The Crowd

B.W. Cook

The National Charity League Juniors gather today at the Westin South

Coast Plaza Hotel in Costa Mesa to celebrate spring with their fabulous

14th annual mother-daughter fashion show and high tea.

South Coast Plaza and Saks Fifth Avenue have joined forces to ensure a

first-class afternoon for the local moms and their young ladies. Event

co-chairs for the tea -- being billed as “once upon a time” -- are Lisa

Hillgren, Erin Meyer and Siobhan Robinson. Attendance is expected to

exceed 600, with proceeds estimated at more than $50,000.

The National Charity League Juniors support High Hopes Neurological

Recovery Group, OCC Children’s Center and the Pediatric Cancer Research

Foundation. An enormous silent auction -- chaired by Suzanne Searles,

Kathleen Farmer, Heather Cook and Jill Johnson-Tucker, with assistance

from Lisa Hillgren, Lynn Pile, Kay Davis, Caroline Devarian, Kristina

Grace, Debbie Johnson, Leonie Lumpkin, Renee Penewell and Nancy Williams

-- will offer the fortunate high bidder a vast array of merchandise

generously donated by local merchants and presented to bidders in the

form of spectacular gift baskets.

The funds raised from the auction will increase the overall success of

the event for charity. Other NCL members deserving ink for their

dedication include President Cindy Stokke, Betsy Van’t Hof, Debbie

McKenna, Carolyn McKitterick, Ann Moorhead, Nancy Best, Carol Legrand,

Jamie Shah, Gina Rabinovich, Shelly Belling, Jill Wiese and Mary Lauer.

One of the most charitable and elegant couples on the local as well as

national philanthropic scene, Mary Ann Mobley and Gary Collins, will

serve as celeb masters of ceremonies of the Arthritis Foundation’s Spring

Swing, being held in the ballroom of the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel in

Fashion Island.

Mobley, a former Miss America, actress and spokeswoman, joins her husband

of national talk show fame to help raise money to support Arthritis

Foundation programs specifically designated to assist children suffering

with arthritis.

For the past three decades the Collinses, Beverly Hills residents, have

traveled the world lending their name and their influence to charity

galas, helping to raise millions of dollars for every imaginable cause.

Mobley, raised in the south on the model of community involvement, is a

beacon of excellence -- the very best social role model, especially for

young women. She represents ideals of independence, grace, dignity and

charity for those less fortunate. In simple words, she’s a class act, and

so is her husband, who is very clearly head over heels in love with his

wife of nearly 30 years.

The benefit will pay tribute to another class act, Robin Dore, MD. Dore

will be lauded for her many contributions to the arthritis field,

including research, patient care and more.

“Osteoporosis primarily affects women,” Dore said. “We need to educate

young women and girls on the need for calcium and good eating habits, and

we may be able to prevent the disease from reaching this younger

generation.”

The former L.A. Rams’ “fearsome foursome” will be hanging around the

Orange County Marketplace this weekend at the Orange County Fairgrounds

in Costa Mesa. Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, Lamar Lundy and Roosevelt

“Rosey” Grier will make a rare public appearance together to benefit and

support the Deacon Jones Foundation.

The athletes will sign autographs (for a fee of $25), with the funds

earmarked for the foundation, which provides help for local disadvantaged

youth both here in Orange County and around the nation.

Deacon Jones, a popular Newport Beach local and fixture of the beach

scene on the Balboa Peninsula, is spearheading this campaign.

Autograph-seekers can help local kids by turning out today and tomorrow

at the fairgrounds between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

B.W. COOK’S column appears every Thursday and Saturday.