Admirals Club Fall Party
The Admirals Club of Austin held their annual Fall Party on October 21 at Tarry House in West Austin. This year’s reception was hosted by Chief of Naval Operations Bryan Teeple and his wife, Delaine, to announce and honor 2nd Vice Chief of Operations Zach Anderson and his wife, Elisabeth, who will lead the Admirals Club operations in 2026-2027.
Members gathered at Tarry House for an intimate cocktail reception to honor the new leaders. The Admirals Club will gather again in the spring to celebrate new members and look forward to the sixty-fourth annual coronation weekend in August. Through its outreach to the community, the Admirals Club continues to support numerous charities as a core mission.
Around the Neighborhood: openingexpandingcelebrating
Camp Mabry officials introduced a 3D-printed Texas Military Department Training and Innovation Center this week. Austin-based ICON was able to train and collaborate with 50 service members at the 35th Street military post during the three-month printing time. The structure received a Texas Historical Commission building permit, the first to a 3D-printed structure, to ensure the center resembled Camp Mabry’s historical buildings. ICON has constructed barracks at Camp Swift near Bastrop and a building at California’s Camp Pendleton. Camp Mabry info at tmd.texas.gov Elizabet Ney Museum will close on Dec. 30 for extensive renovations. The historic home and studio of 1880s sculpture Elisabet Ney, in Hyde Park at 304 E. 44th Street, will reopen in the summer of 2026. The 19th century structure welcomes 21,000 visitors each year and has federal, state, and local historic landmark designations. Elizabet Ney Museum info at austintexas.gov
Restaurant and Bar opened in November at 1601 W. 38th Street in Brykerwoods. Chef and owner Daniel Berg is cofounder of Bill’s Oyster and Teddy’s Restaurant and Bar. Open Sunday-Thursday 11am to 9pm, Friday and Saturday 11am-10pm. Menu and reservations at teddysaustin.com, info at hello@TeddysAustin. com or 737-231-9067
or by
a Cozy Igloo, a cruise in a whimsical Donut Boat, or a boat cruise with friends and family. General admission features a Holiday Village with games, vendors, and food and drink concessions, as well as a Gift Shop and Christmas Market, a Holiday Movie viewing area, and so many
Around the Neighborhood:
701 S Capital of TX Hwy Suite E-500 Westlake Hills in October. The facility features state-of-the-art Med Spa services, including laser treatments, injectables, and medical-grade skincare administered by licensed aesthetic nurses and certified laser technicians.
On Dec. 5, Preservation Austin announced a $1 million gift by the McBee Family Foundation in support of the organization’s mission to empower Austinites to shape a meaningful community culture through preservation. Preservation Austin was founded as the Heritage Society of Austin in 1953. This gift is the largest in its 71-year history.
The McBee family’s gift will support establishing the newly-named McFarland-McBee House, at 3805 Red River St., built in 1947, as Preservation Austin’s office and home base. This year Preservation Austin launched its first-ever capital campaign, recognizing the need to grow its capacity for advocacy and programming to better serve Austin and its historic places.
“Architect and campaign Steering Committee Member Emily Little deserves much of the credit for our making this gift,” Robert F. McBee, President of the McBee Family Foundation and son of the late, legendary Austinites Sue and Frank McBee, said. “She phoned my sister Marilyn about the new capital campaign and the two of them made the decision, in much the same way as my mother did things. We look forward to watching how Preservation Austin grows and blossoms in its new headquarters.”
“We are honored, and so moved, to accept this monumental gift from the McBee Family Foundation,” Lindsey Derrington, Preservation Austin’s Executive Director, said. “Sue McBee was an Austin icon — a dynamic civic force and a true leader of our
city’s preservation movement. It is our privilege to keep her spirit alive by establishing the McFarland-McBee House as a center for preserving Austin’s cultural and architectural heritage for generations to come.”
“Sue McBee’s passion for preservation in Austin lives on, and this gift affirms the need for our work at this critical time in our city’s growth,” Melissa Barry, Board President of Preservation Austin, said. “Preservation Austin is the only citywide nonprofit dedicated to preserving historic places, from legacy businesses to historic neighborhoods, and this generous gift will allow us to sustainably grow our impact.”
