Bachelors Go on Block for March of Dimes
More than 800 guests played a high society version of “The Dating Game” on Saturday at the March of Dimes seventh annual Bid for Bachelors Gala. The crowd, heavily populated with young single women in clingy cocktail dresses, filled the Sports Club/Irvine to bid on dates with some of Orange County’s eligible bachelors. Proceeds from the $35-per-person gala grossed more than $65,000 for the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation.
Singles for Sale
Guests spent the first part of the evening mingling around the Sports Club, which was decked out in palm fronds in keeping with the auction’s “Tarzan” jungle theme.
The bachelors, looking more like anxious bridegrooms in their black tuxedos, paced the floor and posed for pictures with eager women.
“I’m nervous because I’m the first one out,” said Jan Robert Shaker, of Corona del Mar, general manager of California Car Clinic. “At first I thought I could watch what the other guys were doing wrong--now they’ll be looking at me, going, ‘I don’t want to do what he did.’ ”
Once seated inside the club’s gymnasium, the women in the audience whooped it up while the bachelors kicked off the proceedings with a hip-shaking dance routine.
“Four or five years ago this was a women’s night out,” said Lori Hankins, auction committee member, noting a sprinkling of men in attendance. “Then men started to catch on that this was where all the single women were.”
Going, Going . . .
Master of ceremonies Barbara Venezia started the bidding with a warning to the women that “all sales were final.”
Shaker, the first bachelor up, need not have worried--he was snapped up for $1,800.
Warren Kramer, an orthopedic surgeon from Newport Beach, proved the priciest bachelor on the block, netting a winning bid of $3,351. In addition to enticing bidders with a five-day ski package to Sun Valley, Kramer melted hearts when he brought out a bouquet of red roses and a gift wrapped in gold foil to present to his prospective date.
After one woman finally nabbed Kramer by upping the bid by $1, auctioneer and bachelor Shawn Parr quipped: “Women in Southern California know how to shop.”
A Tough Job
Being a “bid” bachelor is no easy task. Potential bachelors are screened by a recruitment committee.
“We look for a gentleman who is professional and comfortable with himself and who will be very glad to take whoever bids highest on a date,” said Lana Chandler, event chairwoman.
Once chosen, each bachelor rounds up sponsors for his date package, which can range from lavish nights on the town to trips abroad.
In addition, the bachelors visit the UCI Medical Center’s neonatal unit to “reinforce why they’re doing what they’re doing,” said Denise Bamrick, the clinical social worker who led the tours. “It’s a very eye-opening experience . . . this year they saw a baby born after a 22-week gestation period.”
Funds from the auction go to the March of Dimes Orange County chapter’s Campaign for Healthier Babies, which provides educational programs, services and information to help babies have a healthy start.
Other bachelors were Claudio Arena, Robert Clark, Richard Dunham, George Escofie, Tony Horvat, Chad Kearns, Spyro Kemble, Dave Martel and Alan Van De Vort. Guests included Richard Ambrose, Robin Church, John Clement, Lori Hankins, Karen Hafeli, Barbie Hendon, Carol Legrand, Priscilla Selman and Mike Waiters.
