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.