THE CROWD:

On a recent Sunday evening in Newport Beach, the Marriott Hotel in Fashion Island welcomed several hundred of the most prominent executives in Southern California. You might say it was a power confab with a holiday theme, and more importantly, a message of lofty purpose. It was the 27th annual Business in the Arts awards ceremony and dinner, presided over by the dedicated Betty MossBetty Moss, founding executive director of the Orange County Business Committee for the Arts.

They arrived in business attire — what else would you expect? Cocktails and small talk in the Marriott atrium were followed by attention to serious matters as the crowd convened in one of the ballrooms for the annual address and awards presentation. The centerpiece of the evening is a keynote speech delivered each year by a guest of honor of significant accomplishment.

Over the years Moss has attracted names of considerable international weight from the worlds of big business, philanthropy and the arts. The 2008 speaker was Steven S. Koblik, president of the Huntington Library Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino.

Given a warm introduction by John R. Evans, senior vice president and regional manager of Wells Fargo Bank and chairman of the Orange County Business Committee for the Arts, Koblik spoke on the challenges and the rewards the business community embraces while supporting the arts. Koblik has an international reputation for his successful fundraising efforts enabling the Huntington to expand and fulfill many ambitious goals. He talked of the current economic impact on business and its ability to fund the arts in difficult times.

“There are severe pressures on all public entities,” Koblik said, adding, “This is a difficult time for both business and individual philanthropists. Cultural institutions that depend on public support may not get it as discretionary expenditures are curtailed.”

Koblik took a more positive position overall sharing that the business commitment to the arts in any community, at any time, perhaps more acutely during periods of economic downturn, is all too important.

“Commitment to the arts is an essential base for increased productivity, competitiveness and enthusiasm in any region which in turn generates more business, tourism and a sense of community pride.”

Evans joined Koblik presenting awards to business leaders who have fulfilled that promise in Orange County. Honorees were: Rohrer Fine Art, Super Dave’s Print & Mail, Deutsche Bank, Farmers and Merchants Bank, U.S. Bank, Cartier Inc., Haskell & White LLP, Rutan and Tucker LLP, Tiffany & Co., Bank of America, Disneyland Resorts, and Wells Fargo Bank. The annual “Arts Award” was presented to the Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, accepted by Peter Keller, and it came with an unrestricted gift of $2,500 underwritten by Hanford Hotels Inc., and its chairman, Donald Sodaro.

Also honored was Dean Corey, executive director of the Orange County Philharmonic Society receiving the “Lifetime Leadership in the Arts Award.”

Speeches were eloquent and brief with each honoree being presented with a crystal bowl specially engraved and underwritten by Tiffany & Co.

Following tradition, the gray flannel crowd applauded their compatriots as the awards were presented then crossed the boulevard from the Marriott to The Ritz to enjoy a holiday dinner with friends. The food was fabulous beginning with the Ritz seafood martini, followed by wild mushroom cappuccino soup, filet mignon, and a dessert of decadent chocolate cake served with port wine ice cream. Charles Krug Chardonnay and Ferrari-Carano Merlot accompanied the exquisite meal.

The dining room was alive with conversation as guests table-hopped and caught up with friends and associates. The event is an annual gathering that heralds the holidays and promises hope for the New Year, anticipated by all involved with great appreciation. In the crowd were: Ralph and Joyce Allen, Ed and Peggy Lynch, David and Tilly Whelan, S.L. and Betty Huang, Michael and Lindsey Davis, Doug and Melinda McCrea, Jill Bolton, Henry Walker and Erin Ryan, Parker and Sherry Kennedy, David and Jeanne Tappan, Stephen and Cindy Fry, and Donald and Dee Dee Sodaro. Also front and center for OCBCA were Rick and Anne Keller, Kent and Carol Wilken, Moti and Idit Ferder, Doug and Karen Murphy, Randy and Suki McCardle and the glamorous Zee Allred with Drago Gligic.

More than just an awards ceremony and annual dinner, OCBCA guided by Moss and her small staff and limited budget works year round to forge relationships between business leaders and arts organizations. Moss is a one-woman power broker who has in many instances either saved, salvaged or sustained any number of local cultural institutions. She is living proof of the power, passion and purpose of one individual who is dedicated to high-minded goals.

Moss has in fact changed the lives of many attending the annual ceremony by creating long lasting bonds between business people and a wide range of arts institutions.

More importantly, their involvement and financial commitment has enabled all of the community to benefit on many levels.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.