Dinner Was Fabulous
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County held its 51st annual Gourmet Dinner on Sept. 17 at the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach.
Farmers & Merchants Bank, Penn Mutual, Layer Cake, Duke Bourbon, Capital Alliance, Auction.com, Irvine BMW, Irvine MINI and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Orange County were the evening’s presenting sponsors.
This year’s dinner generated more than $1 million, a record for the event, which will be used to support the agency’s unique youth mentoring programs. Big Brothers Big Sisters connects children—“Littles”—with adult volunteers—“Bigs”—who can support, mentor and guide them.
The special honoree for the evening was Peter Desforges, president of Newport Beach-based Wohl Investment Co. and a former board chairman. He received the Joel K. Rubenstein Award, the agency’s highest recognition.
Great Day for Golf—and CureDuchenne
Ryan Getzlaf, captain of the Anaheim Ducks hockey team, and his fellow players were at the Monarch Beach Golf Club fairways in Dana Point on Sept. 13 to support the fifth annual Getzlaf Golf Shootout to help find a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
The event raised $440,000 for CureDuchenne to help find a cure for the disease. Duchenne affects one in 3,600 boys and causes muscle degeneration leading to premature death. The Getzlaf Golf Shootout, since its inaugural event, has raised $1.3 million.
Getzlaf Golf Shootout sponsors included Patriot Environmental Services, Carlile Coatsworth Architects, ActivePDF, G&M Oil, The Sports Corp., Air Control Systems, Gateway One Lending & Finance, Fullmer Construction, CNC Motors, Ayres Hotels, Case Packaging and Mark Beamish Waterproofing.
Organizers, on the evening prior to the Golf Shootout event, held a reception at Sutra Lounge in Costa Mesa with more than 400 guests, including the business leaders and athletes in the Golf Shootout held the following day.
Encore! Encore!
South Coast Repertory hosted its 52nd Season Gala, “Encore!,” on Sept. 12 at the Westin South Coast Plaza.
The evening started with a reception at Town Center Park featuring music by the Jet Set Quintet and sponsored in part by Le Grand Courtâge and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. The party then moved into the Plaza Ballroom for dining and dancing. Wine was provided by Bluewater Grill.
A post-dinner party was held on the Westin rooftop, which had been transformed into a nightclub.
The event netted $350,000, which will support SCR’s educational and outreach programs. Event sponsors included Wells Fargo, Abbott Medical Optics, Pacific Life Foundation, SVA Architects, South Coast Plaza and the Honda Center.
Having a Ball
The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America Orange County Chapter hosted its fourth annual Bocce Invitational on Sept. 10 at Italian restaurant Il Fornaio in Irvine. Bocce is an Italian ballgame with the aim of rolling a bocce ball closest to the target ball, called a palina.
The event raised more than $65,000 to further the foundation’s mission to find a cure for Crohn’s and colitis, two inflammatory bowel diseases that affect one in 200 Orange County residents.
The Bocce Invitational was made possible through event sponsors California Bank & Trust, Senvest, Greenberg Gross, First Republic Bank, Union Bank, Sunwest Bank, Il Fornaio and the Orange County Business Journal.
First place went to the Wells Fargo Private Bank team of Chris Rommel, senior vice president, regional managing director, wealth management; John Milia, senior financial adviser; Sarah Mishriki, business initiative consultant; and Simi Phull, financial adviser. Il Fornaio donated the food and beverages for the event in a contribution valued at $4,000.
Bits & Pieces
 Community-oriented Banc of California and U.S. Bank financially “adopted” two of Newport Beach-based Project Access’ Family and Senior Resource Centers that service residents of affordable housing apartment communities. … Orange County philanthropist and real estate agent Stephanie Argyros, alongside celebrity Tyrese Gibson and WE DAY co-founder Craig Kielburger, are the new co-chairs of WE DAY, a celebration of youth making a difference in their local and global communities. … Easter Seals Southern California Disability Services reappointed attorney and Laguna Beach resident Mike Murtaugh, senior partner of Irvine-based law firm Murtaugh Meyer Nelson & Treglia, to its board of directors.
