A strong gathering for a great cause

OUR LAGUNA

It was ALL about him.

The music, the food, the donated raffle and auction items, the

bidders and the volunteers who made the Benefit for Joey happen, all

had one goal -- to make life better for Joe Masella and his family.

The 10-year-old El Morro Elementary School student has

epidermolysis bulluso, for which there is no cure as yet and darn

little research toward that end. The benefit raised $25,000, with

another $2,300 still to come in from the silent auction, to help Joe

get the most advanced treatment possible for the disease, which

causes blistering inside and outside of his body, all exacerbated by

friction and heat and subject to infection.

Joe was the center of attention all night at [seven-degrees],

where the benefit was held last week. It is not his favorite spot,

but he came out from behind a phalanx of friends to pick the first

raffle ticket. He wore dark glasses most of the night, due to an eye

injury.

More than 250 people attended, ranging from students to police

officers, friends to family members and well-wishers.

El Morro schoolmates Elizabeth Shabazian and “Wex” Wexall hung

with Joe all night, much of it spent in the VIP room upstairs from

the main action. All three are going into the fifth grade when school

starts in September. Talented young musician Evren Ozan, a story in

himself, joined the group after his stint at the entrance to

[seven-degrees], performing on his flutes.

Evren, who is home-schooled, brought 10 flutes from his extensive

collection and a drum.

“I use different flutes for different songs,” he said.

Evren is going into the fourth grade. His mother, Faith, said she

was going into the fifth.

Police Chief James Spriene also spent a bunch of time with Joe.

Last year, Jim presented Joe with a badge when the boy was named a

special officer of the Laguna Beach Police Department.

Sgt. Darin Lenyi and Officer Joe Torres volunteered to patrol the

benefit. Captain Danell Adams also attended and got into a bidding

war with Imax film producer Greg McGillivray for a painting.

“I still don’t know if I got the painting, but the bidding wasn’t

about art, it was about Joey,” said Adams.

“His role in our community and in the school district is huge.

Given the budget constraints and the personnel constraints, the

district does a phenomenal job of providing kids like Joey with a

normal school environment and it’s a valuable lesson for his fellow

students.”

Adams’ family has known Joe’s mom, Laurie, since she was a girl.

“My mother, who came to Laguna in 1964, remembers Joey’s

grandmother, who just recently died,” Adams said. “Laurie and her

sister were in and out of my mother’s house a lot..”

Other bidders included author Barbara Seranella, Barbara

MacGillivray, Wendy Crump, Tammy Stanaland, Ray Tang and Keiko

Beatie.

Kathy Hyland, Shona Spazinky, Ashley Pigden, Jeannette Lee, Susan

Sandler, Jimmy O’Kane, Patti Bradley and Lisa Genesta, all friends of

Joe’s parents, Laurie and Claudio, collected and displayed the

hundreds of auction items.

Larry Du Bord made three bids on a Bruce Friend art glass vase.

Dora Wexall bid on a gorgeous quilted bag donated by Katherine Kiss,

with whom Wexall shares a Sawdust Booth.

“The Sawdust was very generous,” Wexall said.

Musician Lee Rocker, whose daughter attends school with Joe,

rocked the audience. Tony Corke, executive chef of the White House,

donated the food for the event and oversaw the preparation.

“The White House and Seven Degrees really helped our numbers,”

said Sande St. John, who organized the benefit with Sandy Thornton.

“They have completely written off everything. Mark Orgill (owner of

[seven-degrees]) and the Sawdust Festival have just been marvelous.”

Only The Sandies could have pulled off such a quality event on

such short notice.

Among those who attended: Katrina and City Councilman Steven

Dicterow, who welcomed guests.

“We take care of our own,” Dicterow said.

Also: Theresa Daem, Laguna Beach Unified School District

superintendent; Joanne Culverhouse, principal of El Morro; Nick

Hernandez, who recently organized a successful benefit for musician

Eric Henderson at [seven-degrees]; and Alyssa Summey and Marissa

Viszolay, daughters of artists who grew up together at the Sawdust

where their parents exhibited.

And: Planning Commissioners Norm Grossman and Anne Johnson and her

husband, Marv, who teaches a sculpting class at the Laguna College of

Art and Graphics with former Laguna Beach County Water District

General Manager Joe Sovella; City Council candidate Melissa O’Neal

and her husband, Mike; Laurie Masella’s sister -- Joey’s aunt, Joanne

Harabedian and Buzz Dioro.

The event concluded [seven-degrees’] summer musical series, but

the music lingers on. Contributions still can be made to Joey Masella

Fund, Fidelity Federal Bank, 310 Glenneyre St.

For more information, call 499-9117.

LAGUNA TREASURES

Eight treasured Lagunans will be honored Sept. 9, when the Laguna

Canyon Conservancy resumes dinner meetings at Tivoli Terrace.

Jeannie Bernstein, Ben and Gigi Blount, Arnold and Bonnie Hano,

Lida Lenney, Phyllis Sweeeney and Betty Swenson will be honored as

Laguna Treasures.

“Various environmental groups nominated them and we offered to

have the event, since we have dinner meetings anyway,” said

conservancy President Carolyn Wood. “These long-time Lagunans have

made a significant contribution in the effort to maintain our town’s

village character and in the preservation of our greenbelt.”

Friends of the honorees are encouraged to attend. The meeting is

open to the public.

This will be the second Laguna Treasures event. Last year, Charlie

Boyd, Joyce Dusenberry, Hortense Miller, Evelyn Munro, Don Rose, Pat

Sturgis, Estelle Warner, Lila Zali and the late Tanya Barton and

Alice Graves were honored.

Dinner is $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Membership is

$10 a year, January to December, and can be paid for at the meetings.

Tickets may be purchased at the door, but reservations are a must.

Saturday, Sept. 7 is the deadline to make reservations by calling Ed

or Kit Drollenger at 494-6465 and leaving a message with your name,

telephone number and number of reservations desired.

EXPLORING EXCELLENCE

Seven Laguna Beach Police Explorers recently graduated from the

Explorers Academy, four with honors.

“The academy is very intense,” Police Chief James Spreine said.

“One hundred and twenty explorers attended. I inspected them all and

pinned our kids.”

Explorers Marcus Claar, Stephane Arvalo, Ana Moz, Tom Cahill,

Andrew Garlock, Jordan Billwok and Camran Aldapavari attended the

camp. Moz, Cahill and Arvalo were recognized for physical training.

Arvalo also collected kudos as most improved. Andrew was recognized

for report writing.

Explorer coordinator Sgt. George Ramos, Lt. Mike Hall, who started

his career in law enforcement as a Laguna Beach explorer; and

officers Ted Falencki and Pat Etemadi were on hand to see the post’s

explorers graduate. Ted is explorer advisor of the Laguna Beach post,

Etemadi is the associate advisor.

“We now have 16 explorers, an all-time high,” Ramos said. “We meet

at 7 p.m. on Thursdays. Anyone interested in joining can call me,

Etemadi or Falencki at 497-0701.

* Our Laguna is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box

248, Laguna Beach, 92652, hand-deliver to 384 Forest Ave., Suite 22;

call 494-4321 or fax 494-8979.