Ladies providing some assistance

B.W. COOK

Broadway performer Patrick Cassidy, son of Shirley Jones and the late

Jack Cassidy, came to the Balboa Bay Club & Resort in Newport Beach

on behalf of the Assistance League of Newport-Mesa.

Cassidy brought Joel Silberman, his exceptional pianist-composer-

arranger and his stage show, complete with Cassidy family nostalgia

and plenty of good-old-fashioned stage presence and vocal talent. It

was all part of the annual Assistance League spring luncheon

fundraiser, “Shamrocks and Rainbows.”

Presented by the Las Reinas and Virginia Castle auxiliaries of the

Assistance League, the event was chaired by Doris Hope with

assistance from Ann Shonstrom and Kathy Harvey.

A full house of ladies, dressed in their springtime best, filled

the club’s ballroom. Master of ceremonies Jim Dale auctioned off a

stay in a Paris apartment and a round of golf at Pelican Hill, among

other fabulous prizes.. A massive silent auction filled the reception

corridor of the club, helping to raise the financial bar for the

ladies of the league.

The major underwriters of the 2005 luncheon were Mary Lynn

Bergman-Rallis, Maureen B. Klein, Mary Ree, Barbara Roberts, Sandra

Stone and Brenda Ziegler. Additional support came from Ann Marie

Alford, Jocelyn Gilbert and Christine Morgan, to name only a few.

Assistance League President Chris Morgan was on hand to welcome

the crowd. She joined auxiliary chairs Katie Wilker, who represented

the Las Reinas ladies, and Virginia Castle representatives Carol

Boice and Marcia O’Hern in thanking all who participated for their

generosity.

Spotted in the crowd were Assistance League donors, supporters and

members, including Marie-France Lefebvre, Corinne Black, Cynthia

DeBaun, Jean Loomis and Joanne Johnston. Also on hand were Annie

Piermont, Betty Harline, Elaine Basmajian, Gail Pollard, Judy

Rittenhouse, Karen Treaccar, Vicki Warmington and Barbara Wolfe.

All proceeds from the $75 per person luncheon, which was expected

to raise $75,000, will go to philanthropic projects sponsored by the

League, including the Children’s Cental Center, Operation School

Bell, Kids on the Block and other community outreach programs

benefiting children in the Costa Mesa and Newport Beach communities.

The Assistance League is celebrating 65 years of service to the

Newport-Mesa community.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.