An evening for the Joyful Child Foundation

B.W. COOK

The understated elegance of the Shady Canyon Golf and Country Club

was the backdrop for a proudly stated celebration honoring science

and business leaders in Southern California’s competitive technology

arena. The fifth annual BridgeGate 20 Award event raised more than

$30,000 benefiting the Joyful Child Foundation.

The evening at Shady Canyon began with a sunset cocktail reception

at which the 2003 technology honorees including Broadcom’s Lanny

Ross, Paul Arling from Universal Electronics, Kevin Daley from

Avamar, and Dwight Decker from Conexant were among the guests sharing

a toast before dinner service in the club dining room.

It was a coming together of some of the best and brightest in

local business circles, doing something with a purpose to help a

foundation dedicated to child safety and founded in the memory of the

late Samantha Runnion, a victim of a kidnapping and murder in Orange

County in 2002. Sponsoring the evening and the awards was BridgeGate,

one of the nation’s top executive recruitment firms.

BridgeGate managing director Kevin Rosenberg welcomed the arriving

crush, including additional honorees Olav Berheein, Raymond Cohen,

Gil Ebaz, Adam Weissman, Jeff Lenardson, Mike Dewey and Randy Lunn.

Also among the evening’s honorees were Lloyd Malchow, James

Montgomery, Tim Ryan and Christobel Selecky.

Each honoree was introduced to the dinner crowd with a

biographical tribute outlining their career accomplishments.

After the awards ceremony, Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona gave

an address on child protection and safety. Erin Runnion, founder of

the Joyful Child Foundation and mother of Samantha, made an

impassioned speech on the life of her lost daughter and the work she

now does with the difficult issues of child abuse and abduction.

For more information on the Joyful Child Foundation please visit

https://www.thejoyfulchild.org.

CHILDHELP USA

Christine Bren reports that the Orange County Chapter of Childhelp

USA, one of the region’s most active children’s charities, is

planning its annual holiday boutique and luncheon, “Through The Eyes

Of A Child,” for Dec. 4 at the Hyatt Regency Irvine.

Chaired by Patty Farmer and Cathie Caporaso, the Childhelp USA

volunteers are working to raise $75,000 to be donated to the

Children’s Village known as Childhelp West in Beaumont, Calif. A

portion of the funds raised will be earmarked for Childhelp group

homes here in Orange County.

The holiday event is one of the big fund-raisers of the Christmas

season, with more than 750 Newport-Mesa guests expected to fill the

Hyatt ballroom. The day always begins with a massive holiday shopping

exposition. This year, the theme will be “A Winter In Wonderland With

Frosty.” There will also be a silent auction with theme decorated

Christmas trees and major travel opportunity drawings.

Childhelp founders Sara O’Meara and Yvonne Fedderson will be

attending this year’s holiday event and signing their new book,

“Silence Broken: Moving From a Loss Of Innocence to a World of Love.”

Local volunteers working on the holiday event include Jana Shuler,

Julie Whittington, Nancy Whitlock, Susan Whitlock, Catherine Meredith

and Joanna Morris.

Tickets to the event are $65 per person and may be reserved by

calling Nancy Whitlock at (949) 548-4228.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.