Even Bren Snaps To for Riley Salute
No sooner had Orange County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley received the prestigious Semper Fidelis Award from the Marine Corps Command and Staff College Foundation than he humbly gave credit to his staff.
“At one time I thought nobody could compare with the Marines,” the retired Marine brigadier general told a 400-strong crowd at Le Meridien Hotel in Newport Beach on Saturday night. “But the county staff can. Take a bow.”
Presenting the octogenarian with the award for his service “to country and corps” was Lt. Gen. Robert B. Johnston, commanding general of I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton. (It was Johnston who led the Joint and Combined Task force in Operation Restore Hope, the humanitarian relief operation in Somalia. He was also chief of staff during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.)
Johnston told Riley: “If you could take the young Marine of today back 50 years, have him stand by your side at Guadalcanal, you would not be disappointed in his performance . . . he is an inspiration.”
Before retiring from the corps in the ‘70s, Riley was decorated with the Bronze Star with Combat V for his actions while commanding the 1st Aviation Engineer Battalion on Guadalcanal (he built Henderson Field under fire when Guadalcanal was taken from the Japanese) and the Legion of Merit with the Combat V for his leadership under fire of the 3rd Amphibious Corps’ Shore Party during operations on Guam.
In 1974 he was appointed by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan as supervisor of Orange County’s 5th District. Riley won reelection in 1976 and has been reelected ever since.
Appellate Judge David G. Sills, gala emcee, delivered messages from President Clinton and former Presidents George Bush and Reagan (“Your career exemplifies the highest tradition of service . . . reminds each of us of the greatness of the American spirit,” Reagan wrote) before introducing gala co-chairmen Donald Bren, chairman of the Irvine Co., and Anthony Moiso, president of the Santa Margarita Co.
In his rare public appearance, Bren, a Marine-turned-billionaire, told party-goers that he had served at Camp Pendleton while Riley was chief of staff there. “I didn’t call him Tom, then,” Bren joked. “I was asked to interview for his aide de camp. But, I would have had to extend my tour of duty and I was eager to resume my career.
“Little did I know that Tom Riley would one day settle in Orange County and become my personal friend. . . . General, sir, I salute you.”
Moiso got the evening’s biggest laugh when he told the Marine-studded crowd he was “a lowly Army Reserve infantry officer.”
“But I am honored to be here this evening,” he added, going on to praise Riley’s career of “caring, loyalty and leadership.”
Before the speech-making, guests at the $100-per-person affair attended a reception in the hotel’s Cafe Fleuri--where Riley was serenaded with a bagpipe concert--and then filed into the ballroom to enjoy a formal dinner planned by restaurateur Hans Prager, owner of the Ritz in Newport Beach. The menu: cream of asparagus soup, marinated jumbo shrimp, tenderloin of beef with mushrooms and vanilla bean ice cream with fresh berries.
Proceeds of about $25,000 will go to the Marine Corps Command and Staff College Foundation, which was founded in 1980 to help enhance the education and leadership development of students assigned to the Command and Staff College at Quantico, Va.
Also among guests: Riley’s wife, Emma Jane (who said of her husband’s award: “They were smart to pick him!”); Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach); Bishop Norman MacFarland, who gave the invocation; state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach); Orange County Supervisor William Steiner; Carol and Larry Hoffman and Mary Roosevelt.
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Launching a Launch Pad: Bill Selvig didn’t notice the shrimp mousse on cucumber slices being passed at the opening on Saturday night of Launch Pad at Crystal Court in South Coast Plaza. And he could have cared less about the melt-in-your-mouth bites of croissant stuffed with tender ham and melted cheese.
He was having too much fun playing with the air cannon at the preview facility for the Discovery Science Center, due to be built in Santa Ana by 1997.
Carefully, he tapped the black leather covering one end of the cannon. Whoosh! An unsuspecting guest’s hair stood on end. (Selvig was supposed to be aiming the cannon at a screen covered with tiny plastic fragments.)
“I’m having a great time knocking guests’ hair around with this thing,” he said, laughing. “Seen any toupees?”
Mission accomplished. The idea of the proposed center is to give children a chance to explore science in an unintimidating way, Selvig said. “I guess the center is going to bring out the child in all of us. Launch Pad sure does.”
Festivities began with a champagne reception in Launch Pad (situated on the third floor of Crystal Court near the Broadway), continued with a presentation of “With Albert Einstein” starring Philadelphia actor Don Auspitz and culminated with a sit-down dinner catered by Scott’s Seafood Grill and Bar.
With a $300,000 contribution from the McDonnell Douglas Employee’s Community Fund and a $1-million pledge from the McDonnell Douglas Foundation, the 5,600-square-foot Launch Pad will remain in place until the 88,000 Discovery Science Center opens in Santa Ana’s Museum District (across from the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art).
Bob and Cleva Howard were co-chairmen. Henry and Renee Segerstrom were honorary chairmen. Among guests were Jim Dorrenbacher, a retired senior vice president with McDonnell Douglas and his wife, Judy; James (Walkie) Ray, president of the Science Center’s board; Vince Konty, president of Fluor Corp; and Betty Hutton Williams.