Conference on Texas | Texas Trailblazers Awards

March 23-24, 2023

Celebrate the families and people whose stories created the Texas we know and love at the annual Conference on Texas: Portraits of Texas, Untold Stories featuring the 12th annual Texas Trailblazers Awards.

The Texas Trailblazers Award Luncheon will honor the esteemed Steves Family for legacy family history and philanthropy. We are pleased to announce keynote speaker Catherine Nixon Cooke, who will discuss methods on how to research the origin stories of individuals, families and businesses, based on the work she has accomplished as an award-winning author.

The Texas Trailblazers Awards Luncheon is part of the two-day Conference on Texas: Portraits of Texas, Untold Stories, March 23-24. Attendees will dive into Texas’s wild and vivid lands, including its people, their resilience and how they affected or adapted to ever-developing Texas. Subjects will include personal stories from the families of Erasmo Seguin, Ignacio Perez, the Glasscocks and early oil discovery, C. H. Guenther, the people of Los Adaes – Texas’s first capital, the Steves family, the Raba family and others.

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Interested in sponsoring the Conference on Texas or the Texas Trailblazers Awards Luncheon? Please contact Justin Muñoz, Vice President of Development, at JustinMunoz@WitteMuseum.org or 210.357.1894.

Texas Trailblazers Awards Luncheon

March 23, 2023 at 11:30 a.m.

Mays Family Center of the Witte Museum

Registration at 11:30 a.m. Program begins at noon.

Honoring the Steves Family

Featuring Catherine Nixon Cooke, Keynote Speaker

Sponsorship Opportunities

All levels include:

Recognition as a major donor in printed materials and invitations to the annual Witte Museum’s President’s Dinner
Special logo recognition and prime placement on printed program, signage at the event and invitation.

Spirit of Texas Presenting Sponsor | $50,000 | Only 1 available

Presenting Sponsor of both Texas Trailblazers Luncheon and Conference on Texas
(2) Top tier table placements in front of the stage with preferred seating for (20) at the Texas Trailblazers Luncheon
(20) complimentary tickets to the Conference on Texas
(1) Full-page color ad on the back cover of the Conference on Texas Program

Texas Trailblazer Luncheon Sponsor | $20,000 | Only 1 available

Sponsor of the Thursday luncheon
(1) Top tier table placement in front of the stage with preferred seating for (10) at the Texas Trailblazers Luncheon
(10) Complimentary tickets to the Conference on Texas
(1) Full-page color inside back cover of the Conference on Texas Program

Conference on Texas Reception Sponsor | $15,000 | RESERVED FOR WELLS FARGO

Sponsor of the Thursday Evening Reception
(1) Top tier table placement in front of the stage with preferred seating for (10) at the Texas Trailblazers Luncheon
(10) Complimentary tickets to the Conference on Texas
(1) Full-page color inside front cover of the Conference on Texas Program

Conference on Texas Scholarship Sponsor | $10,000 | Multiple available

Underwrites free tickets for 10 educators and discounts for students and educators
(1) Top tier table placement with preferred seating for (10) at the Texas Trailblazers Luncheon
(10) Complimentary tickets to the Conference on Texas
(1) Full-page black and white ad inside the Conference on Texas Program

Texas Trailblazer Speaker Sponsor | $10,000 | Only 1 available

Recognition as the Luncheon Speaker sponsor on all materials
(1) Top tier table placement with preferred seating for (10) at the Texas Trailblazers Luncheon
(10) complimentary tickets to the Conference on Texas
(1) Full-page black and white ad inside the Conference on Texas Program

Conference Breakfast Sponsor | $7,500 | Only 1 available

Recognition as the Thursday and Friday Breakfast Sponsor
(1) Top tier table placement with preferred seating for (10) at the Texas Trailblazers Luncheon
(10) Complimentary tickets to the Conference on Texas

Conference Video Sponsor | $7,500 | RESERVED FOR HUMANITIES TEXAS

Recognition as the Conference Video Sponsor prior to and during online publication
(1) Top tier table placement with preferred seating for (10) at the Texas Trailblazers Luncheon
(10) Complimentary tickets to the Conference on Texas

Invitation Sponsor | $7,500 | Only 1 available

Recognition as the Conference Invitation Sponsor
(1) Top tier table placement with preferred seating for (10) at the Texas Trailblazers Luncheon
(10) Complimentary tickets to the Conference on Texas

Texas Trailblazers Luncheon Table Levels:

Pioneer | $5,500

(1) Second tier table placement with preferred seating for (10)
(10) complimentary tickets to the Conference on Texas

Explorer| $3,500

(1) Third tier table placement with preferred seating for (10)
(10) complimentary tickets to the Conference on Texas

Naturalist| $2,500

(1) Fourth tier table placement with preferred seating for (10)
(10) complimentary tickets to the Conference on Texas

As in the past few years, your health and wellness are top priorities. Our intention is to host an in-person event but will make adjustments as necessary closer to the event. Regardless, we know you’ll enjoy the fascinating content and camaraderie of this year’s Conference.

