The Crowd: Foley feted at SPIN’s annual gala, presents $25,000 to the nonprofit
It was an evening of style and substance as the sponsors and generous donors supporting Serving People In Need (SPIN) came together for its 2023 gala dinner billed as “A Night At Club 1221.”
The Balboa Bay Resort grand ballroom welcomed about 200 patrons who came to open wallets providing funding earmarked for permanent housing stability and counseling services benefiting O.C. families.
SPIN donors have been making a difference for needy families in the county for nearly four decades. For those who give, it is a calling. The crowd arrives to enjoy the camaraderie with fellow advocates. More significantly, they come to change lives.
In the spirit of this cause, the annual dinner celebration paid homage to two exemplary O.C. citizens. Both are people at the forefront of improving the lives of the marginalized in this, one of the wealthiest communities in the nation. SPIN event chair and board member of the organization MaryLou Shattuck created a special honor presenting the first annual Jean Wegener Humanitarian Award named for the late executive director of SPIN. Wegener served the nonprofit with resolve and strength of purpose for 25 years. Her legacy of standing up for the most underserved families with children in the O.C. represents the ideal model for presenting the first annual recognition to Katrina Foley, supervisor, 5th District, Orange County Board of Supervisors.
Shattuck welcomed Foley to the stage with genuine appreciation for her role supporting the unhoused in the O.C. The supervisor responded by presenting a $25,000 check to SPIN in honor of the late Jean Wegener and the work that continues on as the challenges remain.
A standing ovation followed, and the giving continued at-large, taking over the upbeat mood of the ballroom in response to the classy, intelligent and heartfelt demeanor of hostess, emcee and live auctioneer chef Jamie Gwen.
Dressed to impress in tailored lipstick red evening attire, the blond Culinary Institute and Le Cordon Blu grad, who is a nationally syndicated radio host, seven-time cookbook author and regular on television’s Food Network, along with stations KTLA, NBC, HSN and others, charmed the crowd, raising impressive donations. By the evening’s end, some $300,000 was raised.
Supreme credit for the success belongs to SPIN’s platinum sponsor and board chair Curtis R. Scheetz and his wife, Jill, both of whom receive a nod for “best dressed” in great nightclub style befitting the theme of the party. Others in that platinum circle of givers included home builder Dick Crawford and his wife, Kim; Maureen Flannagan of First Republic Bank, Channing Lindsay of Flagship Bank, Charlie and Regina Granville, Gazal Pour-Moezzi of Sheppard Mullin, Rachel Owen from Tri-Circle Financial, Frank and Peggy Listi, and chair MaryLou Shattuck and husband Wayne Shattuck.
Additional major donors in the crowd were Michael Gilmore, who served on the event committee with Shattuck responsible for major auction gifts, Veronica Lopez, and SPIN board members including vice chair Kate Domagala and Al and Susan Degrassi. Front and center from SPIN, deserving kudos for a successful event, were Crystal Cook, Maria Mazzenga Avellaneda, interim director and Ladeshia Goubert, SPIN’s director of donors and volunteer relations, who also served as de facto co-chair to Shattuck.
On arrival, guests shared in a cocktail reception, sampling the passed hors d’oeuvres from the kitchen of Balboa Bay Resort executive chef Prathapan while perusing silent auction offerings in the pre-function room adjacent to the ballroom. Party planners separated the massive ballroom, taking one-third of the newly redecorated grand space turning it into a lounge fronted by a jazz trio. Waiters served champagne as guests sat at small cocktail tables moving back and forth from the pre-function lobby and silent auction.
As the dinner bells sounded, the massive walls separating the jazz club from the ballroom parted,, and the SPIN guests were seated in the elegant black-and-white decorated club setting.
The crowd was served an exceptional three-course dinner featuring Prathapan’s famous short rib entrée as the program began with emotional videos delivered from two SPIN families rescued from living in shelters and cars. One of the mothers shared on video that her young son claims, “I love my bed. My own bed.” A message delivered in the most simple, direct way without further explanation.
Post dinner service, speeches, honors and auction, topped off by a decedent layered chocolate dessert, the Dan Olivio Band with three horns took over the room, bringing patrons up on their feet to the beat of American standards reminiscent of long-gone days of the old nightclubs.
To learn more about the work of SPIN visit spinoc.org.
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