ON THE TOWN:
The YWCA’s 11th annual Legacy Luncheon on Friday honored six outstanding Glendale women (and one outstanding husband) with its “Heart & Excellence Awards” at The Castaway in Burbank. Mary Boger, Susan and Richard Dell, Marilyn Gunnell, Carole Jouroyan, Joan McCarthy and Officer Sue Shine-Carter of the Glendale Police Department took their bows in front of some 300 very enthusiastic supporters.
Also recognized was La Cañada High School senior Abigail Chang, who received the 2008 Jane O’Connor Community Service Award.
Author Lisa See was the keynote speaker. She described her great-grandfather, Fong See, who became the 100-year-old godfather of L.A.’s Chinatown and the patriarch of a large family. See’s new novel is “Peony in Love,” based on the true story of three Chinese maidens married to the same man, one right after the other.
KABC’s Jane Monreal was the mistress of ceremonies.
Honorary Co-Chairs were Fran Buchanan, Ruth Charles and Lynne Raggio.
Glendale Mayor John Drayman’s appearance lent gravitas to the afternoon.
YWCA’s board of directors members present included President Carol Ann Burton, First Vice President Yerado Abrahamian, Second Vice President Liza Boubari, Parliamentarian Ilena Blicker, Kathie Mathis, Brooke Moore and Elizabeth Manasserian, also a commissioner on the Glendale Commission on the Status of Women.
More Glendale Commission on the Status of Women commissioners present included Vice Chair Paula Devine, Grace Walker and Marie Lemelle.
Glendale Police Department officer Sue Shine-Carter, a “Heart & Excellence” honoree, described how a full-time cop-mom takes care of sons Liam, 7, and Jason, 4. “We juggle balls. Sometimes the balls are on fire!” she said.
Proceeds from the event will go to YWCA programs, including Encore Plus, which provides free breast and cervical cancer screenings to low-income and uninsured women 40 and older.
The Verdugo Glen Chapter of the American Business Women’s Assn. had plenty of “Glitz and Glamour,” the theme of this year’s fashion show and luncheon on Saturday at Burbank’s Castaway restaurant.
The glitzy fashions were by Annie’s Scandal in Montrose and Cowgirl Princess in La Cañada Flintridge, all modeled by members and their families.
The 160 supporters in attendance included chapter President Donna Hempel, event co-chairs Nicola Keller and Andrea Manning, membership chair Lynn White-Shelby (a Verdugo Glen Chapter member for 27 years), and member and Glendale attorney Kathryn Van Houten, who donated one hour of her estate-planning services — a favorite item in the silent auction.
More chapter members in attendance from Glendale and Burbank included Evelyn Reichgelt, Maria Tapang, Alexis Haftvani, Ildiko Bayer, Nancy Johnson and Elysa Rosenfeld.
Brand-new commissioner on the Glendale Commission on the Status of Women Marie Lemelle was mistress of ceremonies extraordinaire. Lemelle is the founder and chief executive officer of Platinum Star Public Relations.
But the stars of the afternoon had to be the member-models who strutted down The Castaway runway with “glitz and glam.” They included Providence St. Joseph Medical Center cardiologist Marty Preciado, Cristy Jennings, Alicia Mauricio, Marcia Mullins and Carolyn Howard-Johnson.
Proceeds from the fashion show and luncheon will benefit the chapter’s educational opportunities for women.
The Verdugo Glen chapter, one of 1,500 U.S. chapters of the American Business Women’s Assn., has monthly dinner meetings at the Glendale Elks Club. The next meeting is at 6 p.m. May 28 for networking and dinner.
Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School parents sure know how to throw a party. In fact, they couldn’t be matched in “Putting On the Ritz” on Saturday at the Oakmont Country Club. Their fourth annual dinner and auction to raise money for arts instruction attracted more than 160 school administrators, teachers and very involved parents.
Verdugo Woodlands Principal Janet Buhl, PTA President Launa Penza and WAVE President Kaia Delves welcomed supporters to the ritzy fundraiser, which began with a cocktail hour, a live guitarist, silent auction and photography portrait sessions.
A beef and salmon dinner with glace dimanche for dessert was followed by a live auction, a student art auction, entertainment and deejay, who ably set the stage for dancing the night away.
Verdugo Woodlands parents and their guests included Glendale Unified School District board member Joylene Wagner, who is happily assigned for the year to attend Verdugo Woodlands special events.
Event co-chairs were Cathy Boyack, supported by trusty husband Bob Boyack, and Lolly Gallup. PTA President Launa Penza was especially proud of the student artists who created the invitation covers.
More parents, guests and teachers included Mike Lichtman, who has been a sixth-grade teacher at Verdugo Woodlands for 37 years and taught both of his children there. Wife Andrea Lichtman enjoyed the silent auction with Jeanette Draney, a Verdugo Woodlands kindergarten teacher for 10 years.
The evening’s proceeds will fund an extensive arts program at Verdugo Woodlands, from music and dance to painting and sculpting.
Supporters hope this year’s fundraiser will match last year’s fundraising total of $28,000.
The Cheesecake Factory at the Americana at Brand hosted the week’s most delicious event on April 28 and 29 —“test run” lunches to train their new staff.
On April 29, Glendale residents who stopped by included president of the Downtown Glendale Merchants Assn. Harry Hall, Alex Regional Art Board member Pam Elyea and husband Jim Elyea of “History for Hire” and Christina Kazazian and uncle Zaven K. Kazazian.
On April 28, Glendale City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian and Senior Assistant City Atty. Lucy Varpetian also tried out the Cheesecake Factory food. I have it on good authority that the mini-burgers appetizer and the Luau salad are to die for.
RUTH SOWBY can be reached at ruthsowby@msn.com.