{"id":294634,"date":"2025-10-11T12:28:44","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T12:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/294634\/"},"modified":"2025-10-11T12:28:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T12:28:44","slug":"standing-ovations-and-support-shine-at-texas-equusearchs-first-gala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/294634\/","title":{"rendered":"Standing ovations and support shine at Texas EquuSearch\u2019s first gala"},"content":{"rendered":"

The inaugural \u201cLost Is Not Alone\u201d gala proved that compassion still fills Houston\u2019s heart and The Post Oak Hotel\u2019s ballroom as locals gathered to celebrate 25 years of Texas EquuSearch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Founded by Tim Miller<\/strong> in 2000 after the heartbreaking loss of his daughter Laura Miller<\/strong>, Texas EquuSearch has grown from a small horse-mounted team into a global volunteer force dedicated to finding missing loved ones and bringing closure to their families.<\/p>\n

The emotional evening, emceed by Johnny Bravo<\/strong>, carried both gravitas and grace. Title Sponsor Gary Petersen<\/strong> opened the night by introducing honorary chairs Roger <\/strong>and Debbie Clemens<\/strong> (Roger\u2019s son Kacy Clemens<\/strong> stood in for Debbie), Andre Johnson<\/strong>, and Dan Pastorini<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Each was greeted with loud cheers and a few trademark Houston whistles. Beautiful florals donated by H-E-B transformed the room into a warm, elegant space that mirrored the spirit of the evening.<\/p>\n

The honorees \u2014 Roy Moffitt<\/strong> of Moffitt Services (award accepted by Ryan Moffitt<\/strong>), Sheriff Ed Gonzalez<\/strong>, and Robert Tijerina <\/strong>\u2014 were recognized for their deep commitment to Texas EquuSearch\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

Powerful moments punctuated the program: Tim Miller\u2019s<\/strong> emotional remarks drew the evening\u2019s first standing ovation, while fathers Thad Heartfield<\/strong> and Mike McCown<\/strong> brought the room to tears recounting their children\u2019s stories from the Hill Country floods and the solace Texas EquuSearch offered in their darkest hours.<\/p>\n

Guests bid enthusiastically during live and silent auctions, with a sports memorabilia package sparking spirited competition, overall raising an impressive $750,000 for the nonprofit\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n

The evening closed with a soulful performance by Sundance Head<\/strong><\/a>, The Voice winner and American Idol finalist, whose original song about the Hill Country floods left guests visibly moved.<\/p>\n

On the scene were Dana <\/strong>and Blake Fertitta<\/strong>, Katie <\/strong>and Patrick Fertitta<\/strong>, Blayne Fertitta<\/strong>, Paige Fertitta<\/strong>, Ann <\/strong>and Ted Kergan<\/strong>, Aimee Snoots<\/strong>, Carin <\/strong>and Todd Barth<\/strong>, Gina <\/strong>and Dr. Devinder Bhatia<\/strong>, Larry Satterwhite<\/strong>, Laura Ward<\/strong>, Richard Tijerina<\/strong>, Pamela Morse<\/strong>, Samantha Kennedy<\/strong>, Jody Merritt<\/strong>, Edna Meyer-Nelson<\/strong>, Michel Hoctor<\/strong>, Paula Goldstein<\/strong>, Debbye Crofoot<\/strong>, Kim <\/strong>and Todd Nelms<\/strong>, Lori <\/strong>and JJ Isbell<\/strong>, Jennifer <\/strong>and Constable Alan Rosen<\/strong>, Christine <\/strong>and Steve Johnson<\/strong>, Linda <\/strong>and David Johnson<\/strong>, Mechelle Tran<\/strong>, Duke Ensell<\/strong>, Christine <\/strong>and Andy Kahan<\/strong>, Tom Butler <\/strong>and The Honorable Linda Garcia<\/strong>, Beth Holloway<\/strong>, Chief J. Noe Diaz <\/strong>and Sheila Diaz<\/strong>, Joy <\/strong>and Stewart Morris<\/strong>, and Shayna Andrews<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The inaugural \u201cLost Is Not Alone\u201d gala proved that compassion still fills Houston\u2019s heart and The Post Oak…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":294635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[185,15045,4345,358,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-294634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-fundraisers","10":"tag-houston","11":"tag-texas","12":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115355537028180922","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}