The Crowd:

The Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort, Huntington Beach, welcomed more than 250 guests for the 20th anniversary celebration on behalf of a local organization known as Serving People In Need (SPIN).

Party organizers billed the event as “Under The Harvest Moon,” and invited celebrity chef Jamie Gwen of the Newport Coast to serve as mistress of ceremonies. Gwen is known locally in part because of her radio program on KFWB News 980, which is a live conversational cooking show on the air every Sunday. By the end of the evening, more than $200,000 was raised for SPIN, which is dedicated to dealing with the growing problem of homelessness in Orange County.

The 20th anniversary party paid special tribute to Newport Beach resident Melanie Salata Fitch, wife of Ed Fitch and daughter of the legendary Paul Salata. The father and daughter team are well known for their 35-year involvement with Irrelevant Week, a tribute to the last player drafted in the National Football League. Salata Fitch has also been a longtime dedicated supporter of SPIN, in addition to working for Special Olympics, Goodwill Industries, Orangewood and a host of other local charities.

As guests arrived at the Hilton, they entered a massive silent auction filling four enormous rooms while enjoying a hosted wine and hors d’oeuvres reception. Dinner was served in the grand ballroom and prepared by executive chef Jeff Littlefield of the Hilton, working with guest chef Vartan Abgaryan from A Restaurant, Newport Beach. The five-course gourmet dinner was served with appropriate wines, while dancing to the music of Tom Thumb and the Hitchhikers kept the crowd upbeat. Major benefactors of the evening included Dick and Kim Crawford, Don and Susan Kang, Nancy and Geoffrey Stack, Peggy and Frank Listi, Karen and Dick Nichol, John Rallis and Mary Lynn Bergman-Rallis, and Mary Lou and Wayne Shattuck.

Spotted in the crowd were Salata Fitch’s proud dad with his wife, Carolyn, Doug and Mary Ann Tuggle, Bob and Tara Mayer, Thom and Kim Miller, Cynthia Amaral, Jennifer Anderson, John Gilchrist, Al De Grassi, and NFL great Le Roy Irving. Also front and center was Jean Wegener, executive director of SPIN, who thanked the crowd for their generosity, their hard work and dedication to the hundreds of families who have been provided housing by SPIN and the thousands of people who have been fed. Wegener said, “Let’s see what more we can accomplish in the next 20 years,” as the enthusiastic crowd applauded.

SPIN has three programs to serve citizens in need in Orange County. They include Guided Assistance to Permanent Placement Housing Programs, known as GAPP, Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program, known as SARP, and a street services program that provides meals every week to the homeless and distributes hygiene kits, warm clothing, blankets and makes referrals to local shelters. To find out more about the work of SPIN, call Wegener at (714) 751-1101 ext. 12.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.