Methodist Health System announced the addition of three prominent leaders to its medical center Advisory Boards. Dallas County Commissioner Elba Garcia, DDS, PhD, joined the Methodist Dallas Medical Center Advisory Board; Julie Yarbrough joined the Methodist Richardson Medical Center Advisory Board; and Jill Waggoner, MD, joined the Methodist Charlton Advisory Board.

Dr. Garcia is a distinguished leader known for problem solving across a variety of interests, striving for better services for Dallas County taxpayers, and more transparency in government. Having served on the Dallas City Council from 2001 to 2009, she was unanimously chosen by her peers to serve as mayor pro tem and deputy mayor pro tem. Dr. Garcia was elected to serve as Dallas County Commissioner for District 4 in November 2010, becoming the first Hispanic to serve on the Dallas County Commissioners Court. Dr. Garcia is a dentist, holding a doctorate in dental surgery. She and her husband, former state Rep. Domingo Garcia, have two sons.

Julie Yarbrough has over 30 years’ experience in business management and currently serves as president of Yarbrough Investments. She is a member of the Methodist Health System board of directors, Methodist Health System Foundation board of trustees, and Methodist Health System Foundation Golden Cross division board of trustees. She is a Certified Healthcare Trustee. At Southern Methodist University, she serves on the executive board of Perkins School of Theology and on the steering committee for the Second Century Campaign. Ms. Yarbrough is on the President’s Advisory Council of the Texas Methodist Foundation and board of directors of the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship. She is the author of Inside the Broken Heart: Grief Understanding for Widows and Widowers; Beyond the Broken Heart, a devotional book and curriculum program on grief; and Secure in the Storm: Scriptures for Your Time of Need. Ms. Yarbrough is an active member of Highland Park United Methodist Church. A native of Dallas, she is a magna cum laude graduate of Texas Christian University.

Jill Waggoner, MD, is a family medicine physician on the medical staff of Methodist Health System with a medical office at Methodist Charlton Medical Group. She has practiced in the Dallas area for almost 20 years and has certifications in preventive medicine and wellness coordination from the prestigious Cooper Institute, as well as a special interest in integrative medicine. Dr. Waggoner is involved in several community endeavors, including the President’s Leadership Council at Methodist Charlton. She has served as a medical expert for local NBC, ABC, and Fox affiliates, and appeared as a guest on the Trinity Broadcasting Network show Our Town. Dr. Waggoner has written four books: Stress Success: Your Secret Weapon, Hormone Harmony, My Sister’s Keeper: Is Your Temple in Order? and ABC’s of Diabetes. She is also the developer of the ABC’s of Diabetes diabetic education series, and served as a panelist on the Disparities in Healthcare summit for the Texas Legislative Black Caucus. Dr. Waggoner holds master’s and medical degrees from the University of Oklahoma. She and her husband, Mark Jones, are the parents of two daughters.

“Our hospital advisory board members play a vital role in our mission to serve our communities,” says Methodist Health System President and CEO Stephen L. Mansfield, PhD, FACHE. “We are excited to have leaders of this caliber join our Advisory Board teams.”

Additional information is available at MethodistHealthSystem.org.

Dallas faces less risk from the drop in oil prices compared to other parts of Texas, shared a panel of oil and gas, economic, and real estate experts with about 300 early risers over breakfast at the Dallas Country Club on March 3.  They also predicted that the price of West Texas Intermediate would reach somewhere between $62 and $79 a barrel before the end of the year. The event was sponsored by Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty and Thompson & Knight.

Attendees also received another bonus with their breakfast…a chance to meet potential Republican presidential candidate, Rick Santorum, who stopped by to shake some hands with this influential group before the panel commenced.

Emily Parker, managing partner of Thompson & Knight LLP, moderated the distinguished panel.

Panelist Dr. Bernard Weinstein, associate director of the Maguire Energy Institute at the SMU Cox School of Business, said, “Oil and gas comprised 11 percent of the Texas economy in recent years. But in DFW, it’s just 3 percent of the economy. Unless that second shoe drops and oil goes to $20 to $30 a barrel, we may not see much overall impact at all on real estate in DFW. The areas hardest hit have been the producing areas like the Permian Basin and Houston.”

Dennis Grindinger, executive vice president, South America, for Hunt Oil Company, also provided his perspective on the current state of the oil market:

1. Discount the headline. We’ve cut capital expenses and operational expenses at a radical rate.

2. Technology allows us to be more efficient and sustain levels of production at lower prices, but we will likely have one more reduction in production as rig counts decline.

