THE CROWD:

You might call it a “love-in.” People who care about the welfare of others gathered last Saturday night to make a difference.

The Newport-Mesa crowd joined fellow humanitarians from all over the O.C. to support South County Senior Services.

Organizers called the event “The Captain’s Ball ... Sea of Hope,” and some 500 captains of caring converged upon the tony Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Laguna Niguel, raising more than $100,000 to support the senior services sponsored by the organization. Among the services funded will be Meals on Wheels, adult day care and senior transportation.

Arriving at the Ritz-Carlton, the black-tie crowd was greeted with a martini welcome and presented with a major silent auction to peruse.

Music from the Night Shift Orchestra, a group of young and talented musicians from Citrus College, filled the evening air as the ballroom was opened for dining to the crowd.

Chaired by a trio of dedicated volunteers — Debra Alves, Sandy Lassiter and Ed Schrum, the evening got off to a lively star, thanks in great part to one of the O.C.’s most selfless souls, TV anchor and emcee of the party Ed Arnold, always front and center for the community.

Dinner service began with a butter lettuce salad topped with a roasted shallot crepe, followed by an entrée of filet mignon and jumbo prawns.

Ed Arnold introduced Marilyn Ditty, respected executive director of South County Senior Services, and Steve Moyer, president of the board of directors.

The pair introduced the honored guests of the night, Gemma Heffernan, Norman E. Vinn and Loren B. Shook. The trio was lauded for their years of commitment to the improvement of senior life.

Sponsored and underwritten by Monarch HealthCare with additional support from Wells Fargo Bank, PIMCO Foundation, Cox Communications, Silverado Senior Living, Hoag Hospital, Mission Hospital, VITAS Hospice and many more, the crowd rallied under the spell of auctioneer Larry Zucker. He fronted the Fund a Need live auction, which associated specific goals with auction items — a $5,000 auction donation will go toward purchasing a certain lift for a vehicle; $2,500 went to feeding five homebound seniors three meals a day for three months; and $1,500 purchased a defibrillator.

It was indeed an auction of hope.

The crowd, including Peter and Nancy Degregon, Stephen and Elizabeth Jenkins, Richard and June Hunt, John and Vicki Garcia, Ed and Janelle Sutter, Richard Dixon, Neil Blais and Destin Blais, Paul and Janice Glaab, Ted and Debbie Sanders, and Paul and Aileen Brazeau, danced until midnight, making the Captain’s Ball 2008 a resounding success, benefiting many folks who only have a memory of such times of revelry.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.