Expect Sparks to Go Sooner; Kelly’s Tour de Fleur

Tough to top the New Year’s plans of a couple of the best of the better halves around these parts. Start with Lisa Sparks, chair of the Department of Communication Studies at Chapman University in Orange—which makes her a Panther. She also has a BA, MA and PhD from the University of Oklahoma—and you can bet she’ll be all Sooner when her alma mater takes on Clemson in the first round of the NCAA’s College Football Playoff on New Year’s Eve in the Capital One Orange Bowl. Sparks might be a bit lonely when it comes time to sing Boomer Sooner—she’s married to Chapman Chancellor Daniele Struppa, whose Italian heritage makes him more of a soccer fan … Sparks might not be up and at ‘em for the Rose Parade the day after—especially if Oklahoma beats Clemson for a spot in the championship game—but here’s a tip for anyone who tunes in bright and early to take in the festive floats: Don’t get stuck on the actors from Downton Abbey who are expected to ride the PBS SoCal entry. Look for the extra star power slated to be along in the person of Kelly Mazzo, a board member for the Costa Mesa-based flagship station for PBS, and wife of Jim. Kelly’s tour de fleur will come just a few weeks after she and Jim won kudos galore for adding something special to the Segerstrom Center’s annual Candlelight Concert with what was by all reports just the right wine from their Jessup Cellars in Napa Valley … More kudos: Start with Irvine-based nonprofit Families Forward, which works to help families in need “achieve and maintain self-sufficiency through housing, food, counseling, education, and other support services.” The group recently earned a sixth straight four-star rating from Charity Navigator, which “differentiates Families Forward from its peers and demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust,” according to the nonprofit evaluator … Then there’s Bob Olson and his R.D. Olson Development, which got highest honors with Marriott International’s Partnership Circle Award at the chain’s Connect Conference in Kissimmee, Fla. last week. Call it a streak—Olson won Developer of the Year honors from Marriott last year … Kudos to the Commodores Club for making Arte Moreno grand marshal of last week’s kickoff for the Christmas Boat Parade in Newport Harbor. And to Moreno for taking on the role. Is this a sign that everyone is getting over the kerfuffle on the Los Angeles part of his ball club’s name? … Credit Irvine-based BSH Home Appliances Corp. with giving its hometown an image-building assist via advertising for the Thermador brand of cooking appliances it markets on behalf of its parent company in Germany. A current campaign includes artsy full-page ads that have been running in the Wall Street Journal touting a bicoastal pair of BSH Experience & Design Centers. One is in Midtown Manhattan, not far from Central Park. The other is Irvine at 17911 Von Karman in the heart of the JWA office market … No such assist to the Newport Center office market when PIMCO ran a full-page ad a day after the Fed’s quarter-point rate hike last week, telling WSJ readers that “investors can’t afford to sit still.” The PIMCO ad didn’t mention the company’s location, instead offering a Web address and a credit to parent Allianz, with its HQ—also in Germany—unmentioned… Happy holidays to all—see you again on Jan. 4.