Village Laguna presents potluck and funds

BARBARA DIAMOND

Village Laguna held a unique meeting Monday that combined a

scrumptious potluck dinner and the presentation of financial awards

to community groups.

“This is a special evening for Village Laguna,” President Ginger

Osborne said. “We are recognizing the wonderful organizations that

help make this the community we so love.”

Osborne presented checks to the representatives of the Friends of

the Library, Community Clinic, Historical Society, Laguna Art Museum

and to Laguna Beach High School 2004 graduate Jacquelin Reed.

Reed received the $1,000 scholarship announced at the Honors

Convocation.

She received a total of $7,000 in scholarships, including ones

from Laguna Greenbelt Inc. and the Blackburn Family Foundation.

Reed will use the money to attend USC where she’ll major in

environmental engineering. She became interested in the field as a

city lifeguard when pollution closed the beaches.

Former Mayor Charlton Boyd accepted a $200 check on behalf of the

Friends of the Library.

“Many people participate in this organization that has raised

significant funds to purchase books for the library, for which there

was no other money,” Boyd said.

Boyd is a twice-a-month volunteer in the tiny Friends’ bookstore,

which contributes more than $20,000 a year to the library.

“It’s a wonderful experience,” he said.

In an effort to pick up more of the slack in public funding,

especially hurtful due to the state’s recent economic crisis, Friends

of the Library President Martha Lydick extended the bookstore hours

to include Wednesday nights, which she staffs, according to Boyd.

Volunteers would be welcomed. For more information about

volunteering or becoming a member, call (949) 497-4637.

Community Clinic Executive Director Ericka Waidley accepted a $500

check and talked briefly about the clinic’s accomplishments,

particularly its push for more visibility for its vital services.

“When I started at the clinic 3 1/2 years ago, I thought it was

the best kept secret in town,” Waidley said. Funding comes from

grants and donations, 83% of which goes directly to patient care.

“That doesn’t leave much for marketing,” Waidley said.

The Friends of the Community Clinic was created to help raise

funds and recently celebrated its first anniversary by donating

$10,000. The clinic is also putting together an Advisory Council of

Ambassadors to make the community more aware of the services.

“We have more than 17,000 patient visits a year and the number is

growing,” Waidley said.

Clinic board member Wayne Ybarra and past board President Lee

Winocur-Field attended the potluck dinner.

Winocur-Field also spoke on behalf of the American Assn. of

University Women, which did not receive a check, but was recognized

for its contributions, such as the highly regarded after-school

tutoring program at El Morro Elementary School.

Gene Felder accepted a $100 check for the Historical Society,

headquartered in the Smith-Murphy House on Ocean Avenue.

“We are open most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4

p.m.,” Felder said. “We need more volunteers to be open more days.”

The society also presents programs about the history of Laguna,

including a 10th anniversary program on the 1993 Firestorm, the 25th

anniversary of the Bluebird Canyon landslide and Roger Jones’

presentation about Villa Rockledge.

For more information about society activities or membership, call

Felder at (949) 497-4525.

A $300 check for LAM was accepted by Johanna Felder.

“We appreciate your support,” Felder said. “And I hope each of you

becomes a member.”

Felder brought catalogs of past exhibits to the dinner and talked

about future shows, including the upcoming Plein Air Invitational.

“It’s an opportunity to buy wonderful art and very good prices,”

Felder said.

In August, the museum will unveil “100 Artists See God.” And every

second Thursday the museum has movie night.

For more information about museum memberships, ranging from $20 to

$500, call (949) 494-8971, Ext. 203.

Dave Peck thanked Village Laguna for the $1,250 check donated

earlier this year when the Crosscultural Council was desperate for

money to continue the Day Worker Center in Laguna Canyon.

“You are truly making Laguna a better place to live and work,”

Peck said.

The Council also operates La Playa Center, which provides child

care and English classes. The center will move from St. Mary’s

Episcopal Church in September to the Boys and Girls Club, recipient

of $250 check from Village Laguna.

“We re proud that our donation helped the refurbishment of the

club,” Osborne said.

All told, Village Laguna has distributed more than $5,000 this

year to various organizations including Laguna Resource Center,

SchoolPower, Top of the World Elementary School’s jog-a-thon and

Laguna Shanti, formerly in Laguna Beach. Contributions also were made

to help purchase a new rocket ship for Bluebird Park and to

underwrite two police officers’ dinners at the annual Exchange Club

Awards Banquet.

Village Laguna will field a team for the American Cancer Society’s

Relay for Life in September. Volunteers are invited -- Village Laguna

membership is not required. Call Doug Reilly at (949) 494-4137.

Announcements at the meeting included a pitch by Carolyn Wood for

participation in the appeal to the California Coastal Commission of

the city’s proposal to relocate the maintenance yard to the ACT V

parking lot in Laguna Canyon. The appeal is scheduled for July 15 at

the Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

“We need lots of letters to the commission and lots of bodies at

the hearing,” said Wood, president of the Laguna Canyon Conservancy.

“The conservancy will hire a bus if enough people want to take it.”

For more information, e-mail lagunacanyonconservancy

@cox.net or call (949) 497-1884.

Village Laguna is a nonprofit organization that supports the

unique character of Laguna Beach. It is a political action committee

and funds raised by the group are used to promote the group’s chosen

issues, candidates for local office who share its philosophy, as well

as the long-time scholarship and the recent donations.

* 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 (949) 494-4321 or fax (949) 494-8979.