{"id":481087,"date":"2025-12-30T23:24:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T23:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/481087\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T23:24:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T23:24:20","slug":"houstons-women-of-distinction-kick-off-2026-season-in-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/481087\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston\u2019s women of distinction kick off 2026 season in style"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tom Selleck<\/strong> may have played many roles throughout his decades-long career \u2014 private investigator, cowboy, police commissioner \u2014 but at an event in Houston, the Hollywood icon stepped into a new one: literacy advocate.<\/p>\n

The Emmy and Golden Globe winner headlined the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation<\/a>\u2019s 10th Annual Power of Literacy Luncheon: Opening Doors to Literacy, bringing personal anecdotes, quiet wisdom, and his signature mustache to the sold-out crowd at The Post Oak Hotel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI first met Barbara Bush in Hawaii, when I was doing Magnum P.I.,\u201d he shared from the stage. \u201cShe hosted a small reception, and I have to say we really hit it off.\u201d<\/p>\n

That connection made his participation all the more thoughtful.<\/p>\n

Selleck reflected on stories from his 2024 memoir You Never Know, keeping the audience rapt with his tales of humor and humility. When asked what he hopes readers take away from his book, he offered an introspective insight.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting there isn\u2019t such a big deal, because there is always somewhere else to go,\u201d he said. \u201cThe real value is in the journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sentiment struck a chord with the 800 attendees, who helped the Ladies for Literacy Guild raise a record-breaking $775,000 to fund literacy programs across Houston.<\/p>\n

Co-chaired by Sidney Faust<\/strong> and Betty Hrncir<\/strong>, the luncheon honored the guild\u2019s 10th anniversary and the 100th birthday of Barbara Bush. The event began with an invocation from students at Barbara Bush Elementary, followed by a rousing performance from the Saint Thomas\u2019 Episcopal Pipe Band. Emmy Award-winning journalist Linda Lorelle<\/strong> emceed the afternoon.<\/p>\n

Guests were also treated to a pearl-themed raffle courtesy of Tenenbaum Jewelers<\/a>\u2014a nod to Barbara Bush\u2019s signature style\u2014along with florals donated by H-E-B. Phillips 66<\/a> led the charge as Title Sponsor, joined by Literacy Champion Sponsor ExxonMobil<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Showing their literary love were Sarahbeth <\/strong>and Pierce Bush<\/strong>, John Hrncir<\/strong>, Nancy Ames <\/strong>and Danny Ward<\/strong>, Maggie Austin<\/strong>, Jamie Barrere<\/strong>, Tony Bradfield<\/strong>, Cheryl Byington<\/strong>, Cathy <\/strong>and Joe Cleary<\/strong>, Amy Chronis<\/strong>, Sue Conway<\/strong>, Patricia Cornelius<\/strong>, Tammy Genovese Davis<\/strong>, Stick Delaup<\/strong>, Deborah Dunkum<\/strong>, Lesha Elsenbrook<\/strong>, Tena <\/strong>and Tyson Faust<\/strong>, Julie Finck<\/strong>, Gail Garland<\/strong>, Rhonda Graff<\/strong>, Katy Hays<\/strong>, Maureen Higdon<\/strong>, Leslie Hix<\/strong>, Courtney Hopson<\/strong>, Lisa Jakel<\/strong>, Jenny Joy<\/strong>, Patti Kroll<\/strong>, Laurie Lashier<\/strong>, Julie Little<\/strong>, Tama Lundquist<\/strong>, Cora Sue Mach<\/strong>, Martha Adger Madget<\/strong>, Anne McClellan<\/strong>, Mary Hale<\/strong>, Lovett McLean<\/strong>, Marsha Montemayor<\/strong>, Trish Morille<\/strong>, Barbie Prusak<\/strong>, Tenley E. Raj<\/strong>, Regina Rogers<\/strong>, Mary Sage<\/strong>, Sandra Shenkir<\/strong>, Tharen Simpson<\/strong>, Rhonda Smith<\/strong>, Deborah Stavis<\/strong>, Andrea Suarez<\/strong>, Suzi <\/strong>and William Dore<\/strong>, and Jacqueline Hamilton Taylor<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tom Selleck may have played many roles throughout his decades-long career \u2014 private investigator, cowboy, police commissioner \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":481088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[15045,4345,358,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-481087","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-fundraisers","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-texas","11":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115811101203148363","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481087","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=481087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}