2013 is full of many memories including the Best VIP Event in Southlake.
51 of the year's best memories
By Catherine Adcock and Linden Wilson
Best Band That Needs No Modifier: ThebrRobotix
They made usbrproud, going all the way to the live round of America's Got Talent — but webrdidn’t need a TV show to tell us how hard this group could rock. On the stage,brthis outfit, composed mainly of locals, gets us going, all pounding beats,brguitar solos and pure rock ‘n’ roll. When they’re onstage, we forget how oldbrthey are — all under 16, FYI — because true rock music is ageless!
Best Fido Find: DogbrDays of Summer Photo Contest
This year, we brought some fun to the summer heat with ourbrDog Days of Summer photo contest. We invited you to send your favorite Fidobrmoments our way, and we in turn got a cute pup for our August cover. Bernesebrmountain dog Zoe — and more than 300 pounds of sand — made for one excitingbrphoto shoot!
Best VIP Event
Not resting on just another great cover story of a Southlakebrmovie star in the making, we upped our game by throwing a VIP premiere eventbrcelebrating Sidney Fullmer’s role in the TV movie An American Girl: Saige Paints the Sky. Thanks to the eventbrsponsors, 100 percent of ticket sales ($4,600) from a packed Harkins Theatrebrwent to support the GRACE Feed Our Kids program.
Best InteractivebrScience Exhibit
The gleaming 180,000-square-foot Ross Perot Museum of Naturebrand Science opened late in 2012, but crowds are still pouring in to visit must-seebrexhibits like the 35-foot-long Malawisaurusbrdinosaur, a child-sized, climbable Dallas skyline and toddler park and our favoritebr— the motion lab and running wall in the Sports Hall.
Best Time to Sign: 19brCarroll Athletes Sign NCAA D1 Scholarships br
A whopping 19broutstanding Dragon athletes receivedbrD1 athletic scholarships in 2013. And now they’re running, kicking and blockingbrtheir hearts out in the NCAA. Eight cross-country runners, seven soccer playersbrand four football players were honored when they gathered to sign their lettersbrof intent on Feb. 6.
Best MaternalbrInstinct: Bryce Klein
This Dragon dived into his future with ambitiousbrrecord-breaking goals. The state point-total record holder and internationalbrdiving champion signed to SMU last year, the same school his mom, Krista,brcompeted for when she was an NCAA champion. Not only that, but his new coach?brThe same one his mother had during her years as a Mustang!
Best Reveal: GreatbrDane Johnson's Visit to the New Dragon Stadium
Sure, he's coaching the football team at rival Flower Mound,brbut this Dragon champion — he was part of three championship teams in twobrsports during his time at Carroll — got a kick out of his first visit to thebrnew Dragon Stadium. He marveled at how the entire stadium is for football withbrno track surrounding the field!
Best Double Play: Back-To-BackbrUIL Lone Star Cup Wins
Two years in abrrow, Southlake Carroll has taken home the honor of University InterscholasticbrLeague’s Class 5A Lone Star Cup. It’s awarded to the school with the bestbrprogram in its class based on performance in state and district championships.brWe can’t wait to see the Dragons turn this double into a triple at the end ofbrthis school year!
Best Three-Peat: Boysbrand Girls Cross-Country Teams
We couldn'tbrbelieve the success of the boys and girls cross-country teams, winning threebrstate championships in a row. So, we took some time out this past spring tobrlearn more about their intense all-or-nothing training schedules. We’ll bebrwatching the team’s continued domination all through the season this year.
Best Rightful Return: HomecomingbrParade in Town Square
Marching bands, floats, balloons — homecoming wouldn'tbrbe homecoming without a parade. And this year, Southlake Carroll's paradebrreturned to its rightful place in Town Square. We were elated to watch thebrKing, Queen and all the other celebrants make their way through the center ofbrtown this past October!
