BRIEFLY IN BUSINESS

Playhouse hosts business breakfast

Melinda Masson, founder and chief executive officer of The Merit Companies, a property management firm, will speak on “The Importance of Business and the Arts” to a Business Circle Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, March 29 at the Surf & Sand Resort in Laguna Beach.

The event is sponsored by Laguna Playhouse as part of its new Business Circle program. The Business Circle program was launched about six months ago. Members pay $1,000, which entitles them to opening night tickets, backstage tours, special events, networking, and recognition on the Playhouse’s Donor Wall, among other benefits.

The Business Circle’s Corporate Committee Chair is Jeffrey Sharpe, vice president of brokerage for Cushman & Wakefield. Corporate committee members include Larry Cripe (IBM), Sal DiMascio (Playhouse Trustee), LaVerne Friedmann (Friedmann & Friedmann Insurance), Chris Lange (Citizens Business Bank), Kurt Mulville (Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe), and Karyn Philippsen (Laguna Beach Visitors Bureau).

For more information on the Laguna Playhouse Business Circle, visit www.laguna playhouse.com.

Masson has been recognized as a business leader in Orange County for years, and was named Woman of the Year by the Southern California District of Business and Professional Women. In 2001, Working Women’s Magazine honored her with their Overall Excellence Award for the State of California.

Masson currently sits on the boards of Mission Hospital and Chapman University, and is a trustee at Laguna Playhouse. Masson has been active as a keynote speaker for Pacific Coast Builders Conference, Urban League Institute, National Assn. of Home Builders, Community Assn. Institute, and numerous civic and business organizations. She resides in Laguna Beach with her husband, Maurice, and their three children.

The Business Circle Breakfast is included in Business Circle membership. Registration for the breakfast starts at 7:30 a.m.

The cost for nonmembers is $25 per person. The breakfast fee is waived for those who join the Business Circle at this event.

Reservations are required by March 23 to Greg Patterson at (949) 497-2787 ext. 216, or at gpatterson@laguna playhouse.com.

Thibault to give realty report

Gil Thibault of Prudential California Realty will give his annual Laguna Beach and Orange County Real Estate Report to the Laguna Beach Business Club at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, March 15 at the Hotel Laguna in Laguna Beach.

The report will cover historical and current trends in real estate and what consumers can expect in 2007.

Thibault has been involved in real estate in Laguna Beach and Orange County for the past 30 years and teaches a real estate economics course at Irvine Valley College.

Visitors are welcome but reservations are required. Admission is $20 and includes an all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast.

For more information and reservations, contact club president Steve Ewing at (949) 497-4275 or e-mail him at steve@ewingdesigngroup.com.

Local lawyer makes ‘Super’ list

Rosanne M. Nolan, a Laguna Beach resident for 12 years, was recently named a “Super Lawyer” for the third year in a row.

Nolan obtained her B.A. degree from the University of Hawaii in 1974, and attended Loyola University School of Law in Los Angeles, where she graduated with honors in 1979.

For the last 15 years, she has been practicing employment, business litigation, general corporate, real estate and insurance bad faith law as in-house counsel at Insco Insurance Services, Inc., a mono-line surety company with offices in California and 10 other states.

Nolan has been an active member of the Orange County and Los Angeles County Bar Assns.’ for 27 years, and served as co-chair of the Orange County Bar Assn.’s Corporate Counsel section in 2004 and 2005. She has also served as judge pro tem for the Los Angeles County court system since 1984 and has been an arbitrator for the Orange County fee arbitration program since 2000.

The objective of Super Lawyers is to identify the top 5% of attorneys in each state as a resource to assist attorneys and consumers in the search for outstanding legal counsel. Super Lawyers magazine is published in 48 states.