ABOUT THE MCFARLANDMCBEE HOUSE Preservation Austin saved the beloved Streamline Moderne house from demolition in 2014. The organization has invested significant resources into its preservation since 2019, including critical structural repairs to reverse decades of neglect. The house is a City of Austin Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The McFarland-McBee House will be home to Preservation Austin’s staff with space for public gatherings and educational programming. This is the first space that Preservation Austin has owned and occupied since 1978.
ABOUT PRESERVATION
AUSTIN
Preservation Austin exists to empower Austinites to shape a more inclusive, resilient, and meaningful community culture through preservation. For more information, visit preservationaustin.org.
Jennifer Chenoweth
IBY FORREST PREECE
n my 78 years, I’ve known activists, thinkers, and lots of coasters. Then there are the explorers — the people with the binoculars set in front of their eyes, who focus on the horizon and head for the unknown. In that vein, Linda and I recently had lunch with Jennifer Chenoweth, the newly appointed division manager at The Austin History Center.
She seeks new truths and ways of looking at our environment and then she finds ways to reveal what she’s learned to the rest of us. I came away from our meal together inspired by her energy and her enthusiasm. I look forward to seeing her work on recording Austin’s history in a three-dimensional manner, incorporating the human element and personal feelings.
By her own account, Jennifer grew up as a largely unsupervised, feral child in Oklahoma City. For hours she would ramble around town on her bicycle, immersing herself with how the city felt and mentally recording the details of places.
As she progressed through her higher education, obtaining three degrees, including an MFA in Studio Art from UT, she began concentrating on engaging her creativity with understanding belonging and place attachment, including the city of Austin. All of that makes her a fine choice to head the Austin History Center, since our town has always rolled out a welcome to new visions.
Here is some background on Jennifer’s creative journey in Austin. In 1999, she established Fisterra Studio, which became an important part of the local visual art scene. Jennifer and her fellow artists
make contemporary artworks in any material that fits an idea, from drawings to large sculpture to social practice collaborations. As a logical extension of her background and interests, her efforts culminated in a project called XYZ Atlas, mapping how people in an urban environment have emotional experiences that make a place feel like home. She elaborated on this concept in a TEDMED talk released in 2018. https://www.tedmed. com/talks/show?id=688207.
Through a survey, people answered questions about where they had major life experiences. Places were paired with emotions to create a topographic emotional map of Austin. Zilker Park/Barton Springs was our collective high point of positive experiences.
One of the first real-life applications of her theories happened when she was chosen in 2019 to curate the Oakwood Cemetery Chapel. Her goal was “to consider the purpose of our lives in the context of a historic cemetery.” She sought to create digital history exhibits that contextualized the 4,000+ people buried in the section segregated by race and class. Only 300 of these people have headstones and known burial locations.
Jennifer says, “I wanted to show how erasure by disregard occurs, and how the City of Austin can be accountable for the difficult chapters in its history as well the ones that are celebrated.” She also helped install a large monument for the people who were buried there before the Chapel was built on top of their graves.
Through a grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Jennifer and her co-workers published 18 digital history projects in a collection called The Oakwood Legacy and a 3D digital model of the segregated cemetery.
The experience she gained in this unusual and meaningful endeavor at the cemetery prepared her for more expansive projects. This year, she was hired to head the Austin History Center, which is poised to embark on an exciting new chapter. Plans are unfolding for the 1933 original library building at West 9th and Guadalupe to be combined with the Faulk Building to the south to make a campus for the records of our town’s history. In this position, she will collaborate with the community to study and share Austin’s history in digital exhibits and in the John Henry Faulk Building’s expansive display space. The Austin History Center previously had a robust volunteer program which faltered during
the pandemic, and she plans for it to be reinstated after the remodeling.
She hopes to engage people with a passion for Austin in documenting our town’s shared story. One goal is to create 3D printed and online models of Austin in different pivotal years: 1842, 1875, and 1900 to start, in order to tell the stories of the people who created Austin’s culture. “What people know as downtown was the whole city, and all the different people lived closely together.”
