November 13, 2007
A message of inspiration at Goodwill awards
Donna Bunce
Goodwill of Orange County President and CEO Dan Rogers welcomed 360 guests to the organization's annual Walter Knott Award Luncheon, "Leading Lives of Independence," on Nov. 1 at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort in Newport Beach. Reiterating Goodwill's purpose, Rogers said, "Our mission is to provide people with disabilities and other barriers the opportunity to achieve their highest levels of personal and economic independence." The Orange County Fire Authority was honored, and former Costa Mesa Mayor Peter Buffa served as master of ceremonies. According to Fire Chief Chip Prather, the Fire Authority has provided full-time employment to four Goodwill workers for 15 years. "They are the most enthusiastic, reliable people you'd ever want to meet," he said.Family and friends of quadriplegic and ventilator-dependent Alec "Bunk" Wurth were represented by his mother, Sally Wurth, and sister-in-law Beverly Wurth. Both women lauded the extraordinary support and outpouring of help for Bunk from his family and large cadre of friends. Cheri Blauwet, a fifth-year Stanford University medical student and world-class athlete who has participated in the Paralympic World Games and posted marathon wins in Los Angeles, New York and Boston, inspired with her commitment to change the quality of life for people with disabilities worldwide.
Walter Knott, for whom the award is named, was a founding Goodwill Orange County board member. His daughter Marion Knott Montapert stated, "My father would be very proud of what is happening today at Goodwill." Board member Cindy Gittleman, who along with Lisa Calderoneco-chaired the event, was pleased with $143,000 in net proceeds.
•Providence Speech & Hearing Center supporters like to raise funds with a theme in mind, and I'd say 90 percent of the 350 guests were in full '20s regalia Saturday night for the center's "Ragtime, A Roaring Night at the Speakeasy" costume ball at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort. Board member Scott Cramer and Brenda Sinjem even showed up in black-and-white-striped convict outfits. Event co-chairwomen Joan May and Robbie Nicoli were thanked, along with their committee, including Dawn Word, Trisha Rainone and Renetta Caya (she and husband Blaine were recognized in the event's program along with the Peter and Mary Muth Foundation for their exceptional support). Providence CEO Linda Smith noted two recent awards presented by the Regional Center of Orange County: one for lifetime achievement, to Dr. Margaret Anne Inman, founder of the 42-year-old Providence Speech & Hearing Center; and another to Stan Pawlowski, a longtime Providence volunteer who received the E. Kurt Yeager Servant Leadership Award.
Auctioneer Dawn Marie Kotsonis oversaw a lively auction, which included the proverbial puppy, front-row Lakers seats, and the new Oticon Epoq hearing aid (board President Richard Umphrey III swears by it.) Net proceeds, including a matched $25,000 challenge by Reed Le Vecke, reached nearly $200,000 to provide quality services at the center. Best-couple-costume honors went to Jill and Mark Bolton (loved the fur coat, Mark). That Vibe, the ball's band, packed the dance floor, with conga lines de rigueur at the speak-easy.
A little bit of heaven dropped down to the campus of Cal State Fullerton on Sunday afternoon. In recognition of the university as the birthplace of the Orange County Pacific Symphony in this, the university's 50th-anniversary year, the symphony and Pacific Chorale, conducted by Carl St.Clair, performed Mozart's "Requiem" in Meng Hall. After the performance, the University Jazz Combo, playing a lively "When the Saints Go Marching In," led 360 guests to the "Angels Among Us" gala in the Titan Student Union, transformed into "heaven" for the occasion with celestial ceiling and walls and silver organza tabletops with white floral centerpieces.
Gala co-chairs Doug Simao and CSUF alumna Kate Peters produced an entertaining show performed throughout dinner featuring dance, theater and music students from CSUF's College of the Arts. "It's all about Clarence earning his wings," Simao said. Indeed, the angel Clarence, from the classic '40s movie "It's a Wonderful Life," played by Joe Gillette, gets his wings by helping George Bailey (the Jimmy Stewart figure in the movie), played by Peter Weidman, and Billy Bigelow from "Carousel," played by Adam Navarro. The student performances, including the Chamber Singers, led by Robert Istad, were first-class. Two special "angels" were honored for their contributions to the arts – Mary Moore for her work with Pacific Symphony and Mary Lyons for her support of Pacific Chorale, whose director, John Alexander, was director of choral music at CSUF for many years. The MAMM Alliance for the Performing Arts at CSUF netted $125,000 for its endowment to bring professional artists to the university.
Contact the writer: donna@coastmagazine.com
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