For questions, please contact Justin Muñoz, Vice President of Development, at JustinMunoz@WitteMuseum.org or 210.357.1894.

Day 1 - May 16, 2022

2:00 - 3:15 p.m. | Session 1 | Future of the Earth: Climate Ready Buildings

Steve Hennigan, CEO, CreditHuman
A coneversation with Don McDonald, Architect and James Grizzard, Harvest Rain

3:30 - 4:30 p.m. | Session 2A | New Land Stewards: The Next Generations

Jenny Sanders and Roel López, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute | Moderator: Neal Wilkins, East Foundation

Room: TBD

3:30 - 4:30 p.m. | Session 2B | Waterways, The Gulf, and Migration

Romey Swanson, Audubon Texas and Larry McKinney, Harte Research Institute | Moderator: Suzanne Scott, The Nature Conservancy

Room: TBD

4:45 - 5:30 p.m. | Session 3 | James ferdinand McCan: Paining a Historical Portrait of Texas, 1885 - 1925

M.M. McAllen and Cina Alexander Forgason

Room: TBD

5:30 - 7:00 p.m. | Opening Reception and Book Signing

Location: Ewing Halsell Hall and Valero Great Hall

Day 2 - May 17, 2022

8:00 a.m. | Breakfast Program | Dr. David Schmidly

Sponsored by Wells Fargo – Veltri and Velasquez

Topic: Texas Natural History in the 21st Century

Speaker: David Schmidly, Naturalist

Breakfast provided.

9:00 a.m. | Coffee and Pastries

Courtesy of The East Foundation

Location: May’s Family Center

9:30 - 10:30 a.m. | Session 4A | The Ocelot - Mascot for Habitat Change

Michael Tewes, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute and Neal Wilkins, East Foundation

Moderator: Helen Holdsworth

Location: TBD

9:30 - 10:30 a.m. | Session 4B | Inspiring Outdoor Adventure

Josie Gutiérrez, Latino Outdoors and Leon McNeil, City Kids Adventures

Moderator: Heather Welder Russo

Room: TBD

10:45 - 11:45 a.m. | Session 5A | Wild Focus: Twenty-Five Years of Parks and Wildlife Photography

Earl Nottingham, Texas Rivers
and Wes Ferguson, Author

Moderator: Kathy Blackwell, Texas Monthly

Room: TBD

10:45 - 11:45 a.m. | Session 5B | Solar Energy - Feeding the Grid

Richard Estrada, Statewide Renewable and Robert Miggins, Big Sun Solar

Moderator: Dirk Elmendorf

Room: TBD

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Dear Conference on Texas and Texas Trailblazers Luncheon Attendee: Thank you for joining us at the 5^th Annual Witte Museum Conference on Texas: Changing Landscapes featuring the 11^th Annual Texas Trailblazers Luncheon honoring the Trustees of the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation. The Witte Museum is saddened by the loss of esteemed trailblazer, Helen Kleberg Groves, whose family foundation is being honored as this year’s Texas Trailblazer. On behalf of the Witte Museum Board of Trustees and Staff, we want to express our sincere sympathies to the family of Helen K. Groves. We will honor her memory at the Texas Trailblazers Luncheon on Monday, May 16.

Change in Schedule:

On Tuesday, May 17, the Boxed Luncheon sponsored by Wells Fargo Advisors and Wells Fargo featuring David J. Schmidly is rescheduled as Breakfast starting at 8:00 on Tuesday, May 17. The Texas Natural History – Century of Change Program will begin at 8:30 am. The rest of the conference (panels at 9:30 and 10:45 a.m.) will continue as planned through 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday to accommodate those who would like to attend the celebration of life for Mrs. Groves.

Registration:

Registration for the Texas Trailblazers Luncheon will be in the Feik Family Orientation Pavilion of the Mays Family Center on Monday, May 16 from 11:30-12:30 p.m. For the rest of the conference, registration will take place in the H-E-B Lantern at the Witte’s main entrance. Registration for Tuesday, May 17 begins at 8 a.m.

Parking Options:

Valet: Complimentary valet parking is available along Gunn Drive during the Texas Trailblazers Luncheon on Monday, May 16th.

Self-parking is available in the Brackenridge Park Parking Garage.

We look forward to seeing you at the 5^th Annual Conference on Texas: Changing Landscapes.

Please share this information with your guests!

If you have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact Heather Welder Russo, Chief of Advancement, at 210-357-1851 or HeatherRusso@WitteMuseum.org.

Conference on Texas | Texas Trailblazers Awards

March 23-24, 2023

Celebrate the families and people whose stories created the Texas we know and love at the annual Conference on Texas: Portraits of Texas, Untold Stories featuring the 12th annual Texas Trailblazers Awards.

Texas Trailblazers Awards Luncheon

March 23, 2023 at 11:30 a.m.

Mays Family Center of the Witte Museum

Honoring the Steves Family

Featuring Catherine Nixon Cooke, Keynote Speaker

Sponsorship Opportunities

Day 1 - May 16, 2022

Day 2 - May 17, 2022

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

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