Jennifer says that she feels confident about where the History Center is heading. In her words, the staff at AHC is an amazingly competent group and they are perfect for the tasks at hand. Her goals for the Austin History Center are to document, share, and reveal Austin’s history. She wants the City itself to be a history museum with stories embedded into places. Ideally, Austin’s residents, old and new, will feel engaged as cultural ambassadors who know where we have
come from. “We are better for knowing our neighbors of the present and past. Acceptance is part of love.”
In her personal life, Jennifer stays true to her formative experiences. She enjoys walking her dog, swimming, kayaking, and being outdoors with her family. “I feel great about our town’s past and future, as long as it includes everybody.”
— Charles Peveto
Jewish Family Service Celebrates Growth with New Location and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Shalom Austin Jewish Family Service, the social service branch of Shalom Austin, announced the opening of its second location in Austin on the Dell Jewish Community Campus with a ribbon cutting ceremony last month.
The new 4,077 square-foot Krasoff Jewish Family Service Building is donated by and named after community leader Steve Krasoff and his family. It will house JFS’s growing staff of over 20 counselors, case managers, the disability and inclusion program
team, the Inspired Aging (adults 60+) program team, the food pantry, and administrators. JFS staff will utilize the new building’s conference rooms and private offices to provide counseling sessions, host programs and support groups, and hold meetings.
JFS serves as an accessible and community-based social services provider, supporting individuals and families of all faiths and backgrounds for whom social services, mental healthcare, case management, and
community engagement opportunities are otherwise difficult to access.
“My family and I are very excited about the opening of the Krasoff Jewish Family Service Building,” said Steve Krasoff. “Most importantly, it warms our hearts that the JFS has expanded their reach so as to provide services for those with disabilities and inclusion needs. I believe that this facility will be a beacon of hope for individuals and families, offering them tools and resources they need to build a better future. It’s an hon-
or to be part of something that will make such a lasting impact.”
“The opening of the Krasoff Jewish Family Service Building represents a significant step forward in our commitment to serving our community,” said Rabbi Amy B. Cohen, Shalom Austin chief social services officer and JFS executive director. “This facility will allow us to expand our reach and offer even more comprehensive care and support to those in need. We are deeply grateful to our donors, part-
ners, committee members and everyone who has worked hard to make this vision a reality.’
The ribbon cutting ceremony included Rabbi Daniel A. Septimus, Shalom Austin CEO; Rabbi Amy B. Cohen, Shalom Austin Chief Social Services Officer and JFS Executive Director; Steve Krasoff, local community leader and contributor; Ari Franklin, JFS Chair; Heather Krol, JFS Past Chair; and Keith Zimmerman, local community leader.
BY FORREST PREECE
Cindy Stone
Author (as Cynthia Stone) of Mason’s Daughter, Mason’s Keeper, & Mason’s Fool Carly and Star for middle grade and young teens www.treatyoakpublishers.com
1. What’s something about you that not many people know?
I’m not just from West Austin. From birth (at the old Brackenridge Hospital), I’ve lived in Travis Heights, Hyde Park, Tarrytown, Allandale, Pemberton Heights, and NW Hills.
2. What was your first job?
At Yaring’s on the Drag in the cosmetics department, while a senior in high school (the old AHS on 12th St.)
3. If you could have dinner with three people — dead or alive, at any time in history — who would they be?
Elizabeth Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, and Vincent van Gogh
4. If you had to pick three musicians for a playlist, who would they be?
John Denver, Yo-Yo Ma, and Andrea Bocelli
5. Favorite book and TV show?
All of Jane Austen’s books (reread them every five years), Law & Order with Sam Waterston
6. Most powerful movie you have seen.
Out of Africa — I was so engrossed, I forgot I was sitting in a theater
7. Favorite place in Austin?
8. Favorite restaurant and watering hole El Mercado North - grilled shrimp tacos and Mexican martinis!
9. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A writer — wrote my first short story when I was five. My mother typed it for me, then taught me to type.
10. Which living person do you most admire?
My son Jordan - he’s so talented, creative, kind, smart, and generous
11. What makes you happy?
Sharing meals with good friends and family
12. Best advice you ever received?
The path to true happiness is learning to let go.
Texas Book Festival Literary Gala
Approximately 750 people gathered for the Texas Book Festival’s First Edition Literary Gala at the Fairmont Austin on November 15. The group enjoyed presentations from bestselling author Bret Anthony Johnston, Booker Prize long-listed author Claire Messud, 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner Cristina Rivera Garza, and beloved presidential historian Mark Updegrove
The gala kicked off the Festival Weekend that ran November 16th and 17th.
