Men of Character
The 2017 Men of Character Dinner was held on April 20 at the Irvine Marriott by the Boy Scouts of America, Orange County Council. More than 330 community and business leaders honored seven Orange County businessmen. The event raised $176,555 to bring scouting programs to underserved OC youth while highlighting the importance of character.
Ralph Linzmeier of The Linzmeier Group at Morgan Stanley and Manny Montanez, president of EG Montanez Construction Inc., chaired the 18th Annual Men of Character Dinner.
This year’s honorees were Joe Baldo, founder of Higher Ground Youth and Family Services; John Evans, retired from 43 years with Wells Fargo Bank; Allen Fazio, chief information officer at The Word & Brown Cos.; Emile Haddad, chairman and chief executive of FivePoint; Jeff Herzfeld, senior VP and general manager at Teva Pharmaceuticals; Stuart Lowe, managing director and chief operating officer for TriVista Business Group; and Glen Marinelli, president and chief executive of FoodPharma LLC. An additional highlight was the presentation of the National Eagle Scout Association Outstanding Eagle Scout Award to John Evans.
Event sponsors were FivePoint, Lennar Homes, John Evans, Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian, Sperry Equities, Taylor Morrison, TRI Pointe Homes, William Lyon Homes, The Linzmeier Family Foundation, FoodPharma, Jeff Herzfeld, Joe Baldo, The McLean Family, CalAtlantic Homes, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Pulte Group, The Word & Brown Cos., TriVista, UCI Foundation and Warmington Residential
Music Matters
Buchanan Street Partners, Ideal Hall and Ten-X were the producers behind the 5th Encore for Education CRE Charity Concert on April 20 at the House of Blues at the Anaheim Garden Walk.
The sold-out concert, which featured rock band Cheap Trick, raised more than $161,000. Proceeds will support Music Matters, a program aimed at restarting music programs in public schools. Other event beneficiaries include Buchanan Children’s Charities, the philanthropic arm of Buchanan Street Partners; CASA; and the Orange County Community Foundation.
Over 50 Orange County companies and organizations sponsored the evening, including Seyfarth Shaw, Arnel, CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, SquarMilner, Bank of American Merrill Lynch, Irvine Co., First Foundation, Torrey Pines Bank, Transwestern and Wells Fargo.
Reimagine the Future
California Anesthesia Associates; CEP America; Farmers and Merchants Trust Co.; Kindred Healthcare; Memorial Radiation Oncology Medical Group; Orange Coast Women’s Medical Group; and South Coast Radiology were among the sponsors of the Saddleback Memorial Foundation’s Spring Gala on May 6 at Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point.
More than 400 doctors, philanthropists, business leaders and community supporters gathered in the ballroom, which was transformed into a celestial experience for the black-tie event. The fundraising event garnered $300,000 for I’MAGINE, the space redesign project for Saddleback Memorial Medical Center.
The foundation has already raised $5 million toward its $7 million goal; the total project cost is estimated at $16 million.
Climbing Mountains
A sold-out crowd of more than 300 attended the WHW’s Annual Luncheon and Fashion Show, presented on May 6 by UPS, raising nearly $200,000. The Motown-themed “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” event was held at the Resort at Pelican Hill.
Guests entering the ballroom were transported to the Motown era. Amidst giant music records, they enjoyed lunch, pledged their support for over 200 job seekers, and bid on live-auction packages before being entertained by Motown classics accompanied by a dance-filled fashion show.
Capital Group, First Bank, Premier Business Centers, Commerce West Bank and the Neal Family Foundation sponsored the afternoon.
Bits & Pieces
With the closing of the Anabella Hotel, Anaheim-based Wincome Group donated 47 hotels rooms’ worth of furniture to residents of the Anna Drive community in Anaheim and to Irvine-based Illumination Foundation and Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center. … The Orange County Hispanic Education Endowment Fund received a $25,000 gift from Northgate Gonzalez Market, a family-owned chain of 40 supermarkets that caters to the Latino community. … Northwestern Mutual, which through its foundation, awards grants on behalf of exemplary financial professionals to nonprofit groups, this year through financial adviser Nate Fikse, who donated his $15,000 grant to Boys Town California.
