(Houston, TX – July 16, 2007)
Houston event planners and designers, mix with three magnificent luxury homes in a top-ranked golf course community, add an incredibly worthwhile cause, and what will you be celebrating?

One of the year’s most festive events — Fall Creek’s Life of the Party, benefiting the Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation.

Life of the Party will take flight Thursday, October 4, from 7-9 p.m. Literally. Life Flight will fly over the invitation-only event launch co-sponsored by Fall Creek and Redstone Golf Club in the community’s Rose Creek Village; then the Life Flight crew will offer helicopter tours and pose for pictures with party guests.

Funds raised by the Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation support brain cancer research at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and initiatives at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. In 2007, the foundation’s funding for Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital is earmarked for the first Life Flight helicopter specifically outfitted for pediatric patients.

Honorary co-chairs of the Thursday night event are Rhonda and Dr. Sam Hassenbusch, Michael and Dr. Kelly DeScioli, Michelle and Dave Feavel and Alison and Craig Cordola.

The revelry continues with a profusion of party ideas, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., October 5-7 and 12-14 in the master-planned community surrounding Redstone Golf Club.

While Huntington Homes, Westport Homes and Partners in Building have orchestrated the interior styling of the golf-course homes, Fall Creek is pulling out all of the stops for Life of the Party. Event planners and designers including Darryl Murchison Design, The Events Company, Events & Designs by Erika, Party Props, Elias Events, Ideal Party Decorators, Cher Binks Events, For All Occasions, Room Remedies by Rebecca, The Design Studio, Breen’s and Behind the Scenes are transforming the homes into a veritable party wonderland.

Each home will illustrate a variety of lavish party themes.

Hearts and flowers will bloom at the Partners in Building estate, with Events & Design by Erika setting the stage for an engaging Valentine’s Day love fest. Darryl Murchison Design will continue the romance with Bridal Party — a storybook wedding overlooking the No. 8 hole of the Member Course at Redstone Golf Club. The Design Studio will spring into action with Cinco de Mayo “fiestivities.”

In the Huntington manse, The Events Company is going to get spooky on the scene, with a Haunting Halloween, while Behind the Scenes will stage the ultimate Children’s Birthday Extravaganza, replete with a treasure trove of treats from Dylan’s Candy Bar. Then, Ideal Party Decorators and Cher Binks Events will toast La Nouvelle Année with a celestial New Year’s Eve celebration topped off by a Champagne tasting.

At the Westport abode, For All Occasions and Room Remedies by Rebecca envision a glittering Fairy Tale Christmas, while Party Props and Elias Events will let the good times roll in raucous Mardi Gras mode. And speaking of fanciful tales, Breen’s will hop into cottontail mode with an Easter Bunny Blast to tickle the fancy of any party animal.

This gala event will do much more than inject life into the Houston party scene. All profits from event ticket sales and sponsorships will benefit the Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation, established in memory of Dr. Marnie Rose, a University of Texas-Houston Medical School pediatric resident at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, who starred in the critically acclaimed ABC reality television series, Houston Medical, to raise awareness of brain cancer. Tragically, Dr. Rose died from complications of brain cancer five weeks after the show’s final episode aired in August 2002.

“By allowing Houston Medical to document her personal and professional life, Marnie put a face on the disease,” said her mother, Lanie Rose, who, with her husband, Jerry, established the foundation and organized a fun run in memory of Dr. Rose.

Since its 2003 inception, the Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation has raised $850,000 through its Run for the Rose/Ridin’ for the Rose event.

Fifty percent of the proceeds from the annual event fund an immunotherapy protocol at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center — Dr. Amy Heimberger’s phase II clinical trial of the EGFRvIII peptide vaccine, which boosts the immune system and significantly increases life expectancy for glioblastoma patients. Contributions enable new patients to enter the clinical trial. The foundation is the only one in Houston funding brain cancer research at M. D. Anderson, which has one of the largest brain cancer centers in the nation, if not the world.

The research funding is urgently needed. According to the American Cancer Society, 17,000 people were diagnosed with a form of brain cancer in 2006. Of those, more than 13,000 succumbed to the disease.

The other half of the proceeds from Run for the Rose/Ridin’ for the Rose  events fund initiatives at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, including the creation and development of the Pediatric Palliative Care Program and Marnie’s Garden in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and the Rose Pod (a pod of pediatric rooms). As mentioned above, 2007 foundation funds benefiting Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital are earmarked for the first Life Flight helicopter specifically outfitted for pediatric patients.

About the Life of the Party Honorary Co-Chairs

Rhonda and Dr. Sam Hassenbusch, Michael and Dr. Kelly DeScioli, Michelle and Dave Feavel and Alison and Craig Cordola have signed on as honorary co-chairs of Life of the Party, a fun-loving event that benefits a serious subject near and dear to their hearts. Recently interviewed by Katie Couric for the CBS Evening News, Dr. Hassenbusch is a brain cancer survivor. Ironically, he is the M. D. Anderson neurosurgeon who operated on Dr. Marnie Rose when she was fighting for her all-too-short life. As part of his cancer treatment, Dr. Hassenbusch participated in an immunotherapy clinical trial funded by the Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation. He was the first patient to combine the immunotherapy protocol with the brain cancer drug, Temodar.

Dr. DeScioli, a Baylor College of Medicine pediatric resident at Texas Children’s Hospital, also is a brain cancer survivor. Michelle and Dave Feavel are her parents.

Craig Cordola is chief executive officer of Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.

Photo Information

Honorary Co-Chairs
Photo Credit: Colleen Lastrapes Photography

Michael and Dr. Kelly DeScioli, Dr. Sam and Rhonda Hassenbusch, Jerry and Lanie Rose, Dave and Michelle Feavel and Alison and Craig Cordola. The DeSciolis, Hassenbusches, Feavels and Cordolas are honorary co-chairs of Life of the Party, a showcase of luxury homes at Fall Creek featuring festive party decorations by Houston’s leading party planners and designers. The Roses established a foundation in memory of their daughter, Dr. Marnie Rose. For more information about the event, which benefits the Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation, call 281.458.8000.

Darryl Murchison Design

Photo Credit: Darryl Murchison Design
Darryl Murchison Design will create a storybook wedding celebration overlooking the No. 8 hole of the Member Course at Redstone Golf Club.