Global Events Put Protocol Ball Guests on Top of the World

Renewed hopes for world peace and the easing of global tensions gave more than 400 party-goers reason to celebrate at Saturday’s eighth annual International Protocol Ball.

The International Visitors and Protocol Foundation of Orange County’s salute to more than 40 members of the Consular Corps took place in the posh ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Irvine. The Orange County supervisors served as official hosts of the $150-a-plate dinner, which raised about $35,000 for the Orange County Office of Protocol.

Different World

The mood of the dinner-dance was more relaxed than last year’s party, when sobering thoughts of the Persian Gulf War were on the minds of many.

“The world’s a very different place from last year,” said John Kelso, consul general of Australia.

The end of the Cold War also contributed to guests’ upbeat mood. Gayle Anderson, president of the Protocol Foundation, noted that representatives of Hungary and Poland were attending the ball for the first time--a sign of a more peaceful era.

“I love that!” Anderson said.

World events have a direct bearing on the ball, noted Jack Lindquist, president of Disneyland and last year’s honorary chairman.

“If all of the countries that belonged to the Soviet Union are represented next year, we’ll need a bigger party,” he joked.

Pomp and Circumstance

The ball drew Orange County’s elite in all of their magnificent finery.

“This is where you wear your biggest diamond,” said one of the many women sporting an Ivana Trump-style topknot.

A sea of sequins and miles of lame and silk graced the women, while many men wore fancy black tuxedos with white ties.

Consuls general and their spouses were introduced to the crowd by Erich Vollmer, the evening’s emcee, as a Marine carrying their country’s flag escorted each couple into the ballroom.

Couples were seated at tables adorned with white blooms and replicas of the foundation’s symbol, the white dove of peace. There, they dined on an elegant feast that included consomme of pheasant beneath a flaky crust and a tender veal rib eye forestiere with wild mushrooms.

A “Wings of Peace” dessert was served with much fanfare. Waiters wheeled in a massive ice sculpture of the world topped with a carved dove. Each guest then set about devouring his own mini-globe of white chocolate ice cream bombe encased in dark chocolate and decorated with yet another white chocolate dove.

Making Friends

New to the ball was the presentation of the Citizen Diplomat Award, which went to Mary Bonino Jones, Orange County’s first chief of protocol. Jones has welcomed kings and queens to Orange County while working as manager of community affairs at Disneyland and helping to establish the local Office of Protocol.

“I’ve had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, and I learned to appreciate the wonderful differences between cultures,” Jones said.

Supervisor Harriett Wieder also received a Special Recognition Award for helping found the Office of Protocol, a private nonprofit organization that promotes the county as a center for international trade and investment.

“With the world becoming smaller and the Iron Curtain coming down, we have more opportunity to make friends with other countries,” said Carl Karcher. He and his wife, Margaret, were the ball’s honorary chairpersons.

Other party-goers included Mara Brandman, ball chairwoman; Supervisors Roger Stanton, chairman, Thomas Riley, Gaddi Vasquez and Don Roth; Pat Neisser, past chairwoman of the Protocol Commission; former astronaut Buzz Aldrin and his wife, Lois; Sir Eldon and Lady Griffiths; Eva Schneider, Protocol Commission chairwoman, and her husband, Fred; Eve Foussard; Marcia Giesler; Jean Galloway; John and Donna Crean, and Jo Ellen Qualls.