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Press
Glendale News Press
ON THE TOWN:
Rotary celebrates first gala at Hilton
By RUTH SOWBY
Published: Last Updated Wednesday, June 4, 2008 12:53 AM PDT
The Rotary Club of Glendale made up for lost time on Friday. Never having put on a large-scale fundraiser before, it tried its wings and wound up “Fly[ing] like an Eagle” — its gala theme at the Hilton Glendale.
A cocktail reception and silent auction preceded dinner. Master of Ceremonies Don Galleher welcomed the overflow crowd — about 120 members and their guests. A tribute to Charles “Chuck” Reinhart, past district governor in 1994-95, included laudatory words by Glendale Rotary President George Boghossian.
Glendale resident members and guests included gala co-chairs Larry Tison and Makiko Nakasone; Glendale Rotary’s first lady Mary Boghossian; gala committee member Chris Knowles and husband Andrew Knowles; Verdugo Hills Council Boy Scouts of America Executive Director Jon Maeda, wife Susan Maeda and daughter Zayne Maeda; fundraiser faithfuls Glady and Jack Kabateck; Glendale Healthy Kids Executive Director Camille Levee; and commissioner on the Glendale Commission on the Status of Women Elizabeth Manasserian and husband Greg Manasserian.
Incoming Rotary President Makiko Nakasone, who is looking forward to a similar gala next year, was a generous donor to the live auction — a Japanese Family Dinner for six with the Nakasones. The Kabatecks were the beneficiaries of another Nakasone donation, this time to the silent auction — a large inlaid jewelry box with a delicate Japanese woman figure on top.
Event proceeds will be donated to the “Learning for Life” program of the Boy Scouts of America. The program serves more than 2,500 young adults in Glendale by helping them learn essential life skills such as balancing a checkbook and career orientation.
Rotary Club is the world’s first service organization, with 1.2 million members in more than 200 countries.
The La Crescenta Woman’s Club hosted a bustling indoor swap meet in the clubhouse on Saturday — the first one in several years. Manning their own spaces, as well as selling spaces to outside vendors, these La Crescenta dynamos continue to support local charities using a variety of fundraisers. This swap meet turned exotic flea market boasted celebrity doll collectibles, vintage jewelry, clothing, accessories and other new and old treasures.
Club president from Glendale Rita Even helped serve a picnic-type lunch of hot dogs, chips, sodas and cookies. Swap meet Chairwoman Carol Benedetti introduced a new vendor, Friends of the La Crescenta Library. Friends President Elaine Silvestro brought dozens of library books. Their sale proceeds will be donated to the future, brand new library at the same location.
Today’s treasures up for sale were unique. Publicity Chairwoman Gloria Lee donated several of her celebrity dolls. The favorites were presidential first ladies look-alikes Roz Carter and Barbara Bush in their inaugural gowns. An Elvis Presley doll held a microphone and sported two pistols.
“Before Elvis died, he really got into guns,” Lee said. His doll look-alike went for $145 — “a steal,” according to Lee. Recording Secretary Florence Virgallito sold vintage jewelry in her space. Tamara Hughes modeled some of the necklaces and earrings.
Swap meet proceeds go into the club’s general fund, dispersed monthly to various organizations.
Glendale’s own classical repertory theater company, A Noise Within, offered its fourth biennial behind-the-scenes tour on Saturday afternoon. Giving the tours were artists who have performed in productions throughout the theater’s 16-year history. Among those were “Henry IV” actor Spike Steingasser and actress Amber Bonasso, who demonstrated sword fighting and “Night of the Iguana” stars Geoff Elliott and Jill Hill, who performed scenes and were generous in answering audience questions.
At fifth row center was Glendale Unified School District board member Joylene Wagner, husband Robert Wagner and their son Nick Wagner, 16. Also in the audience were Louise and Jack Spillman, proud parents of KTLA Morning News reporter Eric Spillman.
A Noise Within produces a minimum of six classical plays each season and reaches more than 10,000 students annually through outreach performances, in-school workshops and conservatory classes.
Author Laurie Viera Rigler read from her novel, “Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict” at the Glendale Central Library on May 28. Sponsored by Friends of the Library, some 75 Austen fans showed up for the reading with their favorite tea cup to enjoy pretending they were in England for an evening by enjoying tea, scones, clotted cream and jam.
Event helpers were Friends board members Anna Rundle and Leon Mayer, library Community Relations Manager Chuck Wike and administrative assistant Cathy Kotowski, whose baker friend made the delicious chocolate-chip and blueberry scones.
Spotted in the audience were Sybil Rans, Borghild Byram, Joyce Friesen, Helen Harrison and Pearl Turpin. “Addicted” Jane Austen fans agreed, just like Rigler’s heroine “Courtney Stone,” Jane Austen was definitely their “drug of choice.”