Wear your green and head over to Open Palette, inside Sheraton Dallas Hotel, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day today, Wednesday, March 17, with green beer and shepherd’s pie as special menu items for the holiday. Open Palette is open from 4-10pm and is located inside Sheraton Dallas Hotel in downtown Dallas. 

The green beer options are Four Corners Brewing Co.’s El Grito and Rahr & Sons Brewing Company’s Dadgum IPA and will be available for purchase at $5. The shepherd’s pie is $15.

Open Palette is the hotel's signature restaurant and bar and offers modern American cuisine with a bold spin on flavors.

Sheraton Dallas Hotel is the largest hotel in North Texas with 1,840 guest rooms and 230,000 square feet of flexible meeting and convention spaces and is located in Downtown Dallas, right off the DART Pearl/Arts District station. The hotel's address is 400 N Olive St., Dallas, TX 75201.

Looking for a destination for a weekend getaway or spring staycation with friends or family? Sheraton Dallas Hotel is offering a Spring Break package for guests to enjoy time with their family during the break from school or just to get away with friends. The rate includes a welcome amenity, two adult CityPASS tickets to explore the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Reunion Tower GeO-Deck, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza and the Dallas Zoo. The offer is valid now through April 30, 2021 based upon availability with a minimum of a two-night stay. Spring Break rooms can be booked online here with the code MAJ.

Texans Can Academies announces the retirement of Richard Marquez as CEO and president. Starting in 2007, Marquez led the organization’s expanded efforts to promote literacy and thinking as well as to provide direct services to students in need. Texans Can is extremely grateful for his years of tireless dedication and service.

Following Marquez’s retirement, Dr. James Ponce, Superintendent of Texans Can, assumes responsibility for all areas of School District operations. A veteran educator and administrator, Ponce brings nearly 28 years of experience to the dropout recovery school, which offers education solutions to nearly 5,000 students at its fourteen locations statewide.  

Since joining Texans Can in 2016 as Chief of Schools and as part of the organization’s succession plan, Ponce has been responsible for all academic strategy, staff and instructional implementation in the district. He has also directed the management of the district’s facilities and instructional budgets.

Prior to joining Texans Can, Ponce was superintendent of schools for the McAllen, Texas, school district. While with McAllen, Ponce was honored as a Top Five State Finalist in the 2013 Texas Association of Superintendents’ State of Texas Superintendent of the Year award. Before becoming a superintendent, he held positions as a teacher, principal, area superintendent and deputy chief of staff in the Dallas Independent School District. 

More recently, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ponce led the design and management of the district’s virtual learning and safety program. He and his team worked tirelessly to implement academic programs and place crucial technology in students’ hands. An urban educator, Ponce recognized customized software solutions, innovative instructional plans, and methods of connection called for immediate development and deployment to keep students engaged and learning.

Texans Can looks forward to the future under Dr. Ponce’s leadership. 

Open Palette’s Bar in Sheraton Dallas Hotel is offering drink and food specials this Sunday, February 7th. Join Open Palette to cheer on your favorite team, watch the entertaining commercials and tune in for the halftime show while enjoying drink and food specials.

The specials at Open Palette’s Bar include:

• $1 off on all draft beer

• $25 bucket of domestic beer

• 15% off Open Palette’s regular dinner menu (dine-in only)

Open Palette is Sheraton Dallas Hotel’s signature restaurant and bar offering fresh, flavorful American classics inspired by the hotel’s Dallas roots. There is a wide selection of domestic, imported and local beers as well as wines. Many cocktails are also on the menu to choose from. 

The Sheraton Dallas Hotel is the largest hotel in North Texas with 1,840 guest rooms and 230,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and is located in Downtown Dallas. It recently underwent a renovation in November 2019. The hotel is conveniently located in the city’s downtown district, near Dallas Arts District, American Airlines Center, Fair Park and the diverse Deep Ellum neighborhood. 

