Houstonians Rally Behind Crime Stoppers of Houston to ‘Keep our City Safe’ and Honor Distinguished Community Members at Annual Houston’s Heroes Awards Luncheon

After more than a year of cancelled in-person events in Houston, 220 guests, were happy to be out lending their support to Crime Stoppers of Houston at its annual Houston’s Heroes Awards Luncheon, which was held on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel.

The long overdue fundraiser honored and celebrated outstanding community members who have made incredible contributions to make Houston and Texas a safer place to live, work, learn and play. Due to COVID-19 protocols, the event was also livestreamed via ZOOM for virtual supporters.

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 non-profit in local and statewide communities and schools.

Led by Dana Tyson, host of Sunny 99.1 Morning Show, the lively afternoon festivities included opening remarks from Crime Stoppers CEO and host of The Balanced Voice Podcast Rania Mankarious, followed by an inspirational presentation of awards. The Legends Ballroom buzzed with excitement as guests were joyfully mingling in person. Dana refocused the crowd with stories of reflection before announcing a virtual surprise from former HPD Chief Art Acevedo who joined in from his Miami PD office to congratulate his esteemed colleague Commander Dale and offered words of encouragement to the room filled with crime fighters.

The luncheon concluded with Houston Media Icon Dave Ward unveiling the 2021 Dave Ward Media Excellence Award. This award was named after Ward who was instrumental in establishing Crime Stoppers in Houston in 1981. A surprised recipient Dave Strickland, KPRC Channel 2 News Director, then came on stage and was joined by KTRK 13 Ted Oberg the inaugural recipient of this award for brief remarks.

The following 2021 Heroes were presented with distinguished awards for being positive contributors to the community through their long-standing support of crime prevention and public safety initiatives that make Houston, and Texas, safer for all:

The Johnny Klevenhagen Award – Houston Police Department Commander James Dale: Recognized for his 26+ year career at the Houston Police Department and his significant contributions to fighting crime, specifically human trafficking and his work with non-profits like Crime Stoppers.
The Fenner Weller Award – State Representative Jim Murphy: Recognized for working tirelessly to pass bills, including the Parole Bill HB 3387 and Summer Camp Bill HB 4372, that make Texas a safer place to live. Rep. Murphy’s heart and passion has changed victims into victors.
The Leiv Platou Award – Hazem Ahmed: Recognized for his significant contributions to public safety as a volunteer, board member and tireless advocate for Crime Stoppers of Houston for over 9 years now, providing a wealth of knowledge and guidance to the organization.
The Corporate Citizen Award – H-E-B: Recognized for their commitment to public safety, especially the Crime Stoppers Safe School Institute which educates students, teachers and school personnel on the Tip Line and critical safety issues to keep them safe while at school. They have been instrumental in the Crime Stoppers rewards committee for many years and have assisted to curb crime in all community retail community retail stores through the Greater Houston Loss Prevention Alliance.
The Safe School Award – Jerri Duddlesten Moore: Recognized for her enormous heart for the children of today and an unmet compassion to reach all students in all communities. Her tremendous support of the Crime Stoppers Safe School Institute has allowed the program to grow and reach over 1 million students with critical safety information related to reporting weapons on school campuses, cyber safety, teen dating violence and much more.
The Women Who Shape Houston Award – Brigitte Kalai: Recognized for her incredible philanthropic contributions, specifically her history of championing causes that uplift women and children. She has been instrumental in bringing Crime Stoppers into many of her personal events and connecting the organization within many communities.
Partner of the Year Award – Lawrence and Linda Levy: Recognized for their incredible support of the Crime Stoppers anonymous Tip Line and their work to help the organization launch an anti-terrorism community task force, as well as creating many new connections that have directly impacted the growth of the Safe Community and Safe School Institute.

While the focus of the afternoon was to honor incredible heroes, Crime Stoppers was able to raise additional funds to continue their critically important crime-solving work through the famed 713-222-TIPS Tip Line and expand their free crime prevention and safety education which is provided through their Safe Community Program and Safe School Institute.

“After a year of no in-person events, coming together to celebrate this group of Houston Heroes was incredibly special. 2020 was a year like no other, with crime spiking and so many other issues escalating. Honoring those who rose above, added solutions, worked hand-in-hand with community partners, fought for safety, and did it all with grace and compassion, was not only timely and warranted, but also somewhat therapeutic. What a joy this year’s event was for all.” shares Crime Stoppers CEO Rania Mankarious.

Photos by Quy Tran