With a vision to inspire Texans of all ages to love reading, Texas Book Festival connects authors and readers through experiences that celebrate the culture of literacy, ideas, and imagination. Founded in 1995 by former First Lady Laura Bush, Mary Margaret Farabee, and a group of volunteers, the nonprofit Texas Book Festival promotes the joys of reading and writing through its annual Festival Weekend, the Reading Rock Stars Title I elementary school program, the Real Reads Title I middle and high school program, grants to Texas libraries, and year-round
PHOTOS BY
JOYFUL LIVING
It’s the time of year for celebrating where you’ve been and where you’re going. Find yourself in cherished company.
Feeling strong, passionate & purposeful comes more easily at Maravilla @ The Domain— where premium amenities, gourmet dining, and innovative programs create an environment for abundant & joyful living.
Book a tour and see what the new year can bring.
literary programming. The 2024 Festival Weekend featured a diverse array of critically acclaimed national and Texas-based writers, including Matthew McConaughey, Malcolm Gladwell, Ernest Cline, and Rachel Khong. The State
Capitol and Congress Avenue served as the Festival backdrop as book lovers from across Texas gathered to celebrate their love for literature.
Proceeds from the Texas Book Festival Literary Gala provide essential resources to
fulfill the Festival’s mission and fund its literary programs. Event organizers and dedicated leadership are grateful to the generous donors, sponsors, and volunteers who keep the annual Weekend Festival free and open to the public.
Anywhere with Gerald, usually dining or dancing
Helping Hand Home’s 25th Annual Champions for Children Luncheon
Helping Hand Home hosted this year’s Champions for Children luncheon with a crowd of 1,100 attendees. Every fall, Helping Hand Home for Children hosts the Champions for Children luncheon recognizing nonprofits, corporations and individuals who support children in need. The event, chaired by Bergan Casey, Buck Cody, and Lesley Pitts, raised over $1 million for the Home.
The 2024 Philanthropic Honoree was the Nolan Ryan Foundation, headquartered in Central Texas and formed in 1990 to provide resources for youth education and community development. This year’s Champions for Children featured speaker was Kondo Simfukwe, who attended elementary school in Zambia, high school in Australia, and college in the United States. Kondo’s family has been made complete through the gift of adoption. He and his wife felt compelled to bring home a little girl from Haiti only to discover she had two sisters ... none of whom knew the others existed. Believing sisters belong together, they would adopt all three girls, changing the Simfukwes’ lives and propelling them into the world of advocacy.
Other award recipients included Candlelight Ranch Founders Don and Randy Barr. Candlelight Ranch partners with community groups, nonprofits and schools to provide interactive learning programs and experiences that are customized to meet the specific needs of the youth and families served, including from the Helping Hand Home.
Helping Hand Home also recognized Marcus Reese for his philanthropic work. As a survivor of childhood abuse for more than a decade, Marcus Reese made the courageous decision to share his story, and seek prosecution of his abuser, to prevent a similar fate for other vulnerable populations. Through a nonprofit he founded called Break the Silence, he aims to be a light for other survivors and their families in their journey toward healing.
The luncheon also honored former Helping Hand Home resident Karen Boeske. At just three years old and a survivor of childhood abuse, Karen and her two siblings came to Helping Hand Home, where she says she finally felt safe and loved for the first time.
The Champions for Children luncheon was created 25 years ago by Susan Erickson to honor caregivers, organizations, advocates and volunteers for their exemplary work with children in need in Central Texas and has raised more than $10 million for Helping Hand Home’s direct care of children and families. The Home’s mission is to bring hope and healing to children and families through a continuum of trauma-informed, therapeutic care, including residential, foster, adoption, and support services. For more information, visit www.helpinghandhome.org.
Magellan Turns 15: Celebrating Dreams, Growth, and Global Impact
In 2009, Erin Defossé, a tech innovator and former NASA rocket scientist, founded Magellan International School inspired by his transformative education at the American Foundation School in Mexico City. “Put simply, my school stood up for me,” Erin recalls, reflecting on the support that helped him achieve his dream of working at NASA, contributing to iconic missions like Galileo and Cassini.
