Thursday, April 3, 2025
Master of Ceremonies and Auctioneer
Frank Billingsley has been a favorite Houston TV weatherman for more than 30 years and retired in June of 2024 from KPRC Channel 2. He was chief meteorologist and investigative reporter, starting his TV career in Virginia. An author himself, he wrote Swabbed & Found, an accounting of his journey to find his birth parents. Through his book, Frank “put a human face” on the science of genealogy. He was a presenter at our 2022 Books and Brunch and emcee and auctioneer last year. He still serves the community by emceeing and acting as auctioneer at other fund raisers.
Guest Authors
Jean Becker served as chief of staff for President George H.W. Bush for nearly twenty-five years. She’s the editor of Pearls of Wisdom by Barbara Bush and author of the New York Times bestseller, The Man I Knew: The Amazing Story of George H.W. Bush’s Post Presidency. Her latest book, Character Matters: And Other Life Lessons from George H.W. Bush, was released in April 2024. Prior to her post as chief of staff, Jean served as deputy press secretary to First Lady Barbara Bush and was a newspaper reporter for 10 years, including a four-year stint at USA TODAY.
Russell Ybarra established Gringo’s Tex-Mex in 1993 and it came to life when Russell had the opportunity to take over a building in Pearland that had previously housed four failed restaurants. Russell’s philosophy of always serving the highest quality Tex-Mex at the lowest price possible has allowed Russell to grow a single unit to 23 locations which includes Jimmy Changas, Bullritos, The Lunch Box and Burger Libre, with four more locations in development. These establishments employ over 2,600 team members.
Thirty-one years later, with annual revenues expected to exceed 160 million dollars in 2024, Russell’s passion for the well-being of his team members and community is what drives him to continue the growth of his companies. He lives by his philosophy of taking care of what is important and the rest will fall into place. As the Founder and CEO of Gringo’s Tex-Mex & Jimmy Changas restaurants, he considers himself extremely fortunate to serve tacos and enchiladas for a living.
Last Year’s Event
February 22, 2024
