Guild

Christmas arrived early this month at La Providencia Guild Thrift Shop, 3301 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank. Lorelei Kelley , chairwoman for this event, was helped by her committee, Joanne Bailey, Fanny Belle Mound, Malena Tapan , and Chris Welker , who hosted the complimentary coffee bar for all of the patrons. In fact, all the members of the guild helped on this event. The thrift shop turned into a holiday atmosphere for early holiday shopping and to buy some of the homemade baked goods contributed by the guild's members.

There were smiles all around the Sheraton Universal Grand Ballroom Saturday as members and guests of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Guild enjoyed a fundraising luncheon and fashion show. With the theme "Laughter is the Best Medicine," the event began with a boutique of jewelry and other glittering accessories. Welcoming the crowd were Terry Campbell, guild president, and Julie McArdle, spring event director. Sister Rose Byrne of the Sisters of Providence Order gave the invocation.

The Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Guild will have its annual Fall Dinner Dance, "Autumn Gala," on Oct. 15 at Lakeside Golf Club. Honored guest is Dr. Raul Mena, who has treated cancer patients from all over the world at Providence St Joseph Medical Center for 24 years and is also involved in cancer research. Music will be provided by Victor Cisneros Orchestra and entertainment by Dale Gonyea. Proceeds go to the guild's $1 million pledge for the Roy and Patricia Disney Cancer Center.

As you read this column, Brazilians and visitors to the South American country are celebrating the festival of Carnival. An annual Brazilian celebration that ushers in Lent, Carnival begins 40 days before Easter and includes spectacular parades and musical events. While 6,000 miles separate Brazil from Burbank, that distance evaporated Saturday as the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Guild presented its annual spring fundraiser under the theme “Destination Brazil.” Festivities, emceed by longtime Los Angeles broadcast journalist and anchorman Harold Greene , were at the Universal Sheraton.

GUILD CELEBRATES NEW OFFICERS AT TEA Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Guild officers took their new positions during an Installation Tea on June 13 at Lakeside Golf Club. The chairwoman of the tea was Grace Patz . To open the meeting an invocation was given by Sister Rose Byrne . Sister Rose presented outgoing President Terry Campbell with a Bible. The past presidents were recognized as were the new Provisional members, the new members of the guild.

Maria Balke, a member of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Guild, has been selected as a volunteer to receive an Angel of the Year award for 2006. This honor is presented each year to those who exemplify the spirit of dedicated leadership and volunteerism. Since 1997, Balke has spent hours working on the fundraising events of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Guild. Balke also volunteers her time in the Spiritual Care Department of the medical center. The Angels of the Year are selected annually by the Rotary Clubs of Burbank, North Hollywood, Universal City, Studio City and Sherman Oaks.

Hospital guild installs officers The Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Guild recognition and installation tea was June 11 at Lakeside Golf Club in Toluca Lake. Father James Toal gave the invocation and a blessing to president-elect Julie McArdle for the coming year. President Donna Mahoney welcomed provisional member Patricia Scully as an active member and new 2003-04 provisional members Lila Barkett, Kathleen Marsden and Irene Murgida. She also welcomed Bebe Tamberg as a contributing member and Father Toal as an honorary member.

dr mena honoredBeloved oncologist Dr. Raul R. Mena honored at Providence St. Joseph Guild's `Autumn Gala.' A record 200 attendees gathered Saturday for the Autumn Gala to recognize oncologist Raul R. Mena for his exceptional care of patients over the past 24 years at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center and his work with cancer research. "Dr. Mena is special to an awful lot of people," said Terry Campbell, president of the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Guild, which sponsored the event.

La Providencia Guild of Children's Hospital Los Angeles conducted its annual meeting and breakfast at Burbank's Castaway banquet center on March 10. Chairwoman Sue Ann Gordon and her committee decorated the room with Audrey Hepburn's movie, “Breakfast at Tiffany's.” Guild members also dressed to the theme and were greeted by committee members Pat Maskell, Kris Veatch, and Chris Welker. Following officers' annual reports, Judy Gragg, outgoing president, passed the gavel to new president, Nancy Johnson.

