EFNT’s hosts and honoree have a little fun before the 10th annual Spirit of Entrepreneurship event. Back row, from left: Pam Gerber, EFNT executive director, and Jenna Hovey, EFNT program associate, threaten to oust (front row, from left)  Patrick Brandt, Telligent CEO and EFNT chairman; Herb Kelleher, Southwest Airlines founder and chairman emeritus; and Ray Hunt, Hunt Consolidated Inc. chairman, president and ECO, from their airline seats for bad behavior.
Entrepreneurs for North Texas (EFNT) honored Herb Kelleher, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Southwest Airlines, by inducting him into their “Ring of Entrepreneurs” at the Spirit of Entrepreneurship celebration. The theme of the April 20 event was “LUV Your Company, LUV Your Community.”
Kelleher was introduced by Ray Hunt and participated in a Q&A session moderated by Patrick Brandt, CEO of Telligent. Kelleher joins a prestigious group of leaders who have been inducted into the “Ring of Entrepreneurs” for their far-reaching philanthropic contributions. Previous honorees include Bill Lively, Jim Keyes, Ray Hunt, Craig Hall, T. Boone Pickens, Roger Staubach and Charles and Sam Wyly.
Proceeds from the event’s sponsors and silent auction support EFNT, a fund of Communities Foundation of Texas that facilitates community involvement and philanthropy for small and mid-sized companies. EFNT leverages the resources of entrepreneurs and their companies to give back to their communities while they build their businesses and professional networks. Additionally, EFNT auctioned unique “Face Time” lunches with business leaders including Garrett Boone, Ray Hunt, Jim Keyes, Bill Lively, Phil Romano, Gail Warrior and Charles Wyly.
The event was supported by the “Spirit Of The Entrepreneur” sponsors Hunt Investment Group and Hunt Energy Enterprises; Platinum sponsors Sevin Rosen Funds and Warrior Group; Silent auction sponsors Telligent and iWave Software; V.I.P. reception sponsors BKD LLP and Roach Howard Smith & Barton; Silver sponsors Ernst & Young, Montgomery Coscia Greilich LLP and bigBANG!; Bronze sponsors Coda Construction, hck2 Partners and MarketWave; and Copper sponsors Alon USA, Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP, Comerica, Hall Way Group, Heritage Auction Galleries, Frontier Capital, Business Access, Cabot Consultants and Metz Insurance & Financial.
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