The Crowd
B.W. Cook
Spencer R. Stuart, the honorary chairman of one of the nation’s most
influential executive search firms, compares excellence in business
management to the baking powder in a cake.
“There is not much baking power in a cake mix, but if it’s the wrong
amount, the cake is spoiled,” said Stuart during the recent Orange County
Business in the Arts annual awards presentation and dinner.
The tall executive with the dry wit charmed his impressive peers who
had come to pay tribute to Stuart, guest of honor at the 1999 ceremony
held at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel in Fashion Island, and at
Newport’s premiere dining room, the Ritz Restaurant.
The Orange County Business Committee for the Arts was founded in 1981
by David S. Tappan, Jr., then chairman and CEO of Fluor Corp. Tappan, on
hand for the 1999 awards with his wife, Jeanne, has had a long and
rewarding association with Betty Moss, founding director of the
committee.
“We are honored to have so many people who make a significant
difference in this community participating in this program,” said Moss, a
former broadcast journalist who has devoted the past 20 years of her
professional life to promoting the relationship of culture and business
in Orange County.
The annual gathering is a testament to Moss’ commitment. The role
call for Business in the Arts includes the most respected individuals and
corporations operating in the region. Moss, Tappan and the entire
organization comprise a most significant “who’s who,” or rather a “who’s
making a difference” in this community. It is a fact of considerable
accomplishment for Moss, who proudly welcomed the evening’s guest
speaker, Donald P. Kennedy, chairman of First Financial Corporation and
chairman of the Orange County Business Committee for the Arts.
Kennedy charmed the proverbial socks off the crowd. His irreverent
manner and schoolboy banter took the edge off the formality of the awards
presentation.
“It’s interesting to watch the power brokers get playful with one
another,” shared local public relations executive Madeline Zuckerman, in
the crowd with husband Len, a power broker in his own right with his
Newport Beach-based paper products business.
The Zuckerman’s joined local luminaries, including Peggy Goldwater and
Bob Clay; the dynamic Barbara Pieper, director of the California Arts
Council in from Sacramento for the evening; acclaimed Venice-based artist
and designer Billy Al Bengston and his wife, Wendy Al; Zee Allred, CEO of
Pool Water Products; and Jo Ellen Allen, representing the Edison Co.
Also in the distinguished crowd were Renee and Henry Segerstrom, Frank
and Belia Ayala, Cliff and Donna Carper, Bob Crevier, Ron and Lorna
Duncan, Barbara and Jim Glabman, Marcia and Karl Giesler, Norma and Dell
Glover, Bob and Kathi Haskell, Mark Johnson, Roger Kirwan, Jean Macino
and Laird Blue, Pat and Carl Neisser, Roger and Colleen Oglesby, Frank
and Debbie Rugani, Anton Segerstrom, Jim and Harriet Selna, Phyllis and
Pat Sweeney, and the respected chairman and CEO of Newport-based Pacific
Life, Tom Sutton with his wife, Marilyn.
Between jokes, Kennedy awarded the 1999 honors to: Salvatore
Ferragamo, First American Trust, The Boeing Company, Edison
International, Data Into Action, AT&T;, First American Financial, Glabman
Furniture, KPMG LLP, Latham and Watkins, Rutan and Tucker LLP, Deloitte
and Touche LLP, and the Los Angeles Times.
In addition,the annual arts award, delivered with a $2,500 cash grant,
underwritten by Deloitte and Touche, was given to Saint Joseph Ballet.
Award acceptance speeches were eloquent and brief.
Dinner at the Ritz was up to its usual standard, beginning with the
trademark Ritz egg with Russian Osetra caviar, followed by wild mushroom
cappuccino soup, and prime New York Stiploin. For dessert, baked Alaska
with brandied Bing cherries jubilee ended an evening of conversation,
culture and commitment to the arts from local business society with the
means and the motivation to make a difference in this community. B.W.
COOK’S column appears every Thursday and Saturday.
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