our community from various disciplines who have been diligent in the pursuit of positive social change. They have been generous with their time and talent and made an impact on our communities,” says Susie Salfield Avnery, Board President. “The audience consists of men and women from a variety of disciplines, cultures, races and religions.”
Salfield Avnery, who started as a board member in 2010, then a vice president, and then president in 2018, says she first became involved in SWJC in 2009 when the former SWJC Director, Gil Elan, gave weekly Mideast briefings to audiences composed of Christians and Jews. “They were fascinating, detailed reports and commentary that made us feel like we knew what was happening behind the scenes,” she said.
SWJC has adopted the symbolism of ‘bridge builders,’ and the organization is proud of its unique method of paying tribute to diverse DFW leaders at this event, while raising funds for SWJC’s mission to bring citizens together to learn, support and embrace diversity while also raising funds for each of the awardees’ nonprofits.
“Our Building Bridges Grant Initiatives shine a light on little known non-profit organizations that do vital work in Dallas. We have given approximately $60,000 in grants to approximately 30 organizations in the past several years,” says Salfield Avnery.
Sponsorships begin at $1500 (up to $25,000), and individual tickets are $150 or $75 (students).
Event organizers say they enjoy keeping the admission price low to encourage attendance and focus on donations to the various nonprofits represented by the recipients. All donations made are divided 50/50—half goes to SWJC and the other half to the nonprofit selected by the honoree the donor chooses to honor.
In 2016, SWJC introduced the 50/50 Donation Program to help build bridges throughout the community. The night of the event, guests are invited to participate in the program by donating to the charity that the Honoree has chosen to receive funds in their honor. Since the start of this program, SWJC has been able to share funds with multiple local non-profits.
The 2024 SWJC honorees are:
Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients:
Sandra Estess, Rose Marie Stromberg, Marzuq Abdul Jaami, and Baziel Peter Jerome Johnson
Audrey Kaplan Inspiring Women of the Southwest:
Florencia Velasco Fortner, Cristal Retana Lule, Mylinh Luong, and Barbara Steele
Stan Golden Men of Action:
Dave Chaos, Mike Friedman, Kambiz Rafraf, and Sol Villasana
Future Inspiring Women:
Zoya Hussain and Princess Igwe-Icho
Future Men of Action:
Oliver H. Burke and Kevin Butera
For Sponsorship Information and Tickets, go to SWJC.org.
Nominations for 2025 honorees will begin the night of the event.
For more information and to nominate someone for this prestigious award, call Susan Myers at 214-361-0018, email tse@swjc.org or visit the website at www.swjc.org.
About SWJC:
Southwest Jewish Congress is a stand-alone Texas 501(c)(3) organization.
With membership open to everyone, the diversity, leadership and passion of the Board strengthens its ability to reach their main goal: to build bridges throughout the community via quality educational programs and events.