2020 in general has been a year of adjustments and flexibility for all of us, and this year’s Annual Benefit Dinner on Friday, October 30, at the Hilton Austin was no exception. We packed the room with nearly as many people as the hotel allowed under the COVID social distancing guidelines, with just four to each table. We were thrilled to so many people come out in support of our organization in person. Additionally, we offered an at-home viewing option, by live-streaming the evening’s program via Facebook, YouTube, and our website. We delivered meals to those Leadership Circle and Sustaining Members who participated in the evening in this capacity. We heard such wonderful feedback from all who took part in the dinner, whether in person or online, and we saw tremendous success in the fundraising portion of the evening.
Master of Ceremonies
State Senator Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) engaged the crowd as Master of Ceremonies for this year’s dinner. While her jokes had us rolling, her personal praise of our organization’s life-saving accomplishments was truly meaningful. We invite you to view her message portion of the evening here.
Recognition of Elected Officials and the TAL Board of Directors
One of the highlights of each year’s dinner for the attendees is the chance to interact with and get pictures with the many elected officials and candidates who attend the event. This year TAL Board and Staff were truly honored to see so many turn out to attend in person. TAL Board President Davida Stike personally recognized each elected official and candidate. We invite you to tune in to that special segment of the evening here.
The Texas Alliance for Life Board of Directors is an active board made up of 19 members from many places across the State. Each plays a significant role in steering our organization to be the success that it is in moving the pro-life movement forward in the State of Texas. A comprehensive list of our board members, including those unable to attend the event in person, is available here at this link on our website. If you’d like to view the special recognition of the board by President Davida Stike, we invite you to do that here.
Texas Alliance for Life Updates
Texas Alliance for Life Executive Director and Founder Dr. Joe Pojman shared an overview of the work and accomplishments done by Texas Alliance for Life on an ongoing basis. He shared how we work through education to inform people that the unborn child is a baby, how we promote pro-life public policies at the federal, state, and local levels, how we defend those laws when challenged in state and federal courts, and that we also promote compassionate alternatives to abortion and euthanasia. He also shared the exciting news about our new federal super PAC. If you’d like to learn more about the history and life-saving efforts of the Texas Alliance for Life, we invite you to view Dr. Pojman’s full message on our YouTube channel.
Keynote Address
Film producer, author, and activist Jason Jones told the story of how he became passionately involved in the pro-life movement. His moving personal story and life’s work since stirred the crowd. Many were moved to tears and we’ve heard great feedback from so many of our attendees who were personally touched by his message. We believe you will be equally impacted and invite you to view his keynote here.
Ways to Give
Abortion survivor and TAL Board Member Claire Culwell drew the crowd in with her personal story of being saved from an abortion that took the life of her twin and about being adopted into a wonderful, loving family. This, along with each moving message across the evening, set the stage for her to then segue into covering the various ways to give toward the significant work that Texas Alliance for Life does to protect life from birth to natural death. You can listen to her message and see all the exciting ways you can partner with us to play a part in these efforts here on our YouTube channel.
Invocation and Benediction
We here at Texas Alliance for Life believe that everything we do should begin and end with prayer.
With that in mind, we invited Texas Alliance for Life Vice President Curt Nelson to open up the evening with an invocation.
Rev. Brian Eilers from St. Patrick Catholic Church in Hutto closed out this year’s successful event with the benediction.
Thank you
We are so grateful for every single elected official, candidate, donor, and invited guest who took time out of their evenings to join us for our annual fundraising event. We are especially grateful for all who signed up to make a one-time or an ongoing donation. Your partnership and support are key in fueling our work of changing hearts and saving lives in Texas and across our great nation.
