Mar 19, 2007

Spring starts early at juvenile diabetes ‘Bash’

By Janet Duca Norton / Society Columnist

"Events like this give hope," guest emcee and former USC football player Forrest Mozart said about the 6th annual Silicon Valley Spring Fling presented by the Silicon Valley Branch of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. "No matter where I am in the world, I'll be back every year for this event."

Golf on the Ocean Course, a luncheon and the glamorous "Evening Bash," featuring a cocktail reception, silent and live auctions, gourmet dinner and dancing, were highlights of the sold-out day-long Spring Fling event at the Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, on March 9. Fling founders Sarah and Don Lucas were thrilled the event raised a record-setting $685,000 for research, and reported that 34 human trials have been funded by proceeds from the fundraiser.

"This event is simply fun and filled with so much of our family's heart and our community's support that the result truly overwhelms us with gratitude and makes each day our daughter lives with this disease brighter," Sarah Lucas said.

She and her husband Don founded the benefit when their daughter Mary was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes eight years ago. Now a teenager, Mary spoke of her wish to get a drivers license and her fear of not qualifying if her blood glucose levels are unstable. "I have hopes and dreams," she said. "I want to be free."

Dinner decorations featured early spring colors of lavender and green with pastel butterflies, which symbolized the evening's theme of renewal.

Enthusiastic supporters included Patrick Pohlen, Katherine and David Ketsdever, Kim and Dave Mauney, Annie and Jim Barnett, and Mike Gutherie, who have attended all six years. Other loyal supporters included Mike Gordon, Jim Riley, Juvenile Diabetes Chapter President Jim Horalek, and Mozart family members Patty and Ashley.

The golf tournament winning foursome of Chris Chai, Norton Levine, Tim Nelson and Todd Upham, were all smiles when they received their Sony PlayStation Portables and gift certificates from the pro shop.

Emcee Raj Mathai, sports director at NBC 11, had fun announcing Hugh and Laura Cornish as the winners of the grand prize raffle. The Cornishs chose a week stay in a beachfront villa on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands as their prize.

Auctioneer Jeff Stokes set a fast pace. Three Apple iPhones sold for $5,500 a piece. A big-ticket item was a dinner with Khaled Hosseini, author of "The Kite Runner." Caroline and Michael Bealmear purchased the dinner and then matched funds with their own donation.

The announcement of a surprise trip, with hotel and airfare included to the 50th anniversary of the Grammy's, to be held in New York or Los Angeles next February, was the hit of the night. Andrea and Marco Boerries made the winning bid on the package, which also included a gift certificate to Wilkes Bashford in Palo Alto.

Organizers had a wonderful time as well, including "Bash" chairs Karin Riley and Loren Gordon, luncheon chairs Laura Pohlen and Carmen Sofia Schroeder, and Golf Classic chair Angie Robbiano.



"EVERYDAY ANGELS" FOUND

"Everyday Angels," the locally produced Comcast television show about people making a difference in the lives of others, premiered on Feb. 15 with a screening and festive reception at the Redwood City-based St. Francis Center. Volunteer reporter Pari Livermore, and "Everyday Angels" creator, said the five-member reporting team contacted 500 Bay Area nonprofit organizations and asked them to nominate their special volunteers.
"'Angels' is about everyday people doing extraordinary things," Pari said.

Reporters Michele Kirsch, Maria Constantino and Catherine Debs partnered with St. Francis Center founder Sister Christina Heltsley, one of the profiled "angels," in welcoming at least 75 Peninsula guests to the event.

Guests had the opportunity to meet the "angels" profiled in the show, as well as the reporters (with the exception of veteran TV journalist Jan Yanehiro), and had the chance to tour the St. Francis facility. Part of the fun was the presentation of chocolate "Oscars" to the children featured in the video, known as the class of 2007.

"Bringing community awareness of places like the St. Francis Center, which focuses on families, is the goal of the televison show," Debs said.

"Officially we are called the St. Francis Center, but all of the people that serve here call it "la casita," or little house. We are moving from "la casita" to "la casa" without losing the flavor of home," Sister Christina Heltsley said. "We have so many angels helping us construct our new building. These are everyday angels, not heavenly angels. But it takes more than wings to make angels, it takes compassion and generosity."

The premiere show also featured stories on Sunny Hills Services in Marin County and volunteer Mary Elizabeth Merwin (who brought some of her famous home-baked Brown Bobbies to the event), founder Pali Boucher's San Francisco-based Rocket Dog Rescue, Safari West with Nancy and Peter Lang, and Don Franklin, a 19-year volunteer at the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Guests included Ned Spieker, Maurice Kanbar, Susan Ford, John Debs, Mary Lou Putnam, Jim and Marge Dubois, and San Mateo County Sheriff Greg Munks.

Look for the show on Thursday evenings at 8 p.m. on your local Comcast station or on Comcast's video-on-demand service.

For information on the St. Francis Center, contact Sister Christina Heltsley at 650-365-7829.