COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Tribute Luncheon Honors Those Who Give Back
By KATIE JAMES
J
oin the Community Foundation of
the Brazos Valley in celebrating the
contributions of three generous citizens
at the 16th annual Tribute Luncheon
Celebration of Philanthropy on Tuesday,
April 28, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the
College Station Hilton and Conference
Center. The luncheon honors three
community members who have gone
above and beyond in their service and
giving. This year, the honorees are Sue M.
Lee, Denise Fries, and Timothy N. Bryan.
“This is an annual celebration of
philanthropy that really lifts up and
celebrates the good deeds of individuals
who’ve shared their time, their talents,
and their resources with our nonprofit
community, all with the goal of ensuring a
better quality of life,” says Patricia Gerling,
president of the Community Foundation.
Honorees are picked by the Community
Foundation Board of Trustees, with
input from previous honorees. Lee, Fries,
and Bryan will be celebrated at the
luncheon with video vignettes produced
by KBTX featuring interviews from
community members speaking about their
contributions and impact.
“It’s all in a very celebratory [feel]
to celebrate their good deeds and good
works,” says Gerling. “Many honorees
find it difficult to accept being honored.
They’re humble. They don’t do anything
for recognition. An hour and a half is
a short period of time for lunch and to
celebrate: that’s why we do the videos. It’s
a forever gift that they get to leave with.
It’s a poignant celebration of a person’s
impact on our community.”
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The luncheon is celebratory, but it is also
inspirational. While enjoying a meal and
learning about the work the honorees
have done, attendees will hopefully be
inspired to be generous themselves as
well, says Gerling.
“Giving begets giving,” says Gerling.
“When one person gives, a friend or a
neighbor or a colleague will say, ‘Oh my
gosh, I didn’t know they did that. We need
to get involved.’ It helps elevate that spirit
of giving back. We’ve been blessed with
such a wonderful quality of life, and we
want to make sure the quality of life that
we enjoy today is here for generations to
come. It’s that giving-back spirit that the
Tribute Luncheon celebrates.”
In addition to celebrating the three
honorees, the Tribute Luncheon serves as a
celebration of all the Community Foundation
has accomplished in the last year and a
fundraiser to cover operating expenses.
“We celebrate the impact of the
Community Foundation and what we
do here to help ensure a sustainable
nonprofit community in various different
ways,” explains Gerling. “We use it as an
opportunity to create a keener awareness
of the fact that the Foundation manages
a $9.1 million portfolio that belongs to
the community; we’re a steward of these
community resources as a result of the
generosity of many individuals who have
made a gift to benefit something they’re
very passionate about.”
The Community Foundation is a
nonprofit that helps charitably minded
individuals, businesses, and nonprofits
establish donor-advised funds and
charitable endowments that support
quality-of-life needs in the community long
term. They expanded their scope last year
with the inaugural Brazos Valley Gives,
18 hours of online giving that raised more
than $360,000 for 103 local nonprofits.
“The Community Foundation is a fabulous
resource for the seven-county region of the
Brazos Valley, whether that’s a resource
for an individual to make a gift to benefit
their favorite organization, for a business
that wants to establish a fund to further
their charitable giving, or for nonprofit
organizations to establish an endowment to
help sustain their future,” says Gerling. “It’s
the best toolkit that a nonprofit can have, but
we want to make sure that it’s not the best-
kept secret in town.”
Reservations for the Tribute
Luncheon are $60, available by visiting
cfbv.org/Events/TributeLuncheon
or by calling (979) 589-4305. Various
levels of sponsorship are also available
for businesses or couples, ranging from
$350 to $2,500.
“The joy of living in this community is
experienced threefold when you attend
the Tribute Luncheon because it’s a
celebration of philanthropy,” says Gerling.
“We’re blessed to live in such a giving
community, and you get to celebrate and
thank people for their level of giving
and the impact they’ve made through a
particular gesture or by working with a
nonprofit. We encourage people to come
to celebrate the good works that are going
on here in our community as personified
by the good deeds and contributions of
our three Tribute Luncheon honorees.” i