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Info on Black Tie Dinner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS CONTACT: John S. Shore
Shore Public Relations
DFW Black Tie Dinner Board Member/ Volunteer
214-352-5111
jshore@shorepr.com

Dallas-Fort Worth Black Tie Dinner
Receives National Award for Record Distribution to Charities
and Announces 2005 Charity Beneficiaries


DALLAS (March 31, 2005) – The Human Rights Campaign, the largest national gay and lesbian advocacy organization, recently honored the Dallas-Fort Worth Black Tie Dinner as the premier fundraising event in the country. With an average attendance of over 3,000 guests during the past decade, the Dallas-Fort Worth Black Tie Dinner is the largest formal sit-down dinner of its kind in the country both in attendance and charitable contributions. Last year the Dallas-Fort Worth Black Tie Dinner gave away a record $1.12 million dollars. The annual Dinner benefits the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and up to twenty local charitable organizations. “This distinction really belongs to the Dallas-Fort Worth community. It is because of their generous support that Black Tie Dinner continues to break records and lead the nation,” stated Pam Clayton, Black Tie Co-Chair.

2005 Beneficiaries Selected
Building on the success of last year’s “American Celebration” held at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in downtown Dallas, the board of directors recently selected twenty local charities that will benefit from the proceeds of this year’s event. “Selecting beneficiaries for the Dallas-Fort Worth Black Tie Dinner is one of the Board’s most important tasks each year,” said Philip Wier, Black Tie Co-Chair. “The strength of our community depends on the support that is given to these organizations from attendees, sponsors and donors.”
Beneficiaries selected for 2005 include:
AIDS ARMS, INC.
AIDS Interfaith Network, INC
AIDS Outreach Center
AIDS Resources of Rural Texas
AIDS Services of Dallas
AIDS Services of North Texas
Congregation Beth El Binah
Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance – Don Baker Education Fund
Dallas Legal Hospice
Fort Worth Men’s Chorus
GLSEN Dallas
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, INC.
Legacy Counseling Center
Lesbian/ Gay Rights Lobby of Texas/ Calkin Fund
PFLAG/ Dallas
Resource Center of Dallas
Turtle Creek Chorale
White Rock Friends
Women’s Communities Association
Youth First Texas
Each year the dinner presents a gala evening of empowerment, entertainment and education, and features nationally recognized speakers and entertainers. “Our guests have let us know how pleased they were with last year’s Dinner and the Adam’s Mark. We look forward to another successful event this year in the hotel,” said Clayton. The board of directors is currently working on plans for an exciting and imaginative event to be held on Saturday, October 22, 2005. Black Tie Dinner also presents two awards each year: the Kuchling Humanitarian Award which recognizes local individuals for their contributions to gay and lesbian equality, and the Elizabeth Birch Equality Award, which recognizes an individual, organization or corporation working at the national level.
The Dallas-Fort Black Tie Dinner is a non-profit organization that raises funds for gay and lesbian supportive organizations through a premier event of empowerment, education and entertainment in partnership with the community. The event has headlined local and national celebrities and leaders such as Governor Ann Richards, Maya Angelou, Goldie Hawn and last year, celebrities and executives from Showtime Networks. The Black Tie Dinner began in Dallas in 1982 to help support the Human Rights Campaign Fund. One hundred-forty guests attended the first dinner, which raised $6,000. In 2004, the dinner contributed over a million dollars to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and twenty local beneficiaries. In its 23-year history, the dinner has given away nearly $8 million.
For more information about the Black Tie Dinner or this year’s event, call (972) 733-9200 or visit the website at www.blacktie.org.



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