3. Money is chasing deals. In 1984 and 1991, there was not a strong equity market looking to snap up deals, but now there is equity ready to invest.

4. Be prepared for volatility. We don’t know what the Saudis are doing. It’s going to be very hard to predict.

Holt Foster, partner with Thompson & Knight LLP, added, “Energy is like property.  It is a limited resource, so it will go back up. We’ll probably have a secondary dive and then settle out between $60-$80.”

Robbie Briggs, president and CEO of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, said, “The oil and gas industry may only be 8 percent of the Texas market, but it may be the upper 8 percent. We’ll see some effects at the upper end of the residential real estate market. Instead of people looking at a $15 million house, it may be a $10 million house.”

Phil Puckett, executive vice president of CBRE, compared Dallas/Fort Worth commercial real estate with Houston. “DFW right now may be experiencing the best commercial real estate market that Dallas will see. New companies are coming or expanding and there are more deals running under the radar, especially more million square foot deals. In DFW, less than 2 percent of occupied real estate space is energy related. Dallas for the first time has not overbuilt, and may actually have a shortage of Class A space.”

In Houston, the story is different. Houston has 17.6 million square feet of new construction vs. 7.1 million under construction in Dallas.  Much more of it is speculative and still available for lease, or even being put back on the sublease market.”

Bill Jackson, senior vice president and managing director of NorthMarq Capital, LLC, said, “The whole bottom line is jobs.” He also said that he liked the low interest rates because it made borrowing funds more attractive.

Briggs also talked about residential real estate in light of the global economy. “The eyes of the entire world are on Texas. This is no longer a local real estate market. We have to look beyond the borders. International investors are long-term investors, and that’s how we ought to be focused.”

Parker asked about the Fort Worth market where Briggs Freeman is about to open a new office. Briggs said, “That market is incredibly strong.” He mentioned his top Fort Worth agent as having sold $100 million last year. Also, with all the corporate relocations, “They want ranches, so our ranch division is going off the charts.”

When Parker asked each one to give a prediction of the price of West Texas intermediate will be one year now, here were the replies:

Robbie Briggs: $65

Bud Weinstein: $62

Dennis Grindinger: $78

Holt Foster: $64

Phil Puckett: $63.50

Bill Jackson: $79

Only the future knows which panelist will be the closest to predict the price. “If we could predict the price of oil, I would be living on my own island,” Parker joked.

Bobby Lyle would prefer no surprises, but he had an evening packed with delightful astonishments on November 19. That’s when Methodist Health System Foundation honored him as the 2014 Robert S. Folsom Leadership Award recipient on the 10^th anniversary of its signature fundraiser.  Established in 2005, the award recognizes individuals whose demonstrated commitment and excellence in community leadership emulate the achievements of former Dallas Mayor Robert S. Folsom. Because of Lyle’s commitment to education, he designated that the funds raised, which totaled just more than $1.5 million, would go to support medical education at Methodist, including residency and post-graduate fellowship training for physicians.

Each year, the event is personalized to honor the recipient, and this year was no exception. The first surprise was the Master of Ceremonies, Lt. Colonel William Mockabee of The Salvation Army, a friend who led the Dallas office before being promoted to Sri Lanka and New York’s headquarters. “Tonight is all about Bobbly Lyle and his favorite things. His favorite food, his favorite people, his favorite work, his favorite business ventures, his favorite work, his favorite business ventures—well, you get the idea. This guy is non-stop energy and work, especially in service to help others.”

Dr. William Lawrence, Dean of SMU Perkins School of Theology and Lyle’s great friend, gave the invocation.

David Miller, event co-chair, welcomed an audience of more than 800, including many of Lyle’s friends who surprised him by coming from near and far to honor him. “Carolyn and I are honored to serve with Linda and Mitch Hart as co-chairs of this incredible event honoring our dear and longtime friend, Bobby Lyle. I want to give special thanks to this evening’s Honorary Co-chairs Nancy Ann and Ray Hunt and Renda and Rex Tillerson.”

Linda and Mitch Hart, event co-chairs, brought another surprise “friend” on stage as Linda told a story. “About 20 years ago in Nevis when Bobby and Mitch were playing a round of golf, Bobby’s errant golf shot caused his ball to fly through a palm tree and hit a monkey in the head causing it to fall from the tree. At Bobby’s 70^th birthday party, we presented him with a monkey we named Little Bobby B., and he wondered what he was going to do with it. We finally told him that his real gift was a donation to the Dallas Zoo to have the next monkey born at the zoo named Little Bobby B. Tonight, we’ve brought you a descendant of Little Bobby B. named Mikey.”

