Half Century Trojans (12) Candygrams
Trojan Candy arrived at Town and Gown at 11:00 am for the Half Century Trojans Hall of Fame Luncheon. Luckily, our HCT Honoree Hugh Helm arrived a few minutes later. I walked into the Town and Gown lobby to get my camera ready. I walked into the dining room to take a picture of the name of the Award Ceremony. Then I took a picture of Hugh’s award.
At around 11:30 am, the Senior Vice President for Alumni Relations, Patrick Auerbach, gathered all of the honorees in front of the fireplace.
Trojan Candy walked outside to look for Hugh and his family. I was finally able to take this picture of everyone except Hugh’s daughter who was still in class. From left to right are Matthew Lillard, Heather Lillard, Nancy Helm, Hugh Helm, Emily Helm and Ann Helm.
I stayed in the patio to take pictures of more HCT Board Members.
Trojan Candy walked inside the Town and Gown dining room, hoping to find Hugh in case his daughter had arrived. I couldn’t find Hugh and his family, but I saw three more HCT Board members. I saw Janet Tonkovich first.
Then, my last picture of the day was of Trish Vick and Sara Jane Bettge.
What a busy, but enjoyable picture taking day!
CONGRATULATIONS, Hugh!
Due to unexpected traffic on the 110 freeway northbound to USC, Trojan Candy and several other guests arrived late for USC Alumni Association Volunteer Recognition Dinner at Town and Gown.
Congratulations to our very own HCT member, Robert Frinier! Bob was recognized as a "Widney Alumni House Volunteer Award Recipient."
Bob was listed in the program as follows:
Robert Frinier “63, MBA “69
Class of 1963 50th Reunion Committee
Half Century Trojans Board of Directors
USC Alumni Association Board of Governors
KEEP FIGHTING ON, Bob!
Even though, Trojan Candy was very busy taking pictures of USC Trojan Guild members who were attending the A Chorus Line performance at the Bing Theatre, I also took pictures of some of my USC Half Century Trojans, who also came to see the production. I knew that my HCT friends would be attending the reception later.
Our USC students performed their roles superbly! Trojan Candy can see all of them on Broadway in the future!
Then, Trojan Candy saw another familiar face. Town and Gown friend Laure Molina said “Hi,” to Sandy and me. Naturally, I took this picture of Laure's two daughters, from the left, Alexandra Molina and Amanda Molina Rosen, Sandy Johnston, and Laure Molina.
Trojan Candy took this picture of my TGLA and Associate’s friend Linda Waxman. She is standing at the left in my picture of her table. Her husband Robert and Manushri Desai are standing next to her. Sitting left to right were Reese Jones, Vince Jzelac, Steve and Kristy Hennessee, and Mahima Varanasi.
Luckily, before I left, I went back to find our HCT President Sally Edwards to take her picture at the reception. Sally was sitting with other HCT Board members where Najwa Hanel had sat earlier. They were from the left, Trish Vick, Sally Edwards, Sara Jane Bettge and her husband George.
I hope that I was able to take a picture of every Half Century Trojan who attended the production and the reception of A Chorus Line.
KEEP FIGHTING ON!
Our HCT President Sally Edwards opened our January HCT Board Meeting which was held via Zoom. Our January Board Meeting had two special presentations on the agenda. Bob Lutz and Doug Yarrow of the Global Outreach Committee presented an interview of four Dubai USC Alumni. Then, Bob Padgett gave a chronological presentation about our Women of Troy for the History Committee.
Because Doug Yarrow was ill, Bob Lutz did the "Dubai Alumni Interview" by himself. The four guest speakers were Lance Ayson, Tarek Itani, Ralph Kabban, and Adnan Solanki. Let’s start with Lance.
Lance Ayson, who was born in Los Angeles, graduated from USC in 2019 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. In August 2021 Lance and his wife, who is also a Trojan, moved to Dubai to be near her family. In Dubai Lance has formed Digitality, an emerging digital marketing agency. Bob asked all four alumni, “Why did you choose USC?” Lance said, “USC fosters smart people and critical thinking.” KEEP FIGHTING ON, Lance!
Tarek Itani, who was born in Beirut, Lebanon, moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was five years old. Even though Tarek’s family returned to Beirut, Tarek chose to attend USC and major in Electrical Engineering. At USC, Tarek is a founding member of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Alumni Club. He has influenced five of his younger cousins to attend USC and is raising his three kids to be future Trojans. Tarek is now the new president of the Dubai USC Alumni Club. His answer to Bob’s question, “Why USC?” Tarek said that, “Financial connections were important. There is such a network in downtown LA.” KEEP FIGHTING ON, Tarek!
Ralph Kabban has been very successful in business. He co-established and is a partner of “Stitch in Time...” tailoring that has seven retail outlets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. He has also won the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) “Reinsurance Broking House of the Year Award” five years in a row. What an accomplished Trojan! Ralph is the co-founder and former president of the USC Alumni Club of London and co-founder and founding President of the USC UAE Alumni Club. He told us that 8 to 9 million people live in Dubai. They are South Asian, Indian and Pakistani. Ralph said that the schools in Dubai are excellent. There are American, British, and Japanese schools. As to Bob’s question, “Why USC?” Ralph answered, “You receive a well rounded education, communicate with different cultures, have social events, prepares you for life, and loved going to USC football games." Ralph noted his approval that Coach Lincoln Riley was the new football coach. Finally, Ralph said that "USC was a melting pot of different cultures, and you get out of it what you put in.” KEEP FIGHTING ON, Ralph!
Adnan Solanki, who was born and raised in Dubai, UAE, graduated from USC in May 2020 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering Building Science. He works in his family business managing the Real Estate department. He has also co-founded a perfume manufacturing company. His answer to Bob’s, “Why USC?” Adnan said, “No regrets. My experience at USC was very valuable. There were lots of extra curriculum activities, especially football. Adnan was happy that USC hired Coach Lincoln Riley. KEEP FIGHTING ON, Adnan!
On behalf of the HCT History Committee, Bob Padgett gave a historical report about our Women of Troy. Bob’s report started with the passage of Title IX in the 1980’s. This was the law that prohibits gender discrimination in federal funded activities. USC started women’s basketball in 1976. Bob said, that according to our records, USC was the first university to award scholarships to women athletes. He noted that our women have won 35 NCAA Championships. [Trojan Candy wants to interject that in the 2020-2021 year, our Women of Troy won three NCAA Championships in Beach Volleyball, Water Polo and Track and Field!] Our Women of Troy are tied for 4th in NCAA Championships. To finish, Bob mentioned Lisa Leslie was the first woman to dunk in a game, and then she moved on to a career in the WNBA. Thank you, Bob and KEEP FIGHTING ON!
Our Board meeting ended with Committee reports and the introduction by Nominations Committee Chair Janet Tonkovich. Janet announced the 2022-2023 HCT Board nominations and the three new members of the 1971 New Directors. They were Ann Lipscomb, Larry Londre and Daniel Parker. Welcome to our 2022-2023 HCT Board!
Bob’s Women of Troy history lesson was indeed informative!
So much “THANKS” to Doug and Bob for introducing our HCT Board to the USC UAE Alumni Club. Let’s definitely stay in touch! Keep FIGHTING ON, Doug and Bob!