HELEN ANN THOMAS

Folks at Marian Medical Center’s (MMC) Foundation were watching the weather reports very carefully the weekend before Monday, March 28, the date for their annual Leland Simas and Felix Fly, M.D. Memorial Golf Tournament at the Santa Maria Country Club. Several days of pounding rains made people nervous, even when those people—like Sister Janet Corcoran […]

Been through any cardboard rabbit holes lately? If so, chances are that you were at St. Joe’s annual BASH, a fund-raiser par excellence, this year called “A Knight in Wonderland.” If you saw the Red Queen (aka Delaney Carr) chatting with the Mad Hatter alongside a huge and charming tea party table, you were definitely […]

Wow! What a place to hold a fundraiser!” exclaimed Susan Rees. “This is unusual,” James Murr observed with a contented grin. “It’s great.” About 200 of us were in a WWII airplane hangar that began life at Allan Hancock College, where it was used in the pilot training program. The historic structure was moved to […]

Guess who came to dinner: lots of power couples from all over town, as well as the Orcutt Children’s Art Foundation (OCAF) regulars—parents, school administrators, teachers, and supporters of the arts. And then there was the very sociable president of the Santa Barbara Foundation, Ron Gallo, and wife Andrea, who hosted a table. Included in […]

Where was everybody? Traffic was down, but business wasn’t. The Santa Maria Women’s Network’s second annual Mini-Trade Show on Wed., Feb. 2, provoked a curious blend of disappointment over attendance and elation over success. The event, held at the Santa Maria Inn, attracted about half of last year’s impressive crowd. Did it matter? Carrie Rosing, […]

What a joy this night will be,” exclaimed George Majoue, executive director of the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society, as he presided over the organization’s 10th anniversary celebration. Entertainment-wise and food-wise, George was right on target. Accomplished pianist Lynne Garret accompanied accomplished violinist Brynn Albanese for the musical program that followed an excellent dinner: filet mignon, […]

Smells of Costco lasagna wafted through the kitchen—not quite chestnuts roasting on an open fire, but you get the idea. It was a Christmas party with twinkling lights and the din of holiday conversation filling in for Yuletide carols. Jack Frost wasn’t anywhere nearby, but Dale Johnson was. This past president of Breakfast Rotary whispered […]

The logistics involved in pulling this off were amazing,” Lynn Fernbaugh said with a warm and gracious laugh. “We have detailed plans and schedules, telling each of us what to do at exactly what time.” The “we” she was talking about? Herself and husband Richard, Robert and Sandra Dickerson, and Jim and Kelly O’Neill. The […]

Altrusa’s Diane Alleman-Stevens had the hottest tickets in town—to nighttime Altrusa’s 20th Annual Holiday Extravaganza. Last March 1, 672 $45 tickets to this super popular event went on sale. On March 2, the tickets had all been spoken for. “It was an immediate sell-out,” said treasurer Alleman-Stevens. “We never had this happen before.” On the […]

Noontime Rotary did it again! Their California Dreamin’ beach-theme “fun raiser” on Saturday evening, Nov. 6, at the Fairpark was a super, smashing success and, as promised, sooo much fun. Ticket sales chairman Scott Dunn reported, “This is the largest crowd we’ve ever had.” It was 450 compared to last year’s 380—almost a 20 percent […]

More than 800 tickets were sold for the Foodbank’s annual “Empty Bowls” event held on Wed., Oct. 27, from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m., at the Fairpark. Freelance event coordinator Shana Medrano was the in-charge lady for the day. This whirlwind of energy told me 900 bowls had been produced for and donated to the […]