Grant Halliburton Foundation welcomed The Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy to share his personal story at our 11th annual Beacon of Hope Community Luncheon at the Omni Dallas Hotel on March 10. The luncheon, presented by The David B. Miller Family Foundation, aims to strengthen the network of mental health resources for children, teens and young adults; promote better mental health; and prevent suicide.
2020 Beacon of Hope Luncheon Chairs Ginger Sager and Dixey Arterburn
Dixey Arterburn and Ginger Sager were luncheon chairs, and Kylie Hughitt and Jessica Slay, LPC-S were luncheon vice chairs. Kate and Art Anderson served as honorary chairs and Barb Farmer is the luncheon founding chair. Special entertainment featured RAINNE, an alt-pop duo with singer-songwriter Annie Dingwill and saxophonist Justin Klunk. Dingwall performed at the first luncheon in 2010. Steve Noviello, FOX 4 reporter, served as the luncheon emcee.
“Grant Halliburton Foundation’s work and mission are important to me because of my own family’s struggles with mental illness including depression, anxiety and addiction,” said Sager. “I am especially appreciative of the foundation’s Mental Health Navigation Line, which provides much needed resources for families like my own.”
Vanita Halliburton, Grant Halliburton Foundation co-founder and executive chairman, spoke about losing her son.
“I wish with all my heart we’d known then what we know now about mental illness and suicide prevention. I will never know what caused my son to give up hope. But I do know there is always hope. There is always help. With your help, Grant Halliburton Foundation will continue to give everything we have to changing and saving young lives.”
2020 Beacon of Hope featured speaker The Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy
The Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy shared his personal story of addiction. He told the story of, while still a Congressman, how he had gone on a binge, blacked out and ended up crashing his car. The next morning, his chief of staff called, and when he showed up on Capitol Hill, national press was waiting to talk to him.
“We need to tackle these issues head on,” Kennedy said. “Grant Halliburton Foundation tries to address these issues early. The Here for Texas Mental Health Navigation Line is like having Angie’s List and a Match.com for mental health resources.”
By T.J. Griffin
Director of Communications