Greenhill student Amna Kaiser eats lunch with a first-grader at the Wesley-Rankin Community Center.

Greenhill School knows how to make that extra February day really count. Yesterday was Greenhill Upper School’s annual Community Service Day. The students and faculty volunteered with 21 different organizations around the Metroplex. The charities and jobs ranged from painting a mural for the Trinity River Mission to serving lunch at The Stewpot. At the Wesley-Rankin Community Center, students ate lunch with the chatty first-grade children and carefully judged a science fair. Instead of driving to an organization, the Greenhill seniors stayed on campus and hosted students from George Bush Elementary. So how did you spend your leap day?

Nancy Rogers Photo: Jeanne Prejean

Celebrating its 24th year, the Mad Hatter’s Tea is a fundraising event sponsored by the Women’s Council of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Preston Hollow residents Nancy and Richard Rogers recently signed on to sponsor this year’s festivities on April 12.

More than 600 guests, some from as far away as California, plan their trips to Dallas not only to take part in the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party but to view the glorious springtime azalea displays and flowers that grace the arboretum during the Dallas Blooms Festival.

This year’s event will feature hat judges Lita Asscher, Brenda Bogart, Kenneth Craighead, Patricia Meadows, Gail Sachson, and Jeremy Strick. The esteemed panel will award winners in categories ranging from “Best of Show” to “Most Whimsical.”

Game on.

Yesterday, friends and family of Ally Alexandrou honored and remembered her by stopping by the Chick-fil-A on Inwood Road. Ally, a Bishop Lynch student filled with energy and passion, tragically passed away this summer. Throughout the afternoon, Chick-fil-A donated part of their profits to the Ally Alexandrou Memorial Scholarship Fund at Bishop Lynch High School. Because of Ally’s love of animals, guests had the opportunity to adopt a pet from Petsmart and the Humane Society of Dallas Country. If you did not get a chance to stop by yesterday, you can honor Ally by donating to the Ally Alexandrou Memorial Scholarship Fund or the Humane Society of Dallas County Guardian Angel Program.

Cheryl Hall reports in today’s Dallas Morning News that Preston Hollow billionaire Kelcy Warren has paid for the naming rights to the Woodall Rodgers Deck Park. Never heard of Warren? Don’t feel bad; according to Hall’s report, neither had a Preston Hollow resident with a much higher profile, Mayor Mike Rawlings.

Warren’s undisclosed sum means the park will be named after his 9-year-old son, Klyde. “With that goes a burden,” Warren told Hall. “I want my son to know, ‘You’re being watched. You can’t blend into the upholstery like your dad has done all his life.’ I’m setting the bar a little higher for him.”

A few months ago, I started hearing about this kid Tyler Good. The ESD junior was apparently responsible for starting Highland Park’s Community Emergency Response Team, a crime watch volunteer, and a volunteer at about every other organization in town. I reached out to him, and we set up a time to speak.

On the other side of the office, the People Person of the Year voting was being managed by our web staff. Unbeknownst to me, Tyler was crushing it.

After I wrote the story, we found out it was going to be a two-birds-one-stone scenario, a happy coincidence for the deserving teen.

Anyway, if you see Tyler on the street, say hello. At his rate, he’ll probably be some of our bosses some day.

Did you watch models wear the latest fashions on the runway this season? Don’t worry, neither did I. But luckily I didn’t have to. This Saturday, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., Greenhill School students will be sporting the latest trends for a “Winter Wonderland” charity fashion show in the Greenhill library. The cost is $5 for Greenhill students and $8 for general admission. All proceeds benefit the Family Place. Another incentive to trek to Addison? The first 50 people who arrive will receive a Neiman Marcus gift bag and discounts from Vineyard Vines and the Melanie Gayle boutique.

Every day, newspapers are filled with articles about violence, crime, and general upheaval. While those stories are undoubtedly newsworthy, I gather from the disdain the American public shows for the media that you’d like to see more positive stories grace our pages.

We hear you.

Preston Hollow People would like to recognize the person who donated the most time, energy, and resources in 2011 as its People Person of the Year. However, we need your help. Let us know who you think deserves our inaugural volunteerism award by nominating someone right now. Winners will be announced in our Feb. 3 edition.

The Parents’ Association of St. Mark’s School of Texas pulled some strings for their 2012 Celebrate event. Ben Stiller will be the celebrity guest of honor, and The Spazmatics will perform for the Feb. 18th function.

Located at the Omni Hotel, the event includes  food, music, and an auction, with all proceeds benefiting The Parents’ Association Endowed Teaching Fellowship Fund.

If you’ve ever wondered what the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce was all about, now’s your chance to find out. Enjoy drinks and appetizers from 5 to 7 p.m. at the chamber’s holiday open house at 10707 Preston Road.

There’s no cost to attend, but guests are asked to bring toys or childcare items for the Dallas Police Department’s Santa Cops program.