April Box Chamberlain, Methodist Health System Foundation president and CEO, presented Bobby with a stuffed “Bobby B.” monkey and assured him that it would not be crawling all over him (referring to how Mikey had earlier crawled all over Mitch Hart while on stage. Chamberlain congratulated Bobby as the 10^th recipient of the Robert S. Folsom Leadership Award. “You truly represent Bob Folsom’s legacy of love and commitment of service to our community.” She added her thanks to the Lupe Murchison Foundation and Nancy Ann and Ray Hunt for being the first-ever presenting sponsors and recognized the Folsom family and the past recipients and family in attendance.

Chamberlain called to the stage Joy Duncan, Methodist vice president of development, and thanked her for creating a decade of memorable and successful events. The two introduced an energetic video showcasing extraordinary participants and surprises of the past ten Folsom events, including two former presidents of the United States, two former First Ladies, Harley-Davidson motorcycles encircling the ballroom, NFL Hall of Famers, U.S. Secretary of State, NBA owner and coach—just to name a few!

Following dinner, Col. Mockabee introduced Clifton Forbis, chairman of the voice department at SMU. As Lyle is huge champion and supporter of SMU Meadows School of the Arts, Forbis performed a parody of the Beattles’ song “Let it Be,” entitled “Bobby B.” One stanza summed him up perfectly: “And if you need a leader from throughout our great community. There’s just one answer, Bobby B. For though some may describe him with obsessive/compulsive tendencies, he’ll find the perfect answer, Bobby B.” During the chorus, the audience turned on their party favors flashlights branded with “Bobby B.” and waved them to emulate a rock concert.

After the special song, a tribute video included congratulations from Dr. Ken Blanchard, Pat Currie, Ray Hunt, Dr. Marc Christensen, Brent Christopher, Brent Jackson, Jim Gibbs, Dr. Gerald Turner, Rex Tillerson and more. Organizers cleverly incorporated the “Most Interesting Man in the World” theme and hilarious phrases, transforming Lyle into the bearded celebrity as seen on the popular television commercials.

After the video, the Circle Ten Boy Scouts Silver Eagle Band made a surprise entrance and played the SMU fight song as the Boy Scouts organization is near and dear to his heart.

Chamberlain and Mockabee then presented the Folsom Award to Bobby Lyle. “April and I are proud to present you as tonight’s ‘Most Interesting Man in the World’ and recipient of the 2014 Robert S. Folsom Leadership Award, Bobby B. Lyle.” The audience gave Lyle a standing ovation.

Lyle graciously accepted the award and gave closing remarks. “Mike Boone (2012 honoree) told me that receiving the Folsom would be like an out of body experience, and he was right. Thank you to Methodist for this recognition. To be included is truly humbling. There will never be anyone who appreciates it more than I do. I met Bob Folsom when I was a 29-year-old at SMU’s Cox School of Business. Bob was a friend, an investor, a role model, so this award is something I will treasure.” He added, “I’m so impressed with the medical community, with the men and women ensuring our good health. Methodist stands like a beacon offering state of the art medical care.”

Lyle joins an illustrious list of past recipients: Robert S. Folsom (2005), Nancy Ann Hunt (2006), Troy Aikman (2007), Laura Bush (2008), the late Norman Brinker (2009), Pat and Emmitt Smith (2010), Trevor Rees-Jones (2011), Mike Boone (2012), and Rev. Mark Craig (2013).

For information about supporting the next Robert S. Folsom Award, please contact Methodist Health System Foundation President and CEO April Box Chamberlain at 214-947-4555. More information is available at Foundation.MethodistHealthSystem.org/Folsom.

About Methodist Health System

Guided by the founding principles of life, learning and compassion, Methodist Health System (Methodist) provides quality, integrated care to improve and save the lives of individuals and families throughout North Texas. Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Methodist Charlton Medical Center, Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, Methodist Richardson Medical Center, and Methodist Family Health Centers are part of the nonprofit Methodist Health System, which is affiliated by covenant with the North Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church. Additional information is available at www.methodisthealthsystem.org. Connect with them through Facebook, YouTube and Twitter at www.methodisthealthsystem.org/socialmedia.

Providence Christian School of Texas invites those interested in learning more about its classical Christian school to attend its Open House on November 6 at 6:30 p.m. Grades are from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. No reservations are required. The School’s highlights include strong language arts and math curriculum, art, music, Latin, and 7^th and 8^th grade team sports. For more information or to schedule a private tour, call 214.302.2809.

