George and Lois Stark Honored with Torch of Liberty Award

Date: September 19, 2012

As individuals and as a couple, Lois and George Stark have demonstrated their devotion to Houston, to making the world a better place, and their dedication to community will be recognized November 1 when the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL's) Southwest Region presents them with the 2012 Torch of Liberty Award.  The Torch of Liberty Award honors community leaders who have exemplified a commitment to promoting respect, counteracting hatred and bigotry, and supporting fair treatment for all.

Lois Farfel Stark is a native Houstonian, with parents who helped her reach far.  She worked as a producer/writer of documentary films for NBC Network News, with home bases of Washington, D.C. and New York City, filming in many different countries, including Israel, Liberia, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Cuba and the U.S.A.  Her films earned awards, including an Emmy and 2 CINE Golds.  After she and George married, they moved to Houston, and she produced documentaries from here.  She now gives presentations on The Web and The Ladder, a visual tour of worldviews from migratory to modern times.

George Stark is an investment advisor whose parents, Holocaust survivors, fled Austria through Europe and settled in Cuba, where he was born.  When the Cuban revolution repeated inhumanities his family witnessed during World War II, the Starks resettled in Paris, where George finished high school.  He went on to graduate from Cornell University and went back to France to get an MBA in international finance. 

Though they have and could live anywhere and support any community, the Starks have thrown their wholehearted support behind Houston.  George, a former ADL Board Chair, has been active with ADL for more than 35 years.  He has served on the boards of, or volunteered with the Houston Ballet Foundation, The St. John's School, the Menil Foundation, Jewish Family Service, the University of Houston Hilton School, and the Jewish Federation.

Lois has served on the boards of Texas Children's Hospital, the Alley Theatre, the St. John's School, Sarah Lawrence College, Humanities Texas, the Texas Commission on the Arts, Houston Cinema Arts Society, Center for Performing Arts Medicine, and the Women’s Leadership Board of the Harvard Kennedy School. 

Lois and George were blessed with two sons, Ben and Daniel, who in life and in memory bring joy.

"There is no way to quantify what Lois and George Stark mean to Houston and to ADL," said Southwest Regional Director Martin B. Cominsky.  "It truly is a privilege to honor them, and be able to recognize their immeasurable contributions.  We are lucky to count them as friends of Houston and of ADL."

ADL's Torch of Liberty Dinner also will honor Neighborhood Centers Inc. with its 2012 Julie and Ben Rogers Ecumenism Award.  For more information on the dinner or to buy tickets, check out the 2012 Torch of Liberty event page or call 713-627-3490 x. 235.