The Celebration

The Royal Sonesta Hotel welcomed 220 guests on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 for the Crime Stoppers of Houston annual Houston’s Heroes Awards Luncheon. Dana Tyson of Sunny 99.1 led the afternoon program. For supporters at home, the event was live-streamed over Zoom.

 

The Story

Being together for the first time in over a year, in-person guests socialized in the venue’s Legends Ballroom to honor the members of the Houston community who, through their hard work and commitment help keep Houston safe.

 

Awards and Recipients

The Johnny Klevenhagen Award: Presented to Houston Police Department Commander, James Dale, for his distinguished career and work with nonprofits like Crime Stoppers.

 

The Fenner Weller Award: Presented to State Representative Jim Murphy for his tireless efforts in passing bills like the Parole Bill HB 3387 and Summer Camp Bill HB 4372. 

 

The Leiv Platou Award:  Presented to Hazem Ahmed for his significant contributions to public safety as a volunteer and board member of Crime Stoppers of Houston for over nine years.

 

The Corporate Citizen Award: Presented to H-E-B for their commitment to public safety, most notably the Crime Stoppers Safe School Institute. Their involvement with the  Crime Stoppers rewards committee has been invaluable in curbing crime in retail stores through the Greater Houston Loss Prevention Alliance. 

 

The Safe School Award: Presented to Jerri Duddlesten Moore for her tremendous support of the Crime Stoppers Safe School Institute, which has allowed the program to grow and reach over one million students.

 

The Women Who Shape Houston Award: Presented to Brigitte Kalai for her philanthropic contributions, specifically those championing causes that uplift women and children.  

 

Partner of the Year Award: Presented to Lawrence and Linda Levy for their support of the Crime Stoppers Anonymous Tip Line and their work to help the organization launch an anti-terrorism community task force.

 

The Moments

Crime Stoppers CEO and host of The Balanced Voice podcast, Rania Mankarious, delivered the opening remarks reflecting on what a difficult year 2020 had been and noting how important this year’s event was in bringing people together once again. Dana Tyson surprised participants with a virtual visit from former HPD Chief Art Acevedo from his Miami PD office. Acevedo congratulated Commander Dale on his award and delivered words of encouragement to the gathering. Houston media icon Dave Ward unveiled the 2021 Dave Ward Media Excellence Award, announcing Dave Strickland, KPRC Channel 2 News Director, as the recipient.

 

The uplifting celebration served as a vital fundraiser for Crime Stoppers and raised over $183,000 to directly fund the critical public safety and crime prevention initiatives delivered by the nonprofit in local and statewide communities and schools.

 

Supporters and Sponsors

Presenting Partner Aramco Americas; Safety Partners Amerapex and Brigitte and Bashar Kalai; Safety Champions H-E-B, including Lisa Helfman and Eric Mayo, The Seff Family, Kip, and Jennifer Hohman, Texas Inter-Faith Houston Corporation, Gilbert Garcia and Garcia Hamilton & Associates; and Safety Friends KPRC Channel 2, The Children’s Assessment Center and Union Pacific Railroad.

 

Guests: Harris County District Attorney, Kim Ogg; Houston Mayor, Sylvester Turner; Houston Police Department Police Chief, Troy Finner; Harris County Commissioners Jack Cagle and Tom Ramsey; Harris County Precinct One Constable Alan Rosen; Houston Council members Michael Kubosh and Amy Peck; and Katy Police Chief, J. Noe Diaz.  

 

About Crime Stoppers of Houston

Crime Stoppers of Houston is Houston’s top nonprofit dedicated to public safety. Since 1980, it has remained committed to its mission to solve and prevent serious crime in the Greater Houston Area in partnership with citizens, media, and the criminal justice system.

 

For those unable to attend the event this year, donations are still being accepted here: http://bit.ly/2020CSLuncheon 

 

If you would like to learn more about Crime Stoppers of Houston and how to get involved, please visit www.crime-stoppers.org.