A record 8,600 friends of the Lanier Law Firm attended the Houston firm’s annual holiday party on Dec. 14, where teen popster Miley Cyrus, star of the Disney show “Hannah Montana,” entertained a huge crowd that included thousands of screaming, dancing preteen girls. W. Mark Lanier , who hosted the party on the grounds of his house in northwest Houston with his wife, Becky, says partygoers donated a covered wagon full of school supplies and more than $250,000 for Guatemala SANA. The charity was established by Rafael Espada, the vice president of Guatemala and a former doctor in Houston. Lanier says every penny donated at the party will go directly to the charity and its educational programs. Lanier says they hired Cyrus for the show to bring a large crowd to the Christmas Cheer and Charity event, which also featured plenty of food, games and carnival entertainment. Lanier says Cyrus performed at a reduced fee, because it was a charitable fundraiser, but he says he can’t say how much the firm paid her. But he notes that she was booked for a 45-minute show and actually sang for 90 minutes, which he says is the longest nonstop show she’s ever performed. Next year’s party will likely double as another fundraiser for Guatemala SANA, Lanier says. Who can top Cyrus? Lanier declines to confirm or deny the rumor that Elton John will take the stage at the 2009 holiday party, but he says it is true that he and Becky had dinner with John at the British singer’s house two or three months ago. “He’s a very nice gentleman,” Lanier says.
Running Man
Larry Macon knows all about life on the run. When the San Antonio litigator crossed the finish line of the Dallas White Rock Marathon on Dec. 14, he marked his 105th marathon this year and qualified for the Guinness Book of World Records. “I am clearly a maniac,” jokes Macon, who will turn 64 this month. Friends celebrated his milestone with balloons and hugs at the home stretch, and he’s now in the process of putting together his packet of documentation, including affidavits signed by race directors, to submit to Guinness to prove he really did hit 105. Macon says packing that many races into a 12-month period wasn’t so much a physical test as it was a logistical feat, especially when airlines canceled flights he relied on to take him to faraway races in smaller cities. “It was challenging to see how to get to Nowhere, Wyoming,” he notes, “but the stars were perfectly lined up this year.” Then he had to go the distance, literally. “Six times this year there have been triples where I have been able to do three in a weekend — those were like Labor Day, Memorial Day and Thanksgiving — and there’s one day where I did two in 24 hours,” he says. While that’s a fast pace for sure, Macon is used to packing his calendar with destination races. He’s a member of the 50 States Marathon Club, meaning he has run a marathon in all 50 states — actually, he says it’s more like seven times in all states, and he just needs one more race in Rhode Island to be able to boost his overall honor to eight per state. Yet Macon says balancing his need for speed with a busy practice — he’s a partner in Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld — isn’t as hard as it may seem. “I leave Friday afternoon, fly someplace, run and then either fly or drive or fly-drive-and-bike to whenever the next adventure is on Sunday, then I am back here late Sunday night,” he says. Sometimes he can even mix business and pleasure. “I have three clients who, on occasion, I run with. We run Boston every year together,” he says. Although Macon is now on the road to world record status, he says he’s not planning to stop and unlace anytime soon. In fact, he’ll be back on track on Jan. 3, 2009, for the Mississippi Blues Marathon in Jackson. Catch him if you can.