Erin envisioned Magellan as a place for his children to grow as multilingual global citizens. “Empathy is a super-
power,” he says, emphasizing the importance of understanding diverse perspectives. Starting with just 47 preschoolers, Magellan has grown into a thriving bilingual International Baccalaureate (IB) school serving more than 600 students from preschool through 9th grade, now welcoming non-Spanish speakers starting in 6th grade.
Magellan’s mission extends beyond academics, emphasizing character development by fostering empathy, collaboration, and a commitment to making the world a better
place. With educators from 17 countries, the school’s Spanish immersion and IB programs empower students with critical thinking abilities, cultural
understanding, and strong communication skills.
At Magellan, students are supported in pursuing their passions, ensuring they have the confidence and resources to explore their interests and achieve their dreams, including attending prestigious universities like Stanford, Duke, and UT Austin.
Marking its 15th anniversary, Magellan celebrated with a student photo in the shape of “15,” designed by 8th-grade math students. The school also looks forward to opening a new, state-of-the-art preschool facility and growing to 675 students across two campuses.
Magellan continues to inspire curiosity, foster creativity, and nurture globally-minded citizens, proving that when dreams are supported, they become reality. Here’s to the next 15 years!
Sue Meller Authors “The True Story of Teeny Tiny Tomi. Even Puppies Have Guardian Angels”
By Forrest Preece
A lot of West Austin News readers know Sue Meller, who presided over thousands of events at The Headliners Club during her forty-year tenure there as general manager. Her calm, elegant presence and supervisory talents made that club a smooth-running organization. But it turns out she has another side. Recently, Linda and I met with Sue in her home and learned about a book she has written called “The True Story of Teeny Tiny Tomi. Even Puppies Have Guardian Angels.”
This short, moving story starts with an incident in her life a couple of years ago. While running an errand in her Travis Heights neighborhood, Sue encountered a homeless man who had discovered a tiny black puppy in a cardboard box by a bus stop. Though he had no resources to care for a dog, he had done his best to buy it some milk and keep it warm by holding it gently to his chest. After some negotiations, Sue paid $100 cash for the little female dog and agreed to call it Tomi, because the homeless fellow was named Tommy. The story follows Tomi through several angels, including Sue’s neighbors, a benevolent veterinarian, and some college students, all of whom fall in love with the animal. After each chapter, Sue provides discussion points about life’s challenges and the value of compassion.
The book is beautifully illustrated with paintings of the puppy and her guardian angels by Austin artist Don Collins who died recently at 96. For a Christmas gift that is both a sweet story and teaches some valuable lessons, this book is a fine idea. Copies are available on Amazon.com.
The Austin Center for Grief & Loss celebrated 17 years of providing transformative therapy at the annual Holders of Hope gala hosted at UT’s Etter-Harbin Alumni Center. The splendid evening with over 180 guests was chaired by Jessica Owens with presenting sponsor Texas Oncology. Guests enjoyed a sumptuous meal and delicious drinks. Live music by the Musical Discovery Chamber Players along with live poems by poet Violet Vela created a fun, but thoughtful atmosphere. The event featured a silent and live auction and a fund-a-need opportunity. The program included inspiring stories of courage, highlighting the Austin Grief mission’s impact. This remarkable evening raised over $160,000 to support The Austin Center for Grief & Loss’ mission of assisting adults, teens, and children moving through loss to life through support, therapy, education, and training throughout Central Texas, regardless of ability to pay. For more information, visit www.austingrief.org.
A Christmas Memory
By
My best Christmases were always spent in San Marcos at my Great-Aunt Margaret and Great-Uncle Ross’s house on Loop Drive in San Marcos. In the mid-1950s, they tore down an original cabin and built a mid-century modern house up on the hill, and it had a beautiful view of the hill country and, to the east, the campus of what was then Southwest Texas State Teachers College. Aunt Margaret loved to decorate for Christmas, and she usually had a small pink flocked tree on a side table near the front door. That door led to a spacious front terrace and out to a beautifully landscaped lawn with a large oak tree and a bird bath, which is now in my backyard.
