Chamber awards four business leaders

Alicia Robinson

Four people being honored Tuesday have given more than a century of

service to the community.

The 2004 Hall of Fame awards given by the Costa Mesa Chamber of

Commerce and South Coast Metro Alliance honor leadership, personal

achievement and community spirit. Awards will go to South Coast

Repertory founders David Emmes and Martin Benson, Werner Escher of

South Coast Plaza, and Orange County Market Place founder Bob Teller.

“We try to mix it up so that there’s a spectrum of representation

in the city, because in Costa Mesa you can look in any direction and

find businesses that are extraordinarily successful, you can find

individuals whose achievements are head and shoulders above average

individuals,” said Ed Fawcett, president of the Costa Mesa Chamber of

Commerce.

The organizations giving the awards have a business focus, but

they look for the best examples of all kinds of community service,

Fawcett said.

This year’s award winners have given to the community in a variety

of ways.

South Coast Repertory, which will be honored for leadership in the

arts, has contributed to the arts since it was founded 40 years ago

and recently completed a major expansion of its theater, said Dan

Pittman, spokesman for the South Coast Metro Alliance.

“That’s good for everybody because it’s more opportunities for

everybody to experience the magic of live theater,” he said.

Emmes and Benson are the longest-serving repertory theater company

founders in the U.S. and the company has won numerous awards over the

years, Pittman said.

“We just know that [South Coast Repertory has] become a cultural

magnet for Costa Mesa,” he said.

For 37 years, Escher has been an ambassador for not only South

Coast Plaza but also the surrounding community, said Debra Gunn

Downing, marketing director for South Coast Plaza. Escher will be

given the personal achievement award.

As the shopping center’s executive director of domestic and

international markets, Escher often travels to Japan, Europe and

South America to draw business to the area, and people who come to

shop spill over into restaurants, hotels and other businesses, she

said.

“Werner’s efforts over the last 30 years have literally made South

Coast Plaza not only a Southern California shopping destination but

have really put us on the international shopping map,” Downing said.

Escher is known coast to coast in the tourism industry for his

outgoing and gracious personality and business knowledge, she said.

The community spirit award will be presented to Bob Teller, who

started the upscale swap meet known as the Orange County Market Place

35 years ago.

Teller and the Market Place have helped launch many businesses,

including one started by Michael Arnell, who owns a wallpaper store

in Westminster called the Border Store.

Arnell said he didn’t have the money to open a store initially,

but he took his concept to the swap meet, and within four years he

was successful enough there to open his own free-standing business.

“None of this would have happened if I hadn’t had that opportunity

out there, so he’s been a milestone in my life,” Arnell said of

Teller.

“A lot of people that have started in business have started out

there and gone on to be successful,” he said.