Travel is food for the soul. If everyone had the opportunity to wander more, imagine how culturally rich and empathetic the world could be. I realize I have been blessed to have the chance to visit nearly every country on the planet and it’s something I’ve never taken for granted. …

It seems like just yesterday when former Mayor Bill White asked me to put together a task force to boost the film industry in Houston. We officially formed the Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) in 2008 to meet that need. HCAS does an outstanding job of celebrating film in one…

I want to make a difference in the lives of others. It’s something I feel I was born to do. I have been very blessed in my life and I enjoy sharing that with others. I believe making a difference begins in our communities. It starts on the local level…

Ernest Hemingway once said there is no friend as loyal as a book. Since I’ve been a child, I have always looked at reading as a gift. When I was assigned books to read in school, it never felt like a chore. Instead, it felt like something magical I got…

A little over a year after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in 2017, I hosted a shopping spree at Target for families who had been heavily affected by the tempest. That catastrophic Category 4 storm caused $125 billion of damage and left more than 8,000 people displaced and staying in hotels…

Pablo Picasso once said, “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” Imagine how dull a life without art would be. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we all developed an even deeper appreciation for art, especially with so many museums and galleries being closed and…

Philanthropist and retired corporate attorney Franci Neely says some of the best advice she’s ever been given is to avoid procrastination. She says she was originally inspired by Steve Susman, a fellow partner at the law firm Susman Godfrey LLP. “His advice was to give birth to high-quality work product…

I think we’ve all been there. There’s some pressing task that must be done and it seems impossible to put down that riveting new novel or stop binge-watching that incredible Netflix series. It’s tempting, but I learned early on in my career that procrastination should be avoided at all costs…

Franci Neely believes giving back is always in style and says she’s proud to be a longtime supporter of Inprint, a Houston-based literary arts nonprofit organization founded in 1983. “Through its 40 years of celebrating the diversity of literature supporting writers of all ages and backgrounds, Inprint has become an…