Pilot’s community spirit continues to shine

TONY DODERO

Friday was a big night for Daily Piloteers.

It began with a reception at the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive

Center near the corner of Irvine Avenue and University Drive.

There, our own photographer Kent Treptow was the artist of the

night as his display of landscape and wildlife photography from the

Upper Newport Bay was the center of attention.

The wine and caviar was in abundance, a slight change from the

normal newsroom staples of tacos and pizza.

The crowd was a mix of arts patrons and environmentalists and the

weather and beautiful scenery of the Back Bay made for a pleasant

atmosphere.

A number of newsroom staffers were in attendance, and the event

even dragged former Pilot photographer Sean Hiller back from his

roost in the South Bay to watch Treptow get his moment in the sun.

In case you didn’t hear about Treptow’s display, it is titled

“Wild at Heart” and features photography published in a two-page

full-color spread in the Daily Pilot earlier this year.

The pictorial caught the eye of local environmentalist Dennis

Baker, who is also a member of the Newport Beach Arts Commission.

Baker hooked up with Treptow and helped arrange the entire show at

the center.

The exhibit, which officially began Saturday, will run until June

20. Treptow has pledged to give a portion of his sales to local

environmental groups.

Congratulations to him, and thanks to Baker for making this

happen.

*

Soon after stopping by the exhibit, I and my family, which

included my wife, three kids, mother in law and two nieces, drove

down Irvine Avenue a few blocks to Newport Harbor High to play a

small part in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event.

The Relay for Life, featuring teams from throughout Newport-Mesa,

is a 24-hour walking relay to raise money for the American Cancer

Society.

The annual event, which went from 6 p.m. Friday until 6 p.m.

Saturday, was designed to remember those who have lost their life to

cancer and honor those who have fought it and survived.

Some 50 teams were scheduled to participate, meaning there should

have been some 1,700 participants.

Our family had many reasons to be there Friday night.

My wife lost her father to cancer when she was 16 and I lost my first cousin, who was only in his early 40s and left behind three

young daughters.

My second cousin, who has three young children of her own,

survived a breast cancer scare when she was in her 30s and had

thyroid cancer in her 20s. She’s doing fine now.

Even fresher in our mind this year, however, was the loss of Judy

Oetting, the Daily Pilot’s longtime advertising director, who

succumbed to pancreatic cancer last February.

Many of us were there to show just how much we really miss Judy

and the Daily Pilot team could be seen decked out in pink shirts with

a caricature of Judy on the back done by our cartoonist Steve Bolton.

One of the luminarias, paper bags that are filled with a lighted

candle and lined along the walking track, had a message that read:

“In memory of Judy Oetting: I miss your laugh.”

That said it all for me.

Leading the Pilot Relay for Life team was Promotions Director Lana

Johnson and columnist and reporter Lolita Harper. Both had pledged to

spend the night at the track to keep our pledge of an all-night vigil

intact.

I called Harper Saturday morning to see how things went.

“Last night was fun but extremely tiring,” Lolita told me. “Once

you get past that 3 a.m. corner, then it’s really cool because you

get to see the sun coming up. Everything starts picking up and gets

nice and serene. It was awesome but tiring but really cool to watch

the sun come up when you’re walking.”

Those who have never been to Relay for Life are really missing

out. It’s a great community event and it was fun to watch all the

teams, some of which included employees from the city as well as the

police and fire departments. There were a number of elected officials

past and present putting in their time to honor or remember loved

ones lost to this treacherous disease.

There was music and food and the bratwurst cooked up by the police

department got thumbs up from my family.

Just as we were leaving, there was a beautiful and touching

candlelight vigil at the musical stage.

The Relay for Life, which was expected to raise at least $60,000

for the American Cancer Society, is just proof once again of the

giving spirit of the Newport-Mesa community.

We at the Daily Pilot are just thankful to be a part of that.