The candleligh vigil at the Hope Alliance luncheon
(Photo by Lisa Birkman)
Hope Alliance, Williamson County’s only non-profit agency dedicated to helping victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, celebrated their twenty-fifth year on Friday with a luncheon at the United Heritage Conference Center in the Dell Diamond in Round Rock. Hope Alliance was formerly called The Williamson County Crisis Center. The luncheon was their seventh one and featured a keynote address by Georgia Durante, an author and stunt car driver who is a survivor of domestic abuse. Ms. Durante shared her personal story, which is also revealed in her book, The Company She Keeps, which tells of her life as a teenage model and then as the wife of member of the mafia. Her husband beat her and threatened to kill her many times, until she finally escaped in order to save her daughter from the same fate. She then founded Performance Two, Inc., a well known Hollywood stunt and precision driving company. Following her speech, Ms. Durante signed copies of her book.
Tonya Kerr, local columnist for the Round Rock Leader and other publications, was the emcee of the event. As in previous years, names of all the people across the state of Texas who lost their lives to domestic violence in the last year were named during the candlelight vigil. Members of the audience were each given a name and as it was read, the audience member snuffed out a candle to symbolize a life lost. Chief Harold Thomas of Hutto Police Department gave a moving speech on the effect domestic violence has on police officers. Chief Thomas formerly served in the Odessa Police Department, where in September of 2007, Cpl. Arlie Jones, Cpl. Scott Gardner, and Cpl. Abel Marquez all lost their lives in a domestic violence dispute.
Another part of the celebration was the annual awards presentations. Awards were given to the following people and organizations for their work to assist victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault:
Joanna Ehly, Monica Korman,Walt Herbert, First United Methodist Church of Round Rock, Lone Star Circle of Care, Jeff and Suzy Rusk, Judge John McMasters and Shevawn Walzel. Additionally, Patti Maund, long time volunteer, advocate and leader for Hope Alliance, was given the Hope Award for service to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
In attendance at the event were a number of elected officials including Third Court of Appeals Justice David Puryear, District Judge Burt Carnes, District Attorney John Bradley, County Attorney Jana Duty, State Representative Diana Maldonado, Round Rock City Councilmember Rufus Honeycutt, Hutto Mayor David Begier and me. Republican candidate for Justice on the Third Court of Appeals, Scott King Field, was also in attendance as was former Round Rock Mayor Nyle Maxwell.
For more information on Hope Alliance, visit their website www.hopealliancetx.org
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