Monday, April 20, 2009

Breaking news!

I was Googling today and came across a “Social Media Release” dated April 20 about an event that occurred a full week ago. (See.) Here it is:

Irvine Valley College Foundation Awards Dinner
Raises More Than $43,000

The 21th annual Irvine Valley College Foundation Awards Dinner sponsored by Grainger raised more than $43,000. The gala was held on April 13, 2009 at the Irvine Marriott. [Note: Grainger is a supplier of facilities maintenance products.]

Patrick Healy, NBC Channel 4 News reporter, was the keynote speaker, and Maria Hall-Brown, producer of KOCE-TV’s “Real Orange,” served as the master of ceremonies. [Hall-Brown has done some decent journalism in recent years. In the 80s and 90s, she was an actress, appearing in David Carradine’s Open Fire (1988), among other movies.]

The evening wouldn't have been complete without an auction of city officials for charity. [I’ll spare you the corny details.]

Four individuals were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the college with presentation of the IVC Medal, the Foundation’s highest honor. Medal winners were:



Howard J. Klein of Klein, O’Neill & Singh…
Fawn Tanriverdi, a counselor at the college, ….
Raymond A. Lee and Jeffrey C. Joy of Greenberg Traurig LLP….

Since 1985, IVC has been serving students…. [etc.]

This “media release” appears on the pitchengine site.

I’m told that a real effort was made to make this particular Foundation dinner a class act—to raise it to a "new level," as one person put it. Those who attended tell me that Hall-Brown did a fine job as MC and the person who ran the auction was also good. Almost everything was first-rate.

I’m also told that, unfortunately, KNBC reporter Patrick Healy, the keynote speaker, bombed bigtime. All seem to agree that the fellow was dreadfully longwinded and dull.

How is that even possible? I mean, isn’t he out there every night to cover such events as treed cats, traffic accidents, decapitated horses, and, in general, the day of the locust—while looking fairly natty? C’mon!

Whoever booked Healy obviously didn't ask the right questions—such as, Is he a dull speaker?

And how come Mr. Tom Fuentes wasn’t the MC? Isn’t he always the MC? You've gotta admit: Tom always brings something beyond his florid, over-the-top "master of ceremonies" performance. With Tom, especially if he's had a few belts, there's always the possibility that—oh, I don't know—he might suddenly break down and finally explain what his goddam problem is. The tension and excitement can be incredible!

Well, no. No doubt the switch to Hall-Brown was an unexpected ray of sunshine, a delightful pocket full of posies. Plus Fuentes' presence just reminds everyone that, since 2000, the Foundation seems to have drifted increasingly toward the ever-narrowing and staunch world of Tom Fuentes Republicans. That's some serious staunchitude, man. And some serious narrowification.

Next year, I plan to attend and to provide a detailed report, cuz enquiring minds wanna know about snazzy events at IVC where people dress up and somebody might trip and knock over Raghu or say something completely ridiculous that nevertheless reveals the horror, the heart of darkness, of that man's soul.

Typical Healy report on Channel 4:

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Roy, let's sit at the same table next year.

Anonymous said...

As usual, Raghu walked away with our table's centerpiece.

Anonymous said...

We all got commemorative pens!

Anonymous said...

Well, it was obvious that an attempt was made but, well...I'm afraid that the foundation has been run into the ground over the years. Shame.

Anonymous said...

Healy wasn't given any direction. No one reviewed his talk or gave him guidance. It's not his fault.

Anonymous said...

Sure, they raised $43,000 but what did it cost to put on? What's the real profit?

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...