THE CROWD -- B.W. Cook

Celebrating late summer, the ladies of the 1221 Club, a club within a

club at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach, set sail for a sunset

cocktail cruise on the harbor to renew friendships and congratulate

themselves for a job well done raising funds for college scholarships

awarded to Newport Mesa students.

The 1221 Club, named for the Coast Highway address of the Balboa Bay

Club and founded seven years ago by Bay Club chairwoman Beverly Ray, was

designed to foster community relationships for the women of the Balboa

Bay Club and to raise funds to offer college assistance to worthy local

young people.

The Balboa Bay Club 1221 College Scholarship Fund and the E. Morris

Smith Balboa Bay Club College Scholarship -- awarded to an outstanding

student athlete in the community and named in honor of the late Smith, a

developer and Balboa Bay Club governor -- have become the largest single

grants in the Newport Mesa district. The grants are awarded each year at

graduation time to deserving students nominated by their school

administration and decided upon by a board comprised of distinguished

locals from diverse fields, including business, education, science,

politics and society.

The women of 1221 and the men supporting the Smith grant donate annual

dues of $100 or more each year to fund the awards. More than $25,000 in

scholarships were made in June to college-bound students from a variety

of Newport-Mesa schools. The summer sunset cruise on the yacht Mojo

entertained 1221 ladies, including LaVerne Bugna, Patty Brown, Georgine

Kabler, Laurie Antal, Traule Huycke, Iva Swayne, Marj Elmquist, Gerrie

Kasnicka, Etelka Greer, Carol McCann, Tommie Booker, Nancy Hill, Cathy

Lowden, Linda Hansen, Dona Schultz, Marilyn Wooten, Rona Singer, Ginette

Miller, Clara Clem, Terry Kruley, Judy Cwiertnia, Florence Fainbarg,

Cerise Feeley, Ramona Bernamonte, Ann Van Ausdeln and Beverly Ray.

Additional funds raised from activities, such as the cruise, have

helped to establish an endowment fund that will eventually enable the

scholarships to continue in perpetuity.

* * *

Two major events unfold this week on the Orange Coast to benefit

worthy causes. The AIDS Services Foundation of Orange County will present

the 15th annual and final “Big Splash,” which opened last night and

continues through Sunday at the Laguna Beach residence of Splash

benefactors Ken Jillson and Al Roberts.

More than $600,000 in contributions have been collected prior to

opening night, with organizers hoping to break the million mark for the

final hurrah.

Big Splash is a high camp variety show, rich in social commentary and

satiric barbs. Nearly $5 million has been raised in the past 15 years of

the production.

More than 200 volunteers have made the event possible, and more than

1,000 guests have viewed the production every season.

The final production is being called “Splashin’ Under the Big Top,”

and a few tickets remain available. Call (949) 580-2020 for more

information.

The second big event is also water related. There will be plenty of

splashing going on at the 12th annual Tiara Yachts/Hoag Hospital 552 Club

Tag and Release Billfish Tournament, which also gets a big send off

tonight with a tournament bon voyage party unfolding at the Balboa Yacht

Club. The anglers leave Friday for two days of competition followed by

the awards dinner set for Sunday back at the yacht club.

More than 120 anglers are registered to date, reports co-chairperson

and previous tournament champion Lyn Cathcart.

This is one of the original tag and release events of its kind, and

the event has raised more than $350,000 for Hoag hospital over the years.

This year’s fishing fantasy also will be led by Keith Yonkers, joining

Cathcart with the organizing duties.

* B.W. Cook is editor of The Bay Window Magazine, a publication of The

Balboa Bay Club. His column, THE CROWD, appears Thursday and Saturday.