Best Lesson Giver: PattybrWillingham
We lovedbrgetting to know CISD Teacher of the Year Patty Willingham, who grew up teachingbrher deaf sisters how to speak and communicate with the hearing world. She mightbrhave retired from teaching after a 33-year career this past spring, but shebrcontinues to give back, overseeing the preschool at Grapevine Church of Christ.
Best Education Reform: House Bill 5
Some seriousbrcurriculum changes took place this year thanks to Texas State House Bill 5,brwhich was signed into law this past summer. The legislation made significantbrchanges to standard school curriculum, reducing the emphasis on high-stakesbrtesting. Our favorite part: The bill is expected to save more than $11 millionbrthrough the next two school years!
Best Peace of Mind Givers: School ResourcebrOfficers
SROs have beenbra part of school life in Southlake for many years, but this year, every CISDbrcampus got its own dedicated officer. These police officers do more than justbrkeep our kids safe, they also provide support and encouragement to students,brcreating an environment where they can thrive, learn and feel protected.
Best TechbrImprovement: Dragon Mobile Phone App
We can't believe someone didn't think of it earlier! Thisbryear, a free smartphone app debuted for Southlake Carroll students, parents,brstaff and friends offering convenience and connectivity. Replete with schoolbrphone directory, calendar, campus maps and sports news, the MobileDragon appbralso gives parents access to students’ schedules, grades and attendancebrinformation.
Best Golfing Oasis: North Texas
We surveyed thebrcountry and — maybe we're a little biased — concluded that North Texas offersbrsome of the best clubs and conditions for golf aficionados. With year-roundbrplayability and the best-ranked courses in the country — such as TimarronbrCountry Club, Vaquero Country Club and Sky Creek ranch, to name a few — nobrwonder our backyard attracts such talented pros like Hunter Mahan, Ryan Palmerbrand Ben Crane.
Best Place to Go Rugged: Whole EarthbrProvision Co.
For over 40 years, this company has been outfitting us tobrtake on the Texas terrain, and we couldn't wait for it to open its newestbrlocation in Southlake Town Square this year. Whole Earth has the goods we needbrto hit the great outdoors no matter what the season!
Best Place to Put On Muscle: ImpactbrPerformance and Fitness
We discoveredbrthis wonderland of physical fitness this past January and marveled at ownerbrKevin Kordish’s scientific and intense approach to personal training. Open tobrnovice gymgoers and professional athletes alike — Cowboy DeMarcus Ware puts inbrtime here during the offseason — Impact boasts a philosophy of helping itsbrmembers improve their lives through fitness.
Best Way to Impressbrat the Tailgate: Pitmaker Custom Trailer Rigs
In our ongoing effort to find pigskin perfection (andbrknowing we can't count on Romo for that), we landed on Houston-based Pitmaker'sbrcustom trailer rigs. For a not-so-small fee, you can have your personalizedbrtrailer — replete with grill, flatscreen TV and anything else you can think ofbr— to cookout on before, during and after your home team games!
Best Family Trip Close to Home: Destin,brFlorida
We got loads ofbrrave reviews on our feature on this nearby paradise, and no wonder: Destinbrboasts beautiful beaches, luxurious accommodations and a vast array ofbrentertainment options. It takes the award for our fave nearby place for fun inbrthe sun. Sure, we love Possum Kingdom and we can’t forget Galveston, but forbrbonafide beach-time we head east, year after year, to a place that’s just abrday’s drive away!
Best Way to Beat the Heat: Local
Water Parks
Another year, another mercury-busting summer. Lucky for us,brwe're surrounded by oasis after oasis of water parks, which we were only toobrhappy to avail ourselves of during the interminable summer months. FrombrRoanoke's Hawaiian Falls and Grapevine's Great Wolf Lodge to the GaylordbrTexan's Paradise Springs and, of course, Six Flag's Hurricane Harbor, NorthbrTexas offers a cornucopia of ways to beat the heat.
