Overnight delivery for Friends of the Library

BARBARA DIAMOND

“Spenser” author Robert B. Parker overnighted a signed copy of his

new Jesse Stone book, “Stonecold,” to make sure it arrived in time

for the Friends of the Library dinner and auction on Saturday.

To date, 72 autographed books have been sent, all in response to

letters to authors or word of mouth.

Cookery writer Diane Soliz Martese knew about the auction because

she moonlights as Friends of the Library treasurer Diane Connell.

Coastline Pilot columnist and library supporter Sherwood Kiraly

contributed four of his books, including “Diminished Capacity,” which

is in production as a movie. Ted Taylor, whose book “Maldonado

Miracle” was recently televised on Showtime, donated copies of that

book and others of the 30 books he has written for young people.

Other local authors who have contributed books to the auction

include Bette Anderson, Connie Merritt and Gregory Benford.

T. Jefferson Parker and Barbara Howard, both with ties to Laguna,

have also donated books. Parker, who is working on a book set in the

Laguna Beach of the 1960s, sent along a copy of his latest book.

Howard, whose daughter Malinda Howard lives in Laguna Beach, donated

a copy of “Letters from Seabiscuit.”

The auction is a new feature of the annual dinner, to be held

Saturday at Tivoli Terrace. Guests will have about an hour to browse

before dinner is served at 7:30 p.m. Checks and cash will be

accepted.

Guest speakers are nothing new at the dinner. This year, NBC

weatherman Fritz Coleman will add his special spin to the event.

Besides weather reporting, Coleman is a stand-up comic and an

Emmy-winning playwright, who wrote and starred in “The Reception.”

Tickets for the dinner are $40 per person. For more information

about Friends of the Library or to make reservations, visit

[email protected] or call (949) 497-0753.

LEADERS TO BE HONORED

Dee Challis Davy, Vivian Clekak, Lola Gillebaard, Nancy Lawrence,

Peggie Thomas and Pat Jamieson will be honored Monday at the American

Assn. of University Women dinner at Tivoli Too.

The women will be recognized as leaders in six local projects.

Challis Davy has added new luster to the Pageant of the Masters

since she took over as director. She practically grew up at the

Irvine Bowl Park and was the recipient of Festival of Arts Grounds

scholarships.

Clekak founded Human Options, a shelter for battered women in

Laguna Beach in 1991. She is being honored for her contributions to

social justice.

Gillibaard, who was sensational in the Woman’s Club of Laguna

Beach production last year of the “Vagina Monologues,” is a regular

visitor to hospitals -- with which she is all to familiar as a cancer

survivor. She is a member of the National Speakers Assn.

Lawrence is the elegant backbone of “Color It Orange,” a

countywide, juried art show for children, which is exhibited at the

Laguna Beach College of Art and Design. She also helped found

Designing Women, at one time the school’s only fund-raising group,

and is a recipient of the Clara Barton Spectrum Award for Outstanding

Women in Orange County.

Thirty-four women have been honored since the first local

association leadership dinner was held in 1991.

Ed Merrilees, husband of 2002 honoree Jeannette Merrilees, will

entertain during the social hour that begins at 5:30 p.m. Tivoli Too

owner June Neptune has donated the champagne, for which she would

deserve a leadership nomination, if she hadn’t already been selected

in 2001 for her contributions to virtually every group in town.

Laguna branch association’s past President Carol Reynolds deserves

a lifetime achievement award for initiating the dinners and chairing

them for five years.

Dinner is $35. For more information, call (949) 497-0986.

NEW TWIST IN FUND-RAISING

The Boys and Girls Club of Laguna Beach has put a new wrinkle into

donations: goods, not cash.

Gifts of almost any kind valued at more than $5,500 will be

accepted in the club’s first-ever Non-Cash Donation Drive. Gifts

could be fine art, real estate, business interests, intellectual

property, machinery, jewelry, coins or collectibles.

“Many people have items and property that are no longer needed and

they don’t know what to do with them,” said Kim Maxwell, executive

director of the club. “These assets can be valuable gifts to the Boys

and Girls Club by helping to support our programs for the kids. For

the donor, a previously unneeded asset becomes a valuable tax

deduction at the end of the year.”

The club enlisted Donation Exchange to assist in the non-cash

drive. Donation Exchange will arrange for certified appraisals and

assist the donor with paperwork required by the Internal Revenue

Service to claim charitable gift deductions.

More than 800 children are participating in the Laguna Beach Boys

and Girls Club’s out-of-school programs and other services. The club

has been serving our children and their families for more than 50

years. It was originally located on Main Beach and was for boys only.

Times have changed, but the mission hasn’t. The club’s goal is to

inspire and help young people to realize their full potential as

healthy, productive responsible and caring citizens.

For more information about the club, visit

https://www.bgclaguna.org, visit the club at 1085 Laguna Canyon Road

or call (949) 494-9300.

To make donations of property or assets valued at $5,000 or more,

call (800) 524-4416. For more information about Donation Exchange,

visit https://www.donation exchange.com.

* OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box

248, Laguna Beach, CA 92652, hand-deliver to 384 Forest Ave., Suite

22; call (949) 494-4321 or fax (949) 494-8979.