The Social Whirl – By Floretta Lauber

“City Recognition Dinner Held in Tropical Paradise”
Aloha. Westwind dancers and music entertained 270 city commissioners and Silver Circle volunteers Thursday evening, March 25th, at the 2010 Recognition dinner hosted by the City of Arcadia.

The Community Center was transformed into a tropical paradise. A delicious buffet was served on the terrace. Each guest was presented a colorful gift bag with a fresh pineapple, mango and Hawaiian delicacies at the Marketplace. Table centerpieces were exotic red tropical flowers, flown in from Hawaii. The ambiance of the room was awesome. Congratulations to the city staff for a remarkable evening.
All city council members were in attendance and thank-yous and introductions were made by Mayor Wuo, City Manager Don Penman and city department heads.
“ALA 40th for School Bell Rings a ’10′”
Over 300 members, friends and city VIPs overflowed into the Assistance League’s clubhouse on March 9th to celebrate in style the 40th anniversary of their “Operation School Bell,” a program that became part of ALA in 1958. Its purpose is to clothe children in need. Tours were conducted through their store and a bountiful buffet was served. Mucho congratulations.

“Alan Jackson; Deputy District Attorney Major Crimes Unit for Los Angeles County”

I covered Alan Jackson on March 12th at Arcadia Rotary. Most of us are familiar with one of Los Angeles County’s riveting case revolving around two trials for music producer Phil Spector. Traditionally Los Angeles has had trouble convicting celebrities. Think back to O.J., Robert Blake and many others. This time, Alan Jackson and County Deputy District Attorney Truc Do successfully prosecuted Phil Spector and received a conviction of second degree murder in the 2003 death of actress Lana Clarkson.
Jackson is responsible for handling high profile and extraordinary cases. He is a seasoned prosecutor who thrives on arguing cases in court. After receiving his J.D., he worked with a small firm doing civil legal work, but his experience in private practice only fueled his desire to work as a prosecutor.
He spent more than five years in the Hardcore Gang Division before beingpromoted to the Major Crimes Division in 2004.
Jackson claimed that “crime dropped during the depression and our present economic problems. Murders are not a social problem. You treat them as Crime.”
Other guests were Ted Jones, Assistant Governor 2009-2011, for Rotary District 5800, and from Tijuana Rotary, Fernand De Los Santos, Arcadia’s contact for all the work they do with orphanages led by Dick Martinez.

“Musical Lovers Alert”

Over the past 16 months, San Gabriel Valley Music Theatre has embarked on a vigorous campaign to bring Broadway musicals back to the legendary San Gabriel Mission Playhouse. In that time frame, they have made significant strides in increasing audience attendance and building a donor base by staging the hit musicals Forever Plaid, South Pacific: In Concert and two tremendous Big Band Concerts. Now they look to you to help them take a giant leap forward.
Bobby Hundley, producing artistic director, says, “Our continued success depends on the sponsorship of charitable patrons in order to enable us to expand our high quality programming and keep music theatre alive in the San Gabriel Valley. As your arts organization, you can trust us to remain fiscally responsible. SGVMT is proud to boast that we have never debt financed a performance, never plan to and currently are operating free of debt.
Now is the time for those of us who love musical productions to step forward and pledge support. The SGVMT’s productions cost for the concert version of Miss Saigon is $50,000, they are not there yet. Help save musical theatre, one musical at a time. Call Sally Baldwin, president, at (626) 282-1440, or mail donations or pledges to San Gabriel Valley Theatre, P.O. Box 848, San Gabriel, CA 91778. Take advantage of many exciting sponsorship benefits.

“Native Voices at the Autry Marked 10th Anniversary with West Coast Premiere of Darrell Dennis’ One-man Show “Tales of An Urban Indian'”

Native Voices at the Autry, the nation’s only Equity theatre dedicated exclusively to producing new works by Native American playwrights and performed by Native actors, celebrated its 10th anniversary season with a festive post-performance party on March 13, following the West Coast premiere of Darrell Dennis” (Shuswap) acclaimed one-man show, Tales of an Urban Indian, directed by Herbie Barnes (Ojibway), in the Autry’s Wells Fargo Theatre.
Native Voices founder/producing artistic director, Randy Reinholts (Choctaw), and founder/producing executive director, Jean Scott (real life husband and wife), said of their experience at the theatre company’s helm, “It’s been an amazing journey. We get to watch art birthed.”
Native Voices managing director, David Burton, who is also the director of Government Affairs and Special Projects for the Autry National Center, thanked them for “bringing dignity to Native voices,” and described their tenacity and mentorship as creating important opportunities for Native artists.
Among guests who attended the performance and anniversary party were VIPs from the Native American community, long-time supporters of Native Voices at the Autry and Native American actors from across the country.

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