Column: The Crowd: Women of Chapman raise funds for university

Women of Chapman, one of Orange County’s most dynamic educational support groups, has geared up for another season of fundraising benefiting Chapman University.

Founded in 1971, Women of Chapman has raised more than $7.5 million for the university.

Presently, the group is working to fulfill a $1 million pledge in support of the Musco Center for the Arts.

In addition, it is meeting a $500,000 pledge to the Digital Arts Media Center at the university’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. Further, the board has taken on an additional $1 million pledge to assist Chapman University’s new Center for Science and Engineering, set to open in 2018.

Recently, the ladies gathered under the co-chairmanship of active Women of Chapman leaders Donna Bunce and Donna Clavert for a summer soiree at the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach.

The luncheon was created around presenting a major donation raised by the group to the university. Women of Chapman president Barbara Edison delivered a $425,000 check to university president Dr. Daniele Struppe.

Also on the luncheon docket was the presentation of scholarship monies to outstanding film students from the Dodge College to assist underwriting their senior film projects.

Students honored included Adam McClaughry, Bailey Helvie, Nour Oubeid, Rachel Griswold, Lucas Bughbee, Nicklaus Markham and Hannah Riddle. More than $50,000 in endowments were granted.

Chapman dignitaries in attendance included dean Bob Bassett, from the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Dr. Lisa Sparks, dean of the School of Communication, Dr. Sheryl Bourgeois, executive vice president of University Advancement, and Richard Bryant, executive director of the Musco Center for the Arts.

Also front and center for the Women of Chapman luncheon were Janell Shearer, Charlene Baldwin, Janeen Hill, Tami Thompson, Lindsey Jacobs, Courtney Lutkus and Marissa Maynor, among others.

Edison welcomed prominent women in the community, including Kathy Hamilton, Leslie Cancellieri, Donna Bianchi, Anne Manassero, Mona Lee Nesseth, Sheri Nazaroff, Susan Villeneuve, Donna DiBari, Sue Hook, Marci Hollander, and major Chapman donor Adrienne Brandes.

The women enjoyed a three-course luncheon prepared by executive chef Rachel Haggstrom of the Balboa Bay Resort while listening to special guest speaker Gregg Schwenk, co-founder and executive director of the Newport Beach Film Festival.

A sentimental celebration at Newport Beach Country Club

One of the special women in attendance at the Women of Chapman luncheon has been a driving force in the Newport-Mesa community for more than six decades.

Nora Jorgenson Johnson turned 90 recently and was honored by her family with an elegant luncheon held in the ocean view dining room of the chic new Newport Beach County Club.

The event was organized and hosted by Ralph and Mary Grace Crosby Jr., who had flown in from their residence in Virginia for the occasion, joining family members including Werner and Lara Keidel and David and Jodi Geoffroy, along with grandchildren including Ralph Crosby IV, Rhett Crosby, Ryder Crosby, the Keidel grandchildren Caroline, William, Hampton and Henry, and Geoffroy family members Travis and Jennifer Bonne and Stephanie Geoffroy.

The Newport Beach Country Club dining room was exquisitely festooned with verdant summer blooms on formal white linens.

The music of the Hutchins Consort, led by artistic and music director Joe McNalley, set the mood for the arriving crowd of friends and well-wishers, including Charlene Prager, Adrienne Brandes, Carol Blanchard, Patti and Jim Edwards, Sharon McNalley, Jan Landstrom, Patricia and Richard Allen, Kathy and Noel Hamilton, Janie Kingsley, Darlene Swearingen and Gini Robins.

Also front and center for the sentimental celebration were Hunter Keck, Nancy Burnett, Suzi Lyons, the Rev. Dick Todd, Frances and Dr. John Applegate, Janet Curci, Ruth Ding and Shari and Harry Esayian.

The involvement of Jorgenson Johnson in the community is legendary.

As a major force of all good things, she has supported and served organizations including Hoag Memorial Presbyterian Hospital, the Art Center, Sherman Gardens, Children’s Home Society, the Camelot Chapter of the Guilds in support of The Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and for more than 50 years has been an integral force in support of the work of the Assistance League of Newport Mesa.

And that’s only the beginning.

Add to her involvement assisting Opera Pacific, Pacific Symphony, Orange County Philharmonic Society, the Master Chorale, and many others. The crowd raised their glasses of Champagne in a toast to the continued good health and happiness for one of Newport’s leading ladies.

The Argyros’ touch extends to Orange County Girl Scouts

Coming up Sept. 19, Girl Scouts of Orange County will throw an exclusive opening celebration inaugurating the Argyros Girl Scout Leadership Center (GSLC) in Newport Beach at 200 18th Street.

The Argyros’ donation will provide a permanent space for some 21,000 Orange County Girl Scouts to have access to community experiences.

Elizabeth Fairchild, Girl Scouts of Orange County communications director commented: “Girls visiting the Argyros Leadership Center will develop critical skills like problem solving and analytical thinking that will enable them to realize their dreams and live their best lives.”

For more information on the center, contact Fairchild at efairchild@girlscoutsoc.org.

B.W. COOK is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.