Mother, daughter duo team up for Evolve Gala for the Centers

Allison Cox found the “bridge” she needed was her mother, Montine McNulty.

During the covid pandemic, Cox no longer had to commute to work and had extra time on her hands so she offered to be a volunteer at the Centers for Youth and Families. She was assigned to the silent auction committee.

“Then I started a new job and needed to get all these things [for Centers] that I had committed to and so I went “Mom! Help!!’”

McNulty had recently retired after 24 years as chief executive officer of the Arkansas Hospitality Association and was able to step in and help out. The mother-daughter duo’s journey is the perfect analogy for this year’s Evolve Gala for the Centers. The theme is “Be a Bridge,” inspired by the children’s book of the same name by Irene Latham and Charles Waters.

The book is described by Amazon.com as rhyming verses “in dif

ferent ways in which readers can ‘be a bridge,’ from welcoming a new student and listening respectfully when someone else is talking to standing up to a bully and comforting a classmate who is upset.”

On the back of the book is a message: “You’ve got a job to do — BE A BRIDGE.”

Cox and McNulty are in charge of obtaining silent and live auction items for the April 15 event at the Wally Allen Ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center.

Cox was at Simmons Bank when she first volunteered at Centers. She now is the chief people officer — aka human resource director — at Encore Bank.

“When I think of children and families that are going through hard times — especially during covid — they need that emotional support and they need therapy. It’s just something I’ve always been drawn to,” she says. “I made a list of organizations that I might want to be involved in and this was the top of my list.”

“I knew she had a passion for it and I wanted to be involved too,” McNulty says.

The Centers is a mental and behavioral health provider with locations in Little Rock and Monticello serving

socially and emotionally challenged and at-risk youth, runaways, foster children and families, survivors of human trafficking and adults suffering from mental and behavioral challenges.

The black-tie optional gala is a major fundraising event for the Centers. It will be McNulty’s first time to attend the event.

“I was just the gopher last year. I just gathered stuff,” McNulty says.

In addition to her work for the Centers, Cox is the chairwoman of the Alzheimer’s Association for the Central Arkansas chapter.

McNulty says she is not currently volunteering for another organization. Her daughter is quick to interrupt.

“She has her entire life and I feel like that is where I got it from,” Cox says. “Up until I was in 7th grade, you volunteered all of the time.”

In her role at the Arkansas Hospitality Association, McNulty says she worked on many auctions.

“I was always asking for things,” McNulty says. “I went to an event last night and I was working the room.”

At that event, she saw a representative from Ben. E. Keith — the food and beverage distributor — and “hit him up.”

“I thought I was going to get 20 pounds of filet or something and I thought that would be great. But he said ‘I have this cabin on the Little Red River that I may extend it for you for a week.’”

Other auction items include a rare bottle of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, a fournight stay at a home on Lake Ouachita, a one-week stay for 10 in Costa Rica, a week at a mountain lodge in North Carolina, a Mediterranean-theme party for 24 at a home in the Heights, a painting by John Kushmaul and a diamond choker necklace from Sissy’s Log Cabin.

“The silent auction was one of the best I have ever seen and I love a great silent auction,” Cox says of the offerings at Evolve.

Some of the auction items were provided by the Champions of Hope — 56 young

Central Arkansas men, most of them in grades 11 and 12, who wanted to be involved in their community, earn service hours and engage in leadership and philanthropy activities.

The young men will be recognized at the event for their service.

Del Boyette, president and CEO of Boyette Strategic Advisors, also will be honored.

“Del is being honored for his commitment to the community for helping so many philanthropic organizations and for his commitment to the Centers and changing the lives of children and youth who are served by programs at the Centers and for his career accomplishments,” says Melissa Hendricks, foundation director for the Centers.

After the presentations, guests will get to vote for their favorite performer during The Choice — Centers’ spin on “The Voice” singing contest on NBC. This year’s contestants are Bijoux Pighee, Teri Cox-Meadows and Craig Wilson.

The evening will culminate with dancing to Dizzy 7.

“Everything is just gorgeous. The whole room is so well done. The programming is great. Then you have the singers and the entertainment and, of course, honoring Del,” Cox says.

“When I think of children and families that are going through hard times — especially during covid — they need that emotional support and they need therapy.”

— Allison Cox