RETAILING : How to Have a Ball Raising Funds for Conservation Causes
It’s called the Waterman’s Ball, but a woman will be taking a lead role when the Surf Industry Manufacturers Assn. holds its annual charitable event on June 3 at Pelican Hill Golf Course in Newport Beach.
“It’s time to have more women talking about Mother Nature,” said Susan Crank. She is president and chief executive of Anaheim-based Lunada Bay and one of the few high-ranking women in the male-dominated surf products and apparel industry.
Crank is credited with creating the Surf Industry Planning Calendar, which Corona del Mar-based SIMA uses to help raise funds to benefit environmental groups.
The calendar is a daily planner that includes key apparel industry show dates--as well as advertising that generates money that SIMA donates to environmental and conservation groups. Last year’s inaugural calendar, conceived by Crank, netted $55,000 for the environment.
That money was added to $120,000 raised at the fifth-annual Waterman’s Ball last year and the entire $175,000 was split equally among the Surfrider Foundation, the American Oceans Campaign and the Orange County Marine Institute.
This year SIMA anticipates that calendar sales and proceeds from the Waterman’s Ball will top $200,000.
Crank, a Laguna Beach resident, is the sole woman on SIMA’s board of directors. Her company, Lunada Bay--named after a bay in Northern California--is a licensee for Mossimo and Ocean Pacific women’s and girl’s swimwear. The privately held company reported $30 million in 1994 revenue.
This year’s Waterman’s Ball, honors Walter Hoffman, president of Hoffman California Fabrics, a Mission Viejo-based company that played a role in helping young start-ups, including Quiksilver and Ocean Pacific, to establish themselves as top apparel companies.
The Hoffman family has been selling fabrics to California-based manufacturers since 1924, when Hoffman’s father, Rube, moved his business to Los Angeles from the East Coast.
The Waterman’s Ball will be held at Pelican Hill Golf Course in Newport Beach. Dress is “creative black tie.” Call (714) 760-0784 for ticket information.
