Afternoon Tea to Honor LCAHouston Woodlands Edition International Moms

LCAHouston Woodlands Edition International Mother’s Day Soirée embraced motherhood and women empowerment, highlighting The Interfaith Ministries of The Woodlands, at its second annual luncheon with a packed house.

The 200 plus guests had tears of joy as Showstopper Missy Herndon, President & CEO of both Interfaith of The Woodlands and Interfaith Community Clinic strutted the runway with her sons. Missy’s journey changed paths when her oldest son, Will, then 6 years old, was diagnosed with juvenile Batten disease and given a fatal prognosis. In 2009, Missy and her husband, Wayne, co-founded HOPE: The Will Herndon Research Fund. The mission is simple: To SAVE WILL. With the support of an amazing team of families, the fund has raised nearly $9 million to date in The Woodlands community and continues raising awareness and funds to find a treatment to save Will. The community effort led the research to the FDA, where the treatment received clinical trial approval in the Fall of 2021.

Since 2016, Missy serves as President and CEO of Interfaith of The Woodlands and Interfaith Community Clinic. As CEO of Interfaith, Missy oversees nearly 400 employees and manages the $28+ million non-profit organization that focuses on providing basic needs to our neighbors in crisis. The charity Clinic serves the medical, dental and behavioral health needs of our uninsured neighbors residing in all of Montgomery County. In her spare time, Missy loves spending time with her family and friends, serving her community and working on HOPE.

The Woodlands witnessed an afternoon of fashionable ladies in hats and fascinators and dapper gentlemen at The Woodlands Country Club in mid October.

According to the Hindu Indian calendar, October marks the celebration of Goddess Durga (also significant to motherhood). So it was just a perfect coincidence for LCAHouston to host its Woodlands Edition of the International Mothers Day Soirée during that month.

“To empower a woman is to empower a nation,” these great words were a part of a United Nations women’s empowerment campaign, and were also quoted by our very own Founder/Host Ruchi Mukherjee. Keeping with the tradition, Event Co Chair Meka Coxon spoke to the audience of the significance of motherhood in various communities. “It’s one of the most important roles,” she explained.

The Palmer Course was filled with the sounds of Live Jazz music by Tianna Hall alongside a stunning Flower Wall as spectators were reflecting Houston’s and Woodlands’s diversity. The gap between mainstream and ethnic communities was seamlessly brought together as ethnically diverse mothers walked the runway with their children. The ten deserving 2022 honorees included:

Marlén Aranda;
Tina Kosh Goodson;
Masha Grimes;
Loren Hamilton;
Dr. Cheryl Haseeb, DNP;
Diana Nemeth;
Christine H. Nguyen, CPA;
Lorrie Parise;
Courtney Pell Wilkerson; and
Missy Herndon.

KPRC Channel 2 Anchor/Reporter Keith Garwin served as the emcee alongside Ms. Mukherjee with a fun repartee of cultural talks.

The group of moms featured were a mix of everything. From women with their own businesses, to anchor women, to doctors, this group of women truly exemplified that women can do anything. Despite having busy careers and a full social calendar, each of these women have been able to balance it with motherhood and family life – an incredible feat to say the least. “The Woodlands community is beautiful and so philanthropic but it was lacking a little glamour and color and so it was about time LCAHouston launched its Soirée in the woods, explains Ms. Mukherjee. “Our mission is to help businesses and women of all color to connect and thrive. This event has been an incredible platform to bridge the gap while we bow to motherhood.”

“We are thrilled to see this expand and grow and watching the communities come together through this event is beautiful as we celebrate motherhood,” shared BMW West General Manager Maria Moncada Aloui.

Spotted in the crowd a mix of both Houston’s and Woodlands who’s who: Amy & JJ Hollie, Kevin Coxon, Leslie Coxon, Walter Sassard, Jen Toress, Maria Moncada Alaoui, Aparna Dave, Tracy Henderson, Ryan Wilkerson, Nellie Happ, Nicole Preston, Yuan Yuan, Purvee Mehta, and Peta Ledbetter Gay.

Photos by Quy Tran