On the Town: La Providencia Guild goes Hawaiian

While Glendale’s Oakmont Country Club is not a tropical paradise with pristine beaches, stunning sunsets, towering waterfalls and colorful reefs, you would almost have thought it was as the women of the La Providencia Guild of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles convened at the venue for their Hawaiian-themed summer meeting, luncheon and fashion show.

Members and guests donned native Hawaiian dress accented with floral leis, mingled and perused the silent auction offerings prior to the formal welcome by the guild’s president, Nancy Johnson and the event’s chairwoman, Joan Chandler.

Following reports from membership chair Rosemarie Witten, thrift shop chair Deborah Spang and Suzanne Lapis, who serves as the director of associate and affiliate groups for the pediatric care facility, the assemblage enjoyed lunch, a presentation by hula dancers Malia Gordan and Nani Tokumitsu under direction from Maile Frauchiger.

The day’s main event, which highlighted fashions available at the guild’s Burbank Boulevard thrift shop, presented models Peg Setti, Linda Muldoon, Vicki Margolin, Barbara Mann, Ming Liu, Connie Lawless, Brittany Latham, Chuck Johnson, Jania Howe, John Hjelmstrom, Chris Gargaro, Brittany Corfee, Charles Chavoor, Irma Baker and Max Andrews and was coordinated by Veronica Chavoor.

According to guild spokeswoman Glenda Jones, the organization’s current goals are to raise funds and awareness to advance developmental neuroscience and developmental cognitive neuroimaging research at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Among those whose work and dedication is helping to make that goal a reality, and who made last week’s “Here Today — Gone To Maui” fundraiser a success, included Lynn White-Shelby, Pat Maskell, Tomme Lenz, Alicia Katz, Lorelei Kelly, Judy Gragg, Linda Gardner, Janet Jack, Terri Sumner, Malena Tappan, Mary Jo Hjelmstrom, Sue Ann Gordon, Chris Welker, Carol Thielemann and Dorothy Austin.

Founded in 1901, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles admits more than 11,500 people annually. They also handle more than 320,000 outpatient visits and 62,000 emergency room cases.

DAVID LAURELL can be reached by e-mail dlaurell@aol.com or (818) 563-1007.