Great food, a celebrity guest, and exciting auction items—Allan Hancock College’s seventh annual Joe White Memorial Dinner had it all.
Held on the evening of Aug. 23 at the Santa Maria Fairpark, the event is the Hancock College Boosters’ major fundraiser for the Athletic Department. The dinner attracted close to 400 friends and fans.
It was a lot of fun, even for those who don’t know a touchdown from a home run. Event coordinator Diane Cutler seconded that thought. Reeling with satisfaction over a job well done, she later told me, “We’ve had a lot of positive response to the evening.”
The highlight for me was meeting the celebrity guest, Los Angeles Lakers director of scouting, Bill Bertka. This amiable fellow was Allan Hancock Junior College’s first basketball coach. During his tenure, he led the Hancock team to one of its two state championships. Needless to say, Bertka is big in local sports history.
Although Bertka has held various sports and coaching jobs over the years, his heart lies with Hancock.
“It’s where,” he said, “I got my start.”
He comes to the Joe White dinners every year and brings fabulous auction items. This year’s gift was a basketball signed by the 2008 Lakers team, plus four prime location tickets for a Lakers home game.
One of the elements in the evening’s success is the food. The New York cut strip steak was perfectly seasoned and barbecued by Cowboy Flavor of Los Alamos. Student athletes served it up with homemade cornbread tamales and a salad of greens. The mini e;clairs (back this year by popular demand) from Gina’s Bakery disappeared fast.
The student crews also assisted with seating guests, cleanup, and entertainment. Allan Hancock College football player James George wowed the crowd with his a capella rendition of the national anthem.
Jay Turner was master of ceremonies. Jim Glines wielded his auctioneering magic and successfully disposed of the live auction items. Mike McCormick and Marianne Friedl donated an adorable eight-week-old border collie puppy. She went for $1,000 and was so popular that auctioneer Glines “gently” persuaded Mike and Marianne to donate a second pup. The dogs each came with overflowing baskets of doggie needs donated by Lemos Feed and Supply.
For the not-so-faint-of-heart, the first item auctioned off was a Smith & Wesson 22A semi-automatic 22 caliber pistol, “perfect for the lady in your life” (according to the auction description).
Opening remarks were the responsibility of Hancock College president, Dr. Jose Ortiz. The new head of the Athletics Department, Kim Ensing, was introduced.
There was a feeding frenzy of last-minute bidding just before the silent auction tables closed. Guy stuff like the Makita mitre saw and orbital sander got a lot of attention, as did the mini-barbecue.
Hancock honchos from the administration, staff, and foundation had a good time. Among these were Ron Thatcher with wife Terri, Henry Grennan with wife Beverly, and Dave Dantzer with wife Lynn. Tennis coach Dave had run a tennis tournament for high school girls that afternoon and raised $400 for the tennis program.
Booster membership is open to individuals, businesses, and corporations, costs $75, and comes with season passes for two sports. More information is available at 922-6966, Ext. 3227.
If you want to hobnob with Helen, you may contact her at helenthom232@yahoo.com.
This article appears in Sep 11-18, 2008.