Best Dragon on Broadway: PimbrVan Amerongen
This 2008 CarrollbrSenior High graduate wowed audiences the country over in the Broadway revivalbrof A Chorus Line this year. Afterbrattending Boston Conservatory (and graduating cum laude in 2012), Pim moved tobrNew York City where he tirelessly auditioned for role after role while waitingbrtables. Once he landed the role of Don in AbrChorus Line, Pim took off touring the country with the production — makingbrthis Carroll grad the best Broadway performer of 2013.
Best with a Brush: GregbrBarnes
A man of faith,brGreg Barnes left his job in corporate America and let God take him to betterbrthings. His plein air paintings showcase the wonder and brightness of thebrnatural world with inventive use of color and movement. He was honored asbrArtist of the Year for this year’s Art in the Square, and we can’t wait to seebrwhat he paints next!
Best Keys to Glory: VanbrCliburn International Piano Competition
This year thebrprestigious competition, named for a man who bested a Russian at a Tchaikovskybrcompetition in Moscow in 1958, returned to Fort Worth, drawing 30 of thebrworld’s most talented pianists to Cowtown. They played their hearts out untilbrone, Ukrainian VadymbrKholodenko, was crowned the gold medal winner.
Best Star in the Making: SidneybrFullmer
This local starletbrstole our hearts in 2013's DVD release AnbrAmerican Girl: Saige Paints the Sky. The 13-year-old Southlake resident gotbrdiscovered, if you will, during a mall visit to buy a new American Girl dollbrfor her 9th birthday.
Best Dance Duo: AnitabrConley and Alexandra Johnson of Studio A
This duobrbrought contemporary dance to Southlake and then brought Southlake to New YorkbrCity. The company of Studio A took their performance of The Weaving all the way to Lincoln Center in New York. When they’rebrnot performing, the pros of Studio A are training and teaching Southlake’sbrfuture toe-tappers from age 2 and up.
Best Miracle in the Making: Groundbreakingbrof Miracle League Field
This past May, constructionbrbegan on the first Miracle League field in Southlake (scheduled to be completedbrin 2014). Brought to fruition by Miracle League Southlake president PhillipbrMeyer, the league is designed so that handicapped kids can enjoy playingbrAmerica’s pastime — because every child deserves a chance to play baseball.
Best Use of Style: NCLbrWild About Style Event
One of our favebrfundraisers this year, the National Charity League's Wild About Style eventbrthis past March, brought fashionistas out in force to raise money for several charities.brThe mother-daughter members of NCL strutted their stuff on a catwalk all tobrbenefit organizations including Metroport Meals on Wheels, Battered Women'sbrFoundation, GRACE Feed Our Kids and others.
Best Ten-Year-Old: GRACE Gala
It's thebrhottest fundraiser in town, and this year it celebrated its 10thbirthday. This past October, the Grapevine Relieve and Community Exchangebr(GRACE), an organization that aids residents in crisis, held its 10thannual black-tie fundraiser. The Angels Among Us gala raised upwards of $2brmillion to support the organization that offers area residents in need a newbrstart free of the concerns of financial woes, hunger, homelessness andbrillness.
Best Hospitality: Baylor Medical RegionalbrCenter's New Patient Tower
It had been in the works since 2011, and this past summer,brBaylor opened its $90 million new patient tower. This hospital has served NorthbrTexas for 60 years, and the new tower offers improved specialty facilities —brincluding new cardiac, radiology and NICU units — as well as 40 new bedsbrfeaturing superb amenities. It’s just the most recent example of how thebrhospital has continued to evolve to best support our community.
Best Peek Inside A High-End Home: JasonbrWitten's Home Hits the Market
We got a luckybrlook inside the home of the Cowboys tight end when it went on the market thisbrpast May, and we couldn’t believe our eyes. The sprawling $1.5 million, 7,500brsquare-foot house was full of palatial rooms, rich wood detailing and homeybrtouches. Our favorite part: Witten’s game room full of NFL memorabilia.
Best Milestone: BoardroombrSalon's 10th location
We love thisbrmen's salon's sophisticated take on grooming. With the feel of a 1920s countrybrclub, complimentary beverages and even a pool table, the Boardroom has abrdistinctively masculine feel that most men can agree on. Congratulations werebrin order to founders and Southlake residents Bruce and Heather Schultz when thebrBoardroom Salon for Men opened its 10th location this year.
