Category: Gala

Fort Worth put on its boots again. On October 4th, the CloudDancer Gala 2025 brought the community together as they gathered at the Stockyards Station for our fourth annual Black Tie & Boots Gala — and it was the most powerful night in the organization’s history.

The evening opened with the familiar sounds of country music drifting through the stockyards as guests arrived in their finest — boots polished, hats in place, hearts full of purpose. What started in 2022 as a small gathering to honor Ashton Johnson and his dream of flight has grown into one of North Texas’s most anticipated philanthropic events. This year, supporters packed the house, and the energy from the moment the doors opened made it clear: the mission is resonating.

The Stockyards came alive on October 12th. Sold out before the doors opened, the CloudDancer Gala 2024 Black Tie & Boots Gala was a night the CloudDancer community won’t soon forget — and a milestone for the veterans we serve.

River Ranch Stockyards in Fort Worth has a way of making people feel the weight of Texas tradition — and this year, that backdrop made everything hit harder. Guests arrived in their finest boots and black tie, greeted by the sounds of country music rolling through the Stockyards. By the time the program started, the energy in the room made one thing clear: the mission was growing and the community was growing with it.

The evening raised $192,000 — from 82 supporters who dug deep at the live auction, bought tables, and showed up for veterans chasing a cockpit. Every dollar goes toward a private pilot certificate, the single credential the GI Bill still doesn’t cover.

The CloudDancer Gala 2023 proved the inaugural year wasn’t a fluke. The 2023 Black Tie & Boots Gala brought the CloudDancer community back to the dance floor with a bigger crowd, a louder auction, and a night that made clear — this organization had found its footing.

Austin Ranch in Trophy Club set the stage — a Texas Hill Country backdrop that felt like the right place for a room full of veterans, aviators, and supporters who believe a uniform earns the right to fly. Boots were polished, hats were tipped, and the evening unfolded exactly the way Joe Johnson envisioned when he founded this organization: a genuine Texas celebration of service, sacrifice, and second chapters.

Before the tradition had a name, before sold-out signs went up, before the auction paddles became a ritual — there was the first one. On October 15, 2022, the Ashton Johnson Memorial CloudDancer Scholarship hosted its inaugural Black Tie & Boots Gala at the CR Smith Museum in Fort Worth, and proved that a community built around one man’s legacy could fill a room, open wallets, and launch a mission that would outlast the evening.

The venue sold out. Military dignitaries, aviation leaders, and supporters from across Texas filled the museum — Lt. General Steven Polk (USAF, Ret.), FAA Chief of Staff Michael Davis, Parker County Attorney John Forrest, and Kevin Lacy among them. The CR Smith Museum, home to the historic Flagship DC-3, gave the evening a backdrop that felt fitting for a scholarship built around flight.