On the Town: Boys & Girls Club presents annual fundraiser

For the past 19 years, the Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley has been making a profound difference in the lives of thousands of area young people and their families.

To reflect on the dedicated work of the club’s staff, board members and supporters and to raise funds and awareness for the new direction and challenges the organization will be facing this year, the club presented its 19th annual fundraising gala and auction at the Universal Sheraton Hotel this past Saturday.

Staged under the theme “Back to the Future,” close to 300 supporters enjoyed the 1950s-themed evening that was emceed by Johnny Holiday, who carries on the tradition of his great-uncle, Bing Crosby, as a crooner of selections from the Great American Songbook.

Welcomed by the club’s board president, Sherine Saad Anderson, Shanna Warren, who serves as the organization’s chief executive, and Lorrie Copeland, who chaired Friday’s gala, attendees honored three former Boys & Girls Club members — Poquito Mas restaurant owner Kevin McCarney, Burbank City Manager Mark Scott and Rolando Vasquez, who oversees the blood donor center at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center.

The evening’s festivities also saw Linda Reyes honored as the club’s Youth of the Year.

“Our 2014 honorees perfectly illustrate the impact of the Boys & Girls Club on its participants,” said Warren. “We are excited to recognize these community leaders and showcase how great futures do start at the Boys & Girls Club.”

A highlight of Friday’s gala was entertainment provided by the club’s Broadway Dance Team and its deaf and hard-of-hearing students who performed to “Power of Love,” the theme song of Universal Studio’s 1985 blockbuster “Back to the Future.”

The evening — sponsored by Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., the Walt Disney Co., Cusumano Real Estate Group, Midnight Oil and Dave and Pat Augustine — was made possible by the organization’s board of directors comprised of Leena Mathew, Lynn White Shelby, Sally Knutson, Michelle Bouse, Rodney Campbell, Garett Chipman, Michael Dragan, Dave Emter, Brett Everhart, Bret Hannifin, Michael Morgan, Joan Ortiz, Nicolette Schwartz, Dorisa Shahmirzai, Dan Stillwell, Al Shapiro, Michael Walbrecht, Armond Aghakhanian, Ron Davis, Darin Ryburn, Tom Steele and Hani Youssef.

Among the notables in attendance at the event that raised funds for the club’s school enrichment, deaf and hard-of-hearing, creative arts, athletics, college-bound and teen programs were Burbank Mayor David Gordon, Vice Mayor Bob Frutos, Councilwoman Emily Gabel-Luddy, City Clerk Zizette Mullins and club staff members Mira Shah, Brittany Vaughan, Melissa Procanlik, Susan Sebastian, Luisa Gomez, Lianne Depion, Sherry Delizia, Jay Jackson, Giovanni Quiroz, Patrick Hogg, Kevin Bulone, Eduardo Sesma, Andrea Baghaee, Arpineh Khodagollan, Rebeka Ghazarian, Anita Nazarian, Stephanie Sorensen, Sona Khachikyan, Jose Alfaro, Christine Babakhanian, Kaili Larssen, Emineh Zohrabi, Naira Chehras, Priscilla Galvan and Jennifer Shaughnessy.

The Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley supports and nurtures potential in more than 2,000 young people every year at its Burbank facility and 16 local school sites.

For more information on the organization’s programs or to offer support, call (818) 842-9333.

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DAVID LAURELL may be reached by email at dlaurell@aol.com or (818) 563-1007.