Best Bucks Per Word: PrestonbrStone
This fourthbrgrader earned $5 a word — $2,500 in prizes — with his Best Mom Essay Contestbrsubmission. In the 500-word essay, Preston called his mom, Jerri Stone, “perfect,”br“an angle in disguise” and “magnetic to greatness.” He told us of his mom’sbrstrength, love and determination, easily earning the grand prize full ofbrgoodies for his mom.
Best Fear-Facer: DanbrHenry
We couldn'tbrbelieve that polished pro Dan Henry was once a supernervous telecaster, but ourbrApril cover subject told us that was definitely the case. Fortunately for us,brhe overcame his fear of public speaking and now delivers the forecast forbrtumultuous Texas weather to Metroplex viewers five nights a week on FOX4.
Best Mom on the Mic: DionnebrAnglin
This Keller mombrto two has covered hurricanes, politicians, crime, corruption and her share ofbrparades, but her passion lies in sharing stories of community, hope andbrtriumph. No wonder we love tuning into her newscasts at 5 p.m. on FOX4 daybrafter day.
Best Way to Go Green: RecyclebrCarts
With the roll-outbrof new recycle carts this past September, it got even easier to go green. Thebr95-gallon capacity carts marked a huge upgrade on the 18-gallon recyclingbrcontainers that overflowed with bottles, cans and newspapers. These bins canbrfit more than 100 uncrushed aluminum cans, 300 pounds of paper or, morebrrealistically, eight full 13-gallon trash bags. So recycle away!
Best Light At the Endbrof the Tunnel: DFW Connector
The year of never-ending highway improvements continued withbrsome serious milestones reached. We loved the completion of the north end ofbrthe DFW Connector this past fall. There’s still plenty of work to be done —brconstruction will continue until October 2014 — but we’re relieved to knowbrthat there was a definite end in sight.
Best Reason For Earplugs: AirportbrNoise
We could havebrused a little more space between us and DFW airport this past year when runwaybrconstruction caused the bustling air-traffic hub to use runways facingbrSouthlake for departures. Usually they're only used for arrivals, which hasbrmeant seriously noisy disruptions to our typically peaceful days.
Best Reason to StaybrIndoors: West Nile Spray
Low-flying airplanes were a welcome sight this past summerbras we got some much-needed relief from the summer scourge of mosquitoes. With concern over mosquito-borne illnessesbrlike West Nile at an all-time high, we took some serious comfort in the addedbrprotection, even if it meant we had to stay indoors during the periodicbrsprayings.
Best Community SPARK: LaurabrHill
Now in herbrsecond go-round as a city council member, Laura Hill has worked tirelessly forbrour community for years. Six years ago, she and several other leaders foundedbrStudents and Parents Against Risks to Our Kids (SPARK), with the goal ofbrfostering conversations amongst teens and adults about difficult issues. Thebrorganization has no doubt helped countless Southlake families.
Best New Leader: Citybrcouncilmember Randy Williamson
The freshestbrface on Southlake City Council just knew he’d found the place to call home whenbrhis family moved here seven years ago. They’d lived all over the county, butbrwhen Randy and his brood settled into Southlake, they knew they’d stay here forbrgood. The husband, father to four and rabid Rangers fan has put in yearsbrvolunteering for our city and community and was elected to city council thisbrpast spring.
Best Sweet-Tooth Satisfier: Truluck'sbrChocolate Bag
We discoveredbrthis deceitfully delicious dessert during a labor-intensive search this pastbrFebruary. It looks like a plain paper bag shaped of dark chocolate on thebroutside, but dive into this dessert, and you’ll find a delightful wonderland ofbrpound cake, fresh berries, nuts and chocolate chips all topped with caramel,brchocolate sauce and whipped cream.