It has been an annual harbinger of the holiday season - a tradition that separates the first 10 months of a year from the festivities and family gatherings of its last eight weeks. As they have done for many years since their 1947 establishment, the women of the La Providencia Guild of Children's Hospital Los Angeles once again presented their fall boutique, fashion show and luncheon fundraiser this past week at the Sheraton Universal Hotel. Presented under the theme, A Royal Affair, more than 350 guild members and supporters were welcomed by the event's chairwoman, Judy LaVerde, and the organization's president, Judy Gragg, who thanked the assemblage for their continued support of the Los Angeles-based pediatric hospital.

The Baseball Reliquary presents the exhibit of artwork and artifacts titled, “Not Exactly Cooperstown,” on display through Sept. 29 at Burbank Central Library, 110 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank. Items include one-eyed umpire Max McLeary's mask, complete with the Frontier League baseball that broke his nose lodged between its bars, and a signed toupee worn by Ron Santo, a third baseman and radio announcer for the Chicago Cubs. The library is open 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

The Glendale Quilt Guild rolled out the gold quilt for special guest Huell Howser, host of the “California’s Gold” TV series, during the 32nd annual Quilt Show’s opening day festivities Friday at the Burbank Airport Marriott. Howser arrived around 11 a.m. and was presented with a quilt made by the members of the local quilt organization, said Heidi St. Royal of Burbank, chairwoman of this year’s show. St. Royal originally sent Howser an e-mail inviting him to the show and telling him this year’s theme was “Quilts of the Wild West.” “I told him western quilts are gold,” she said, emphasizing the word that’s part of his show’s title.

It takes three days to create a 16-inch-tall work of art at American Fine Arts Foundry in Burbank that weighs as much as a bowling ball — albeit one that Hollywood stars would covet onstage. In anticipation of the 17th annual Screen Actors Guild awards on Sunday, 75 actor statuettes covered in black clothes await transportation to Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles for presentation. The unassuming white façade of the foundry hides the workspace where the statues come to life, beginning first as red wax in one of two molds used to make the figurines.

The 2010 holiday season was kicked off last week as the La Providencia Guild of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles staged their annual fashion show fundraiser luncheon. Presented under the theme, "The Heart of Christmas," hundreds of guild members and supporters were welcomed to the Pasadena Convention Center by the event's chairwoman, Deborah Spang . "Our devotion and dedication to Childrens Hospital is expressed in many hours of hard work which raises much-needed funds for the Clinical Imaging Research and Technology Project of our beloved hospital," Spang told the assemblage in her welcoming remarks.

Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Guild recently held its annual Fall Card Party and Luncheon at Lakeside Golf Club. Grace Mylroie Patz was chairwoman the event, and the co-chair was Karen Barragan. There were 173 members and guests in attendance. Louise Arklin of Granada Hills brought enough women to play five tables of canasta. Sarah De La Torre and Carmen McClellan of Glendale enjoyed playing bridge. Other women in attendance were Lee Kaplan, Barbara Reese and Doris Talbert.

The La Providencia and Toluca Guilds of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles gathered for respective fundraising events Saturday. Presented under the theme of "A Teddy Bear Picnic," La Providencia Guild members and guests convened at Glendale's Oakmont Country Club for their annual summer meeting and thrift store fashion show that was staged by committee members Beverly Jean Davies-Swaim, Tish Sellers, Sue Ann Gordon and the organization's Vice...

Christmas arrived early this month at La Providencia Guild Thrift Shop, 3301 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank. Lorelei Kelley , chairwoman for this event, was helped by her committee, Joanne Bailey, Fanny Belle Mound, Malena Tapan , and Chris Welker , who hosted the complimentary coffee bar for all of the patrons. In fact, all the members of the guild helped on this event. The thrift shop turned into a holiday atmosphere for early holiday shopping and to buy some of the homemade baked goods contributed by the guild's members.

I n 1930, Cuba's capital city of Havana celebrated the grand opening of the Hotel Nacional de Cuba — a luxury hotel and casino located on the Malecón that stretches over four miles along Havana's sea wall. Over the next two decades, the hotel became a hot destination for the jet set of the era, and a favorite getaway for many American actors, athletes and writers such as Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner, Marlon Brando, Mickey Mantle and Ernest Hemingway. In a tip of the hat to this nostalgic time and place, members and supporters of the La Providencia Guild of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles gathered at the Ebell Club of Los Angeles, which had been transformed into a re-creation of the legendary Cuban hotel, for the organization's 61st annual spring cotillion.