Fashionable support for Chapman University
B.W COOK
Martinis were served. Guests danced cheek to cheek. It was the start
of a very romantic evening. An incomparable setting provided by hosts
Twyla and Charles Martin set the tone for an end-of-summer gathering
for the Fashionables in support of Chapman University.
On the oceanfront cliffs above Emerald Bay, some 200 glamorous
patrons arrived at the formidable Martin estate, a Georgian-inspired
stone manor by the sea.
The dinner party was set up on the sloping lawn above the Pacific
facing north and west into the sunset. This was surely O.C. at its
best. A dance combo of Chapman musicians played on, its music
emanating from the Martin’s Orangerie, erected on the far
northeastern edge of the property. In the background, the coastal
hills began to twinkle as the lights of evening flickered. Adrienne
Brennan, Newport’s raven-hair beauty in a red cocktail dress, was
escorted by Ron Jackson.
The evening’s committee included a Newport foursome -- Eve
Kornyei, Rusty Hood, Chris Sulivan and Leslie Cancelliere. What a
team. Power and panache -- the night reflected their touch. Catered
by Adam Navidi, the Martin’s personal chef of choice, the party
unfolded with the style of Gatsby. Everything was elevated just one
notch above superior.
It was an evening to honor Chapman University, and in particular
the Chapman school of film and television. Dean Bob Bassett and his
wife, Janell, attended the affair along with an appearance by Chapman
President Jim Doti and his wife, Lynne Pierson Doti, two of the most
beloved O.C. citizens out and about. Part of the evening presentation
included the screening of Chapman students’ short films in the Martin
theater.
As dinner was served, guests, including Sandra Brodie and Peter
Kaufman, Ollie Hill and Julian Morgan, Sue and Dave Hook, Whitney and
Jerry Mandel, JoAnne and Gene Mix, Nancy Burnett and Glenn Miller,
Christie and Grant Bettingen, Linda and Ron Beale and Mary Dell
Barkouras and Tom Johnston were seated at round tables draped in
black linen out on the gray stone terrace of the estate.
Longtime friends of Chapman, such as Gloria and Ray Osbrink, Diana
and Ed Sterling, Elizabeth Vincent, Vesta Curry, Noddie and Bill
Weltner and Margaret Richardson were also in the dinner crowd sharing
conversation and their connection to Chapman.
At the root of the social agenda is the all-important need to
financially support the university. The Fashionables, one of the most
generous of Chapman donor groups, has pledged $500,000 to support the
new school of TV and film. The funds will go to the creation of a
state-of-the-art board room that will be part of the Chapman Studios,
helping the university become one of the nation’s leading schools of
media in the nation.
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