(Press Release) The sellout crowd at The 2014 Great Adventure Hunt, benefiting ChildCareGroup, hunted the night away on Saturday, February 8 at the Joule, all in the name of a great cause! Presenting Sponsor Alliance Data, major sponsors Bank of Texas, Brown-Forman, The Joule and 40 team sponsors raised more than $200,000 through The 2014 Great Adventure Hunt to support ChildCareGroup’s early childhood education programs. The raffle and live auction sales raised more than $25,000, thanks in part to co-chair Daryl Johnston and Hunt participant Emmitt Smith, who used their famous teamwork to help encourage generous bidding during the live auction. With big changes to this year's Hunt, including a new location, emcee and puzzle master, attendees enjoyed a fun and fast paced Hunt put on by this year's co-chairs Diane and Daryl Johnston, Amanda and Byron Neuhoff, and Kit and Kemp Sawers.
The puzzle solving was timed, and speed alone broke a three-way tie between the 2014 first, second, and third place winners. The 2014 Overall Champion was the Baker Botts, LLP team, led by Bart and Elizabeth Showalter. Teams won fun prizes for Best Team Name and Last Place. The JPMorgan team, led by Dotti Reeder, ChildCareGroup’s immediate past Board Chair, won the “Whodunnit!” End Clue, which solved the murder mystery of the CLUE-themed evening. Event Details A unique departure from a traditional gala, The Great Adventure Hunt is a fun and clever puzzle-solving hunt.
Kellie Rasberry, co-host of the Kidd Kraddick in the Morning show on 106.1 KISS FM served as a the event emcee. Rasberry even joined in the fun by hunting with friends along with the 240 participants, who compete on a team of six by solving puzzles and clues. Hunters celebrated their victory or lamented their defeat following the hunt at the first-ever After-Party hosted by The Joule in the hotel’s all-glass Terrace Room overlooking downtown. This year’s Puzzle Master was Tom Shroder, an award-winning journalist, best-selling author and former editor of The Washington Post Magazine. Along with humorists Dave Barry and Gene Weingarten, Shroder is also known for the creation of the Herald Hunt in Miami and the Post Hunt in Washington, attended by thousands each year.
ChildCareGroup (CCG) is a nonprofit leader in early childhood education programs for low-income families. CCG’s mission is to promote, deliver and expand the best early care and education programs for children, parents and early childhood professionals. Established in 1901 to care for the children of women who worked in the Dallas cotton mills, CCG is recognized as the community’s leading resource in early care and education, providing vital resources to prepare children for success in school and to help lift families out of poverty. For more information, about ChildCareGroup and the Great Adventure Hunt, visit childcaregroup.org and greatadventurehunt.wordpress.com.
Photos provided by ChildCareGroup
Top: The 2014 Great Adventure Hunt Co-Chair’s Team, “TTB,” pose with Emcee Kellie Rasberry and CCG President/CEO, Tori Mannes. Left to right: Daryl and Diane Johnston, Kellie Rasberry, co-host of the Kidd Kraddick in the Morning show on 106.1 KISS FM, Amanda and Byron Neuhoff, 2014 Co-Chairs, Kemp Sawers, 2014 Co-Chair. Front: Kit Sawers, 2014 Co-Chair, Tori Mannes, ChildCareGroup President/ CEO
Bottom: Clue Themed characters pose for a photo. Left to right: Mr. Green, Professor Plum, Ms. Peacock, Ms. Scarlet, Ms. White and Col. Mustard