But I digress. The only time I ever got in an actual fight with someone (at least one where I threw the first punch) was when I was in the fourth grade, in the fall of ‘53. I was eight (about to turn nine in December). We were lined up to go into the cafeteria at the Cambridge Elementary School in Alamo Heights when some obnoxious bully started spouting off about there not being a Santa Claus. (Yes, I was still a believer. Still am.) This was much too near Christmas for him to be spreading such heresy. Teachers intervened; I was disciplined; and we had fish sticks. (It was a Friday.) Flash forward to Christmas, 1953. It was a typical Texas Christmas, cold-ish but not freezing. There was a heavy fog up on the hill on Loop Drive in San Marcos and you couldn’t really see out the living room windows.
There was a large bow attached to the pink flocked tree and the ribbon extended
through the door jamb to the outside terrace. My name was on the ribbon. And so were the words “Enjoy! Love, Santa.” My heart racing, I opened the door and followed the ribbon to find a brand new, shiny red, three-speed bicycle! Oh my joy! This was the greatest Christmas ever!
All Christmas morning I rode around the large driveway area on the top of the hill on Loop Drive in San Marcos. The fog had lifted. The sun was shining. And then. The tires went flat.
I wheeled the brand new, shiny red, three-speed bicycle over to my father and my Uncle Ross. As I was slouching back to the front door of the house, I overheard them talking. And there was something about “Well, the tires looked fine last night.” What? Was it my best Christmas ever? Honestly? Yes. And no. It was the Christmas that, albeit belatedly perhaps, jump-started my transition to an early adulthood. The Christmas that I started trusting adults less. But man—that was a great brandnew, shiny red, three-speed bike.
PS: I never apologized to that classmate that I tried to beat up in the lunch line.
The 2024 Backyard Ball, an annual fundraising event hosted by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation — Central Texas Chapter, was held at Springdale Station. The event brought together community leaders and the CF community for an evening of food, drinks, music and connection in support of finding a cure for cystic fibrosis.
Backyard Ball is the culminating event for the 2024 Austin’s Finest campaign in recognition of our Honorees. This year’s honorees were Amber Myers, Anastasia Navach, Asher Quirk, Caitlin Flanders, Lindsay Richards, Sarah Gojer, and Stephanie Solomon. Austin’s Finest Honorees are outstanding people who are nominated for their exemplary leadership, active involvement in the community, and business excellence to join in the fight to treat and end CF. Austin’s Finest Honorees commit to raising a minimum of $2,500 for the CF Foundation to help advance the mission of the Foundation. This year’s winner of the Finest campaign was Lindsay Richards, who raised almost $15,000 for the CF Foundation and will hold the title until next year’s winner is crowned.
Remi Orlinsky, the mission speaker, shared her family’s story with CF and honored her mother’s memory as she continues to fight for those living with cystic fibrosis. Over $50,000 was raised for life saving research supporting those battling this rare disease. Although there have been recent new treatments extending the lives of those with CF, Stacy Dollar, Executive Director of the Central Texas Chapter says, “We cannot stop until CF stands for Cure Fund.” For more information on how to support the CF Foundation, visit www.cff.org/chapters/central-texas-chapter.
David R. Jarrott, broadcast personality, actor, producer, director
(I asked David R. Jarrott for a Christmas memory. He sent me this tale from his boyhood. — Forrest Preece.)
Shine for Rise Illuminates Inclusive Early Education
The Rise School of Austin held their annual Shine with Rise gala at Brazos Hall. Over 200 attendees, including Rise parents, alumni, advocates and local businesses gathered for an entertaining and impactful evening in support of inclusive early education at Rise. The event kicked off with a cocktail hour on Brazo Hall’s downtown rooftop, featuring live music, a silent auction, a Purse & Clutch pop-up shop, games, and a photo booth. Guests then moved into the ballroom for a dinner and program that included powerful stories from the Rise community and an exciting live auction, followed by an afterparty back on the rooftop. All proceeds from this event will benefit The Rise School of Austin’s mission to provide high-quality early childhood education to children of all abilities in an inclusive classroom setting. At Rise, 50 percent of students are typically developing, and 50 percent have a delay or disability, such as Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, etc. All learn side-by-side and receive the tools and support they need to have the best possible start. For more information, visit www.riseschoolaustin.org.
