Location: Hotel Derek

More than 250 guests attended the sold-out Sing for Hope 2016 gala this Saturday.  Now in its 20th year, this annual event — which raises funds to provide health and social services to underserved families in Houston — has become one of the most anticipated and heartfelt celebrations of the social season. This year’s event raised $140,000 in support of the recently merged Houston Area Community Services and Bering Omega.

BeDESIGN  converted the Bravo Foyer at Hotel Derek into a swanky lounge for cocktail hour. When the doors opened to the ballroom, guests were transported into a galaxy created by Taylor DeMartino of Live Event Design. Nicole O’Brian Lassiter, Miss Texas USA 2003, and Adrian Perez, chef and owner of Complete Eats, acted as Masters of Ceremonies for the evening, which featured dinner theater-style entertainment produced by Brandon Weinbrenner, the Alley Theatre’s resident assistant artistic director. Performances included medleys by Christina Stroup, Aaron Echegaray and Daniel Rosales; dances by Courtney Chilton and Maureen Kelley, plus Michael Blanco and Jessica Cubelli of The Rhythm of Magic; and a special appearance by soprano Camille Zamora, who wowed the audience with a moving rendition of “When You Wish Upon A Star.”

Between performances, event chairs Ben Carey and Sarah and Fernando Aramburo presented this year’s Camille Zamora Award to Sandy Stacy. Sandy joined Omega House in 1994 to provide skilled nursing services to its patients. Since 1998, she has held the title of director and has cared for and championed the patients, their families, volunteers and staff of Omega House. Honorary chair Mayor Sylvester Turner (in absentia) was represented at the event by his daughter, Ashley P. Turner.

After dinner, the organization’s CEO, Joe C. Fuentes, along with Board of Directors President, Troy Brooks; Foundation Board President, Jeff Gremillion; and Young Professional Board President, Timothy Hampson, welcomed guests and made a surprise announcement, introducing the new name for Bering Omega and Houston Area Community Services: Avenue 360.

With the merger finalizing in 2015 came the need for an additional change, specifically a new name and brand identity for the two organizations ultimately uniting them as they look toward the future. Under the new identity, Avenue 360 will provide quality health care to the Houston community reflecting the combined power of these two iconic institutions, while demonstrating constant community responsiveness and medical care innovation.
“The merger in 2015 brought us together, and the new name will allow us to build on that momentum, painting a clearer picture of who Avenue 360 is in the community today,” said Fuentes. “We are focused on providing a 360 degree approach to health care and our new name will help us to start to tell that story.”

All photos by Morris Malokoff