Best Reason to Down A Beer: Duff'sbrhot wings
We dared atbrDuff’s Famous Wings to try sauces like Hot, Hot Hot and Death and were blownbraway by the burn of the Buffalo-born restaurant’s concoctions. So if you dobrlike us, be sure to have a cold glass of suds nearby to wash down the spicybrservings! You’ll be grateful for the attentive service when your glass nearsbrempty and it’s time for another round.
Best New Digs: Copeland's
This stand-bybron the restaurant scene located at the Hilton in Southlake got a seriousbrupgrade this past fall. With new flexibility to accommodate large parties, abrbrand-new bar with taps that serve liquor at 5 degrees Fahrenheit and loads ofbrflatscreen TVs for watching big games, our fave place for Crescent City cuisinebrgot a whole lot better.
Best Way Across The Pacific: HowardbrWang's
Finally, abrfresh take on Asian cuisine right here at home. Howard Wang’s opened up inbrSouthlake in July to our rave reviews. The restaurant’s family recipes andbrunique approach to traditional Chinese cuisine put it over the top for us. Withbran ambiance well suited to date night, Howard Wang’s became our go-to for Chinesebrin 2013.
Best Bringing It Back Home: DelbrFrisco's Grille
WhenbrSouthlake-based Del Frisco's Restaurant Group announced plans to open one ofbrits Del Frisco’s Grilles here in Southlake, we were beyond excited. We eagerlybranticipated the opening of the upscale joint and were sure to be one of thebrfirst to enjoy its new American cuisine!
Best Health Kick On the Go: SnappybrSalads
Created withbrthe ultrabusy and health-conscious in mind, Snappy Salads offers us exactlybrwhat we need: fast, healthy food options. You can pick up your choice ofbrsalads, soups or wraps, or dine in at one of the communal tables. Delicious doesn't begin to describe the greenbrofferings, which are, according to the restaurant's tagline, “So good, evenbrguys like them.”
Best List Worth thebrWait: TX Blended Whiskey
When the Fort Worth duo of Troy Robertson and LeonardbrFirestone began selling spirits in 2012, they couldn't have anticipated thebrresponse. By the start of 2013, they'd sold out of their product with waitingbrlists forming at area liquor stores. The award winning spirit was more thanbrworth the wait. But don't fret: The duo added more staff and increasedbrproduction and is more than capable of meeting our rather insatiable whiskeybrneeds.
Best Buzz: GrapevinebrCraft Brewery's original beers
Sure, FortbrWorth has Rahr & Sons and Dallas has Deep Ellum Brewery, but we wanted abrbeer we could call our own. Enter North Texas' boldest little brewery:brGrapevine Craft Brewery. Unanimously approved by Grapevine’s city council thisbrpast January, the company brewed up beers that hit taps in November. We can’tbrwait to go visit the GCB’s permanent home when it opens off Grapevine’s MainbrStreet next year!
Best bang for your (Star)Buck
Six miles wide,brbut five Starbucks deep: Here in Southlake, we're never too far from ourbrfavorite java haunt. Perhaps the most perplexing is the Starbucks inside TombrThumb (adjacent to the White's Chapel/Southlake Blvd. location that was therebryears before), but we think we speak for many when we say we love the newbrStarbucks on Nolen, complete with fast and friendly drive-thru service.
We remember -
Community Impact Award recipient Jack D.brJohnson.
Beloved Southlake Carroll Superintendent Jack D. Johnson passed away thisbrpast January. The December 2012 SouthlakebrStyle Community Impact Award recipient joined the then Carroll CommonbrSchool District in 1957 and served what would become CISD for 30 years asbrteacher, coach, principal and superintendent.
NFLbrBroadcast Legend Pat Summerall
A familiar face in Southlake since his retirement in 2002, Pat Summerall passedbraway this past April at the age of 82. He first captivated audiences with hisbrskills on the field as a placekicker for teams including the Detroit Lions andbrNew York Giants and then off the field with his signature deep voice announcingbrsporting events. He called 16 super bowls and 22 NFL seasons among otherbrsports.