History of VICTORY Houston, Inc.
The late Darrel Dacus founded VICTORY in 1987. He, along with ninety-one female volunteer founding members, created the organization dedicated to eradicating cancer, with a three-year goal of establishing a Ball as a successful annual event for a national non-profit.
In 1988, VICTORY began with a “Founders Party” to gain experience and promote community acceptance in preparation for the first Ball. The Founder’s Party enabled VICTORY to present $147,000 to the national non-profit to help find a cure for cancer. VICTORY’s first Ball was held on May 20, 1989. More than 1,200 guests attended the lively event at Louis Pearce Ranch, which generated record net proceeds for the national non-profit for a first-time event.
- 1990 brought The George Ranch into VICTORY’s storied history, providing a unique unforgettable experience for our second ball and continuing over the next 31 years. The 1990 Ball achieved the goal set forth by the original founding members.
- On April 26, 1997, the dream of raising a million dollars to help find a cure for cancer became a reality.
- In 1998, VICTORY introduced two new fundraising events to supplement the proceeds from our annual Ball. VICTORY launched a shopping card event in collaboration with Partners in Courage. The second event, the Golf Classic, was created, and brought in additional funding.
- For the April 2022 Ball, the location was moved from George Ranch to downtown Houston and was held at Minute Maid Park.
- VICTORY continued to hold the Golf Classic event until 2005, its annual shopping event until October 2021 and its annual Ball until April 2022 raising over $63 million dollars for a national non-profit.
In 2022, VICTORY Houston, Inc. became a stand-alone, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission “Fighting Cancer, Funding Locally” to ensure funds remain in the Greater Houston area to support cancer research and initiatives. We held our inaugural VICTORY Rally Ball in April 2023 which was held at 713 Music Hall at the POST. Over the last two years, VICTORY Houston, Inc. has raised an additional $3+ million through our annual VICTORY Rally Ball, bringing the total raised since 1987 by the Ladies of VICTORY to $66 million to help fight cancer.
We are a 100% volunteer group of women. We have no office, nor employees.
