Park Cities People: Donations Pour In at Cattle Baron's Ball

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Donations Pour In at Cattle Baron's Ball
Wild, wet event raises cash for cancer research

By Margaux Anbouba

Parker — Saturday night, moments before the Cattle Baron's Ball began, an unforeseen storm rolled in. But a little rain never hurt anybody (although their boots were another story), and attendees boogied, bid, and belted until the early-morning hours.

Luckily, there were buckets of umbrellas on hand, and the main areas were tented. A lonely Ferris wheel, lit up in the rain, stood tribute to what was intended to be a night under the stars. Most of the guests heeded warnings against wearing heels, but a few could be found tip-toeing around the mud.

After a performance by country artist Hudson Moore, Louis Murad took the stage to entice attendees to bid on some amazing auction packages. One very special item reminded guests that it wasn't only raining cats and dogs, but also men, as a date with Dallas' John Ross, aka Josh Henderson, and a guest spot on the TV show went for $45,000. When the six chefs behind "A Chef for Every Season" took the stage, Jim "Sevy" Severson shared his personal battle with prostate cancer, and their package went for a record-breaking amount.

All in all, the live auction raised a record-breaking $1.3 million to help spur on the fight against cancer.

The wild-wild-wet guests included Michelle and Ronnie Weisfeld; former ball chair Barbara Underwood and her husband Charlie; and Kevil Schor and Randy Kamin in tuxes and cowboy hats.

Moments before Rascal Flatts took the stage, co-chairs Mary Gill and Brooke Shelby shared some exciting news — an anonymous donor made a $3.4 million contribution specifically to find a cure for pancreatic cancer.