Santa Ana : Planning Head Named for Centennial Events

Darrell E. Metzger has been selected to head planning for the county’s 100th birthday celebration, a yearlong series of events scheduled to begin next year.

Metzger, 40, will take a leave of absence as vice president of Management Resources, a Tustin consulting firm. On Wednesday he will become president of Orange County Centennial Inc., the group charged with handling the celebration that is scheduled to begin Aug. 1, 1988, county officials announced at a Santa Ana press conference.

Metzger, who lives in Irvine, said in an interview that he is excited about bringing his skills and talents at organizing special events to his “home county.”

“We hope to give Orange County an opportunity to establish an identity not just in the region, but nationally and internationally,” Metzger said.

Metzger’s experience with organizing special events includes participation in the planning of the $1.5-billion Expo ’86 in Vancouver, as well as the hiring of 50,000 volunteer and paid workers for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Before joining Management Resources, Metzger worked with the Disneyland organization and participated in the opening of Tokyo’s Disneyland.

Metzger will take over as president of Orange County Centennial Inc. from Frank L. Smith, who resigned recently to become vice president of community affairs for the Irvine Co.

Although plans for the centennial events have not been developed yet, Metzger said he expects sports and cultural events to be held throughout the year in conjunction with all the county’s regularly scheduled annual activities such as the Strawberry Festival in Garden Grove and Toys on Parade in Santa Ana.

There will be big opening and closing ceremonies for the centennial period, he said.