In times of challenge and triumph, we look to our leaders for guidance. The school board at Texans Can Academies, a unique network of 14 dropout prevention and recovery schools located in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, has gone above and beyond this year to ensure that the non-profit organization’s staff has all the resources needed to continue to provide excellent and customized academic instruction for its at-risk student population.  

During the pandemic, the board has convened more frequently to ensure the schools are safe environments to teach and learn, reviewing each campus’ physical operations to support social distancing and CDC guidelines. Texans Can Academies would like to extend a special and big thank you to their hard-working and dedicated school board members during School Board Recognition Month. 

Texans Can Academies’ governing Board of Trustees is a group of talented volunteers who dedicate their time and energy to the non-profit school system. As board members, they are expected to provide management, oversight and governance for all Texans Can Academies schools comprising nearly 5,000 students, all on a volunteer basis. The board also oversees America Can! Cars for Kids, the vehicle-donation program that raises much needed funds each year to support the students of Texans Can Academies.

Thanks to the devoted support and resources of these community leaders, Texans Can Academies can fulfill its mission of providing the highest quality education for all students who have struggled in a traditional high school setting in order to ensure their economic independence. 

Many thanks, love and gratitude go to:

• Chairman of the Board, Mr. Rudy Oeftering

• Vice Chairman of the Board, Ms. Regina M. Thompson

• Secretary of the Board, Anna M. Torres 

• Treasurer of the Board, Michael T. Casey

• Board Member, Robert Nelson, MD

• Board Member, Penny Rayfield

Prism Health North Texas (PHNTX) is working to fight the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS in the North Texas community with a new Anti HIV Stigma campaign. The largest AIDS organization in North Texas launched the campaign as part of their decades-long efforts to push for awareness, acceptance, and kindness for HIV positive members of the community.

HIV stigma is the term for negative attitudes, beliefs, and judgements about people living with, perceived to be living with, or at risk for HIV. Stigma has been an issue since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began. Lack of knowledge, fear, and the spreading of public rumors are among the many causes of HIV stigma. Although there have been great advancements in HIV prevention and treatment, there are still misconceptions about HIV that continue to fuel stigma today.

“There have been tremendous strides made in HIV treatment and prevention, but HIV stigma is still prevalent today – even within the LGBTQ+ community,” said Tri Truong, Marketing Manager for Prism Health North Texas. “We are publishing online conversations with experts and community leaders about HIV stigma and the role it plays in different communities and cultures. Our goal is to normalize HIV as a manageable health condition and encourage open and honest conversations about HIV.”

The campaign, headlined by messaging that those with HIV deserve health care, acceptance, life, and love, is sponsored in part by the Southern AIDS Coalition’s SPARK! (Southerners Promoting Awareness, Resources, & Knowledge) Grant initiative. 

“These messages were crafted with the friends and family of someone living with HIV in mind. It is letting their loved ones know that a person living with HIV still deserves acceptance, love, to live, and access to quality health care,” Truong added. “Having a conversation about HIV can be difficult, but it is the first step to learn about HIV and dispel any myths about HIV.”

• I deserve acceptance: Ending HIV stigma begins with open conversations. Clear communication breaks down misconceptions and stereotypes about people living with HIV. This work creates the path to acceptance. 

• I deserve health care: Finding HIV care, treatment, and education can be difficult, and it can be expensive, especially without insurance. There are countless organizations and programs in our community that provide quality HIV care in a safe and affirming place, many at low to no cost.

• I deserve to live: Life doesn’t stop with an HIV positive diagnosis. With HIV treatment, people living with HIV can continue to live their life. Dancing, working out, having a great sex life - there are no limits.

• I deserve love: An HIV positive diagnosis shouldn’t change how much someone is loved and supported.

North Texans can learn more about PHNTX’s efforts to fight HIV stigma at phntx.org/hiv-stigma or they can tune into the organization’s weekly podcast series, Beneath the Briefs, for a five part series on HIV that includes deep discussion of stigma and how to address it.

The campaign is supported by a grant from the Southern AIDS Coalition through the Gilead COMPASS Initiative®. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has had no input into the development or content of these materials.”