Providence will also host its annual book fair on Tuesday, November 4, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Wednesday, November 5, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Hundreds of quality books will be offered in the following categories: holiday, picture books, history, inspirational, reference, classics, biographies, Bible stories, art, vintage, readers, audio books.

The location of both the Open House and Book Fair is 5002 W. Lovers Ln., Dallas, TX 75209.

Since 1989, Providence Christian School of Texas has provided academically able students from preschool to 8^th grade with a challenging educational experience designed to help them know, love, and practice that which is true, good, and excellent, and to prepare them to live purposefully and intelligently in the service of God and man. Providence’s core values are faith, family, intellect, counterculturalism, and stewardship. More information about the School can be found by calling 214-302-2800 or by visiting www.pcstx.org.

A first birthday is always cause for celebration, and that’s what the Dallas Arboretum had on September 21. Cleverly titled First Anniversary Adventures, A Celebratory Soiree for Adults in a Child’s World, the event commemorated the opening of the nationally acclaimed Rory Meyers Children Adventure Garden. Co-chaired by community leaders Bettina and Dan Hennessy with assistance from the Year of the Children’s Garden Committee, the evening turned out to have perfect weather for its first birthday.

About 350 guests arrived to the music of the outstanding Booker T. Washington Jazz Combo, under the direction of Bart Marantz. Once they entered the eight-acre scientific garden, many stopped at the Plaza to enjoy a cool adult beverage. Others strolled to the Oasis, the rooftop garden that overlooks White Rock Lake, to enjoy libations while noshing on passed gourmet canapés. Cleverly named after the galleries at the Children’s Garden, these canapés included Plants are Alive Orange Avocado Endive Spoons, The Glade Avocado Masa Tart, Walk on the Wild Side Quail Rumaki, Texas Native Wetlands Spiced Pecan and Roasted Corn Crab Cake.

Some adults tested out the technology touchscreens and the OmniGlobe in the Exploration Center, while others shot water blasters at Energy Island and learned how to create electricity.  Garden guides gave tours to guests including Caroline L. Hunt and her family in the Incredible Edible Garden where they learned about a plant that’s grown for loofahs. Spotted in the First Adventure gallery were Joyce and Dr. Linus Wright (former DISD superintendent). Gayle Sands’ daughters, Kathryn and Courtenay, posed to have their photo taken with Betty the Bee. Joe Buskuhl, who served on the Garden’s Architecture and Construction Committee overseeing of the Children’s Garden building, was spotted along the Texas Skywalk giving his guests a tour.

Rory and Howard Meyers brought along dozens of their extended family and friends to celebrate the evening. Dallas City Manager A.C. Gonzalez admired the garden as many of the City Council and Dallas Park Board representatives made their way over to greet him.

Brian Shivers, Dallas Arboretum’s board chairman, welcomed guests seated outside the Exploration Center under white lights and the stars. He told of the success of the first year and how the Children’s Garden is enhancing life and earth science knowledge of students and families who visit. “I even heard of one school that visited as far away as Missouri.” He then introduced The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison, who served as the Guest of Honor, and who had served as the Honorary Chair of the capital campaign to build the garden.

Hutchison said, “This garden is world class. What you all have done is amazing. What you have done all these years is amazing. When people come to Dallas and visit the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, I’m going to make sure they come to the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden.”

Shivers introduced Kaki Hopkins, who served as chair of the Year of Children’s Garden, a series of children’s educational events and celebratory events for adults to help fund the children’s activities. Hopkins said, “We are honored to recognize the top donors to the Children’s Garden, including Rory and Howard Meyers who represent the lead gift, the Harold Simmons Foundation represented by Lisa Simmons, Diane and Hal Brierley, and Francie Moody-Dahlberg of the Moody Foundation.” She also recognized the Dallas City Council, Dallas Park Board and other donors. She also thanked Bettina and Dan Hennessy for co-chairing the evening and Cecile Bonte, honorary chair, whose multi-year leadership as capital campaign chair helped raise the millions to build the garden.

With the harp playing on the Texas Skywalk, guests ate a Black and White Quinoa Stuffed Roasted Acorn Squash, followed by Grilled Pink Peppercorn Beef Tenderloin with a Sour Cherry Chocolate Mousse Cake. During dessert, champagne was poured for a celebratory toast. Before people left, they were given lighted toys and glow necklaces to remind them of the fun they had at the Children’s Garden. These were clever party favors for a one-year-old’s birthday party!