Oct 14, 2007

Taube named Polish honorary consul

By Janet Duca Norton / Society Columnist

The Bay Area consular corps has a new member. Woodside entrepreneur and philanthropist Tad Taube has been named honorary consul for the Republic of Poland. He joins a select group of 15 consuls general and 6 honorary consuls.

Taube's mission is to serve as a source of information and connection for business and cultural relationships between Poland and the South Bay.

The official opening of the Polish Honorary Consulate on Oct. 5 was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and luncheon at Belmont's historic Ralston Hall on the Notre Dame de Namur University campus.

In his ceremonial remarks, Ambassador Janusz Reiter of the Polish Embassy in Washington D.C., said, "(Taube) will be a great asset for Poland. A highly regarded entrepreneur and philanthropist, he is great at making money and spending money. It's the American experience: the more you have the more you share."

Taube's appointment is an extension of his ongoing work with Poland to preserve Jewish cultural heritage and renew Jewish life. "Tad tries to bridge the gap between perception and reality," Reiter said.

Taube says that his involvement with the Polish Honorary Consulate has been shaped by his birth in Poland and his immigration to the United States in 1939. The underlying incentive has been a realization that there is still a serious problem for Jewish people. His interest is focused on fostering recognition, celebration and support of the legacy of Jewish culture in Poland, encouraging a democractic society and promoting reconciliation with non-Jewish Poles.

"It is a new, exciting, challenging job, and it means a lot to me," Taube said.

More than 100 family members, friends, business associates and consular corps members attended the once in a lifetime occasion. Paulina Kapuczinska, the new consul general of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles, and Ambassador Reiter joined Tad and his wife Dianne in the official receiving line.

Among the diplomats congratulating Taube were Woodside residents Barbara Pivnicka, honorary consul of the Slovak Republic, and Richard Pivnicka, honorary consul of the Czech Republic, and former Ambassador to Australia Bill Lane and his wife Jean.

Guests at the buffet luncheon included Notre Dame de Namur University President Jack Oblak and his wife Janiece, Taube's sons Mark and Judd Taube, Jack Trammiel, Franklin "Pitch" Johnson, Michael Dorsey, Stanford University Hoover Institution Director John Raisian, Koret Foundation CEO Jeffrey Farber and business associates Ronald Granville, C. Michael Kamm, Ken Marcino and Rick Mayerson.

In its first official business, the new consulate will participate in an information technology and business process off-shore conference at the Hoover Institution on Nov. 8. The event, titled "Poland: An Ideal Business Partner," is a collaboration between the Polish Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the consulates in San Francisco and the East Bay.

The consulate is located at 1050 Ralston Ave. in Belmont.


"CANDLELIGHT" AND GLASS PUMPKINS

The 12th annual Great Glass Pumpkin Patch held at the Palo Alto Art Center on Oct. 6 and 7, has become a beloved Peninsula tradition. Presented by the Art Center, the Art Center Foundation and the Bay Area Glass Institute, it is the largest glass pumpkin patch in Northern California.

More than 30 artists contributed 10,000 glass pumpkins. Future artists from David Camner's glass sculpture class at Palo Alto High School showcased their glass creations. The students' share of the proceeds will help to fund equipment and materials for the class.

The Oct. 5 "Candlelight Cocktails" pre-sale party attracted more than 200 patrons for a night of perusing and purchasing of one-of-a-kind hand-blown glass pumpkins. Part of the fun that evening was having the chance to meet many of the artists, including pumpkin glass blower Tom Upchurch and glass orchid and sunflower artist Doug Brown.

Seen shopping were Mary Kelley, Jeannie Duisenberg, Margo Parmacek, Marilee Gardner, Carrie Anderson, Megan McCuster, Gwen Books, Teri Raffel, Christina and Bill McClure, and sponsor Georgie Gleim of Gleim Jewelers.

Caterer Cassis must have consulted a reliable crystal ball when planning the menu. The choice of stew for dinner made the perfect meal for the frost-on-the-pumpkin night. The glow created by the blue Hypnotiq liqueur martinis also helped to warm guests, including new Art Foundation Board members Marcie Kay and Dory Bleich, BAGI Board President Steven Aldrich and his wife Allison, and honorary event committee members Stacy Mason and Diane and Rob Master.

Adding to the glow was Roseanne Peer Fairty's presentation of a check for $5,000 from the Wells Fargo Foundation for the Art Center's Cultural Kaleidscope program. In attendance were Kaleidoscope grant makers Sergio Demeyko of Citibank Palo Alto, Bruce Davis of Arts Council Silicon Valley and Chris Norlinger of Cisco Systems.

A portion of the proceeds from the pumpkin patch will go toward children's art education programs at the Art Center, including Project Look, family days art activities and the Carrie Abramovitz Scholarship program.

Janet Duca Norton's society column appears every Sunday in the Daily News. Send event information to 324 High St., Palo Alto, CA 94301 or e-mail society@paloaltodailynews.com.