2026 Event Chairs

Tobi & Frank Placenti

cordially invite you to

Honoring

Barbara & Hugh Lytle

Community Leaders

Saturday, October 24, 2026 at 6:00 PM Omni Montelucia Resort & Spa

Connections of Hope Gala

Tomorrow’s legacy starts today.

Celebrate hope with Teen Lifeline in cocktail chic through an evening of inspiring stories, live entertainment, delicious dining, exciting auctions, and an after party on the dance floor, knowing every dollar raised helps save young lives.

Barbara and Hugh Lytle speaking at a Teen Lifeline event

Honoring

Barbara & Hugh Lytle

For Barbara and Hugh Lytle, giving back is part of who they are. They have long shown up for Teen Lifeline with generosity, compassion, and a genuine belief in making sure teens have someone to turn to during the moments they need help most. The two are partners in life, parents to three children, and united in service, improving care for those too often overlooked. Barbara leads their foundation, which supports women, children, and underserved communities, and Hugh has, for 25 years, built innovative healthcare for people the system tends to miss. Together, they chaired our gala in 2021 and made it one of the most successful galas in our history.

Event Chairs Tobi and Frank Placenti at a gala

2026 Event Chairs

Tobi & Frank Placenti

Longtime community advocates Tobi and Frank Placenti are proud to serve as the 2026 Event Chairs. They are deeply committed to bringing hope, connection, and life-saving resources to teens statewide.

Featuring

An evening to remember

Live performance by local teen artist Tia Penny

After party with DJ HartBreaks

Special Thank You To

Our 2026 Event Team

Event Committee: Elizabeth Beauchman, Jeff Fields, Heidi Gates, Lauren Hart, Lauren Keeton, Rebekah Mayes, Megan Schmitz, Kim Steinmetz, and Shannon Turcotte

Committee Coordinator: Taylor Cole

Event Planner: Dottie Kobik

How to support teens when you’re not their parent

Every teen needs adults who aren’t their parents. Not because parents aren’t important, they are, but because some things are easier to say to someone who isn’t going home with you. You’re already that person to somebody: your teen’s friends, your students, the kid who’s always at your kitchen table.

Be around before anything is wrong.

Teens go to the adults they’re already used to, and the conversations that matter start inside conversations that don’t. You can’t build that once it’s urgent.

Ask past the first question.

Ask the second question, then the third. Why that one, what would you change. Most adults stop at the first. Going further is how a teen finds out you meant it.

Tell them what stays between you.

Be up front: most of what they say stays with you, but if you think they’re unsafe, you’ll work out together who else to tell and how. Discretion isn’t secrecy.

You won’t always know if it’s working, but the point isn’t to be the one who fixes it. It’s to be one of the people they can go to when they need support.

Learn more at teenlifeline.org/for-parents
Invitation sponsored by

Teen Lifeline turned forty this year. What started at a Phoenix high school in 1986 has taught generations of Arizona teens how to get help and how to help others.