Last Friday, April 13, I had the pleasure of seeing our event planning come to fruition when 340-plus guests maxed out the downtown, historic Driskill Hotel with a beautiful string trio for the Travis County Republican Party’s 2018 Reagan Gala and VIP Reception that hosted Governor Greg Abbott, Congressman Lamar Smith, Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, and many other elected officials.
“No person been more devoted and worked harder to make this event a success than Lauren Day,” Travis County GOP Chairman Matt Mackowiak said. “She has been laser-focused on managing all aspects of this event, from the menu, to the venue, to the silent and live auction, the list was endless. She did an incredible job and I could not be more grateful to Lauren, and her husband Nate, for their sacrifice.”
This year, GoodBuzz was requested to make recommendations to Travis GOP’s Steering Committee on venues as well as what the menu should be and other logistics for their review and vote. We worked primarily with Travis GOP’s Chairman Matt Mackowiak, Executive Director Gary Teal, Communications Director Andy Hogue, and Finance Committee Chair Cornelia Foster-Wood to pull the whole event off. I’m extremely grateful for their partnership.
Check out the event photos here from Don Rogers Photography.
Governor Greg Abbott headlined the event with Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty being bestowed the Travis County GOP’s 2018 Reagan Courage Award and Congressman Lamar Smith given The Lifetime Achievement Award.
Elected officials present included:
Governor Greg Abbott
U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX)
Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty
Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller
Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey
State Sen. Donna Campbell
State Rep. Paul Workman
Texas Supreme Court Justice John Devine
Texas Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Blacklock
Texas Supreme Court Justice Phil Johnson
3rd Court of Appeals Chief Justice Jeff Rose
3rd Court of Appeals Justice Scott Field
3rd Court of Appeals Justice Cindy Bourland
State Board of Education Member Tom Maynard
Burnet County Judge James Oakley
We’re especially grateful for all those that sponsored the gala. Don Dyer and Jay Novik who sponsored at the highest level and then Joel and Stacy Hock and Evan and Kristina Baehr who co-hosted the gala.
Other table sponsors included Jim and Betty Skaggs, the campaigns of U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul, Bill Flores, and Roger Williams, Mr. and Mrs. A.B. Walters, Justice John Devine Supreme Court of Texas, TXMX (Eduardo Contreras), the Hon. Kent and Elise Grusendorf, Texas Lobby Group (Mike Toomey), Shawn Kruse (Quicken Loans), Crosswind Media and Public Relations (Thomas Graham), Bob Cornelius, Patrick and Celeste McGuinness, Bob Thomas (Thomas Graphics, Inc.), Jack P. Barcroft SREC SD24, Jim Chandler, Jimmy Blacklock for Texas Supreme Court, Bill Crocker, and The Wilbanks Group (Chad Wilbanks).
The live and silent auctions brought in $20,000-plus dollars and we are very grateful for those who donated items and experiences. Those individuals include:
Doug and Adryana Aldeen
Black River Outfitters
Jeff Brown Campaign
Sen. Dawn Buckingham
Michael Cargill and Central Texas Gun Works
Senator Donna Campbell, M.D.
Crosswind Media & Public Relations
David Buttross and Pine Forest Golf Club
Justice John Devine Supreme Court of Texas
Driskill Hotel
Bob Green
Mary and Larry Heffernan Jr.
Leslie Key
Homero Lucero
Tom Maynard
Northwest Austin Republican Women
Patricia Potyka
Wayne Thorburn
The Wiewel Law Firm
Meg Wilson’s nunoweaver.net
Summer Wise, Candidate for SD24 SREC Committeewoman
Representative Paul Workman
The Range at Austin
As the party’s sixth gala, I’ve had the pleasure of managing three:
- in 2014 at Headliners Club honoring former Senator Phil Graham who received the Reagan Courage Award with Senator Ted Cruz also present
- in 2015 at The Austin Country Club honoring Senator John Cornyn with speakers Michael Reagan and Economist Arthur Laffer
- this year 2018 honoring Commissioner Gerald Daugherty with speakers Governor Abbott and Congressman Lamar Smith. Read about our work with the 2015 Reagan Gala here.
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