Carols, Dancing, Mark Dinner to Thank College Benefactors
(Winter 1999-2000 Newsletter)
The Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills was
the site for the Christmas Appreciation Dinner Dance, given
December 5 to honor the College's benefactors. Betty Helms
Adams, Dinner Chairman, was assisted by Virginia McRoskey
and Irene Montgomery in organizing the gala supper for nearly
a hundred, with Special Events Coordinator Jacqueline Slay
organizing matters on the College end. Vice President for
Development Daniel Grimm was Master of Ceremonies for the
evening.
This was the College's second major donor
appreciation dinner this year, the first being held for New
York donors in New York City in April. Fr. James Garceau,
a graduate from the College's Class of 1978, who is now Provincial
Superior of the Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception,
gave the Invocation at the Los Angeles dinner.
Dr. William W. Smith, Chairman of the Thomas
Aquinas College Board of Governors, welcomed all the honorees
and conveyed to them the Board's esteem and thanks for their
generous sacrifices to help our students. He presented a bouquet
of roses to Mrs. Adams as a token of appreciation for her
efforts on the dinner.
President Thomas E. Dillon echoed Dr. Smith's
sentiments. Special recognition went to The Ralph M. Parsons
Foundation, represented by its president, Mr. Joseph Hurley,
Esq. Dr. Dillon presented him with a bronze bust of St. Albert
the Great. This work was commissioned by the Board for presentation
to those special benefactors inducted into The Order of St.
Albert the Great, a society of honor established by the Board
of Governors in 1998.
Other members of the Order of St. Albert
the Great present or represented included: The Dan Murphy
Foundation, by Sir Daniel and Miss Rosemary Donohue; The Fritz
B. Burns Foundation, by Mr. & Mrs. Ken Skinner; Mr. and
Mrs. James Barrett; Dr. Harry Browne; Mrs. George V. Caldwell;
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Karcher; Mr. Francis Montgomery; and Mr.
Thomas Sullivan.
Choral selections of the season followed,
performed by the Thomas Aquinas College Madrigal Singers.
Freshman Matthew Goulding, a superb violinist, performed the
Bach/Gounod setting of the Ave Maria.
Board member Tom Sullivan and his "T.S.
Dixieland Band" provided additional musical entertainment
for enjoyment and dancing. Many guests received the charming
miniature Christmas centerpieces. The evening closed with
everyone joining in singing carols, beautifully evoking the
holiness and festivity of the season.
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