Palm Beach Social Diary

Donald Trump surrounded by Tracy Smith, Vanessa Nedvins, Gabrielle Pearlberg, Elisabeth Munder, Crissy Poorman, Nicole Munder, Julie Kasle, and Kim Honig at the Bootlegger’s Ball to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

When Pamela Fiori, the much-loved editor-in-chief of Town & Country magazine talks, people listen. The antithesis of a Prada-wearing devil, this grounded, savvy gal single handedly reinvented America’s oldest general interest magazine from a wobbly-WASP yearbook into an exquisitely diverse, literate, timely and conscientious chronicle of America’s high life, such as it still exists.

Pamela Fiori's "Stolen Moments"

Her love of classic films, Broadway musicals and the American songbook peppers her editorial take with the same fervor as her awareness of all things stylish, social and political. Net net, she’s an editor’s editor, as good as it gets, having cut her teeth on books as august as Holiday and Departures before ascending to her aerie in the Hearst tower.

Pamela’s first book, “Stolen Moments- The Photography of Ronnie Jaques,” is a tour of American celebrity. In pure black and white, and almost always on location rather than in a studio, it features one gorgeous shot after another of practically everyone you wanna see.

To celebrate its release, Ralph Lauren hosted an exhibition and book signing in their Palm Beach flagship. It brought out “a town sweep” — not to mention a surprise visit by Bryant Gumbel and his wife Hilary, along with brother Greg Gumbel and a whole bunch of PB regulars such as Mai Hallingby, Mary Frances and Bill Walde, Jasmine Horowitz, Imogene Willis, Frannie Scaife and Tom McCarter, Jane Ylvisaker, John Ripley, Scott Moses, Annette Tapert, Grace and Chris Meigher, Pat Cook and Robert Nederlander, Margo Nederlander, Mark Brentlinger and Bryan McDonald along with visiting Washingtonians Adam Ozmer, Frankie Lucostic and Ethan and Lindsey Williams Drath.

Penny and Keith Williams

Jasmine Horowitz and Donald Scott

Melissa Parker and Margo Nederlander

David Kamm with Linda and Michael O'Connor

Tim and Susan Malloy with Pamela Fiori

Greg Gumbel, Dianne DaVant Moffitt, David and Amy Burke, and Bryant Gumbel

Lynn Paradis and Joan Elliot

Steven Stolman and Beth DeWoody

Margaret Luce, Susan Johnson, and Hilary Gumbel

Frankie Lucostic, Lindsay Drath, and Adam Ozner

Chad Renfro and Pamela Fiori

Brewer Schoeller, Lucy Webster, and Margaret Horgan

Adam Ozner, Steven Stolman, and Frankie Lucostic

Annette Tapert and Beth DeWoody

Ethan and Lindsey Williams Drath

Jerry Lauren and Pamela Fiori

Further evidence that there’s a definite youthquake going on under the swaying palms of Palm Beach was everywhere you looked at last Saturday’s Bootlegger’s Ball to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation at the Mar-a-lago Club. Not only was every chairlady stunning in a Hollywood red carpetish-kinda way, but there was nary a grand dame, gigolo or mogul in the room (except for Donald Trump, of course, but hey, it’s his place.) Instead, the most attractive, fresh-faced crowd of the season — mostly young marrieds or pretty gals and their beaus — all decked out in the latest evening looks.

Chairs Andrea Kosoy, Darcie Kassewitz, Crissy Poorman, Nicole Munder, and Tracy Smith

Party designer Michael Ereshena borrowed liberally from John Berendt’s novel, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” A replica of the Savannah Bird Girl statue greeted guests in the Grand Ballroom — a gilded, garish, gargantuan cavern of mirrors and marble that was softened by walls hung with deep green velour, tall trees eerily lit with tiny blue lights, candlelit birdcages hanging over the dance floor and Battenberg lace-draped tables topped with wire and moss urns so tall and so overflowing with hydrangeas that they seemed to hover in the air.

One half of the ballroom was done up as a louche casino with more trees, a moss and slate covered bar and an overwhelming array of gaming tables- from blackjack to craps to Texas hold ‘em. There were even slot machines spinning away with alluring abandon.

While most of the evening followed the typical Mar-a-lago drill — cocktails by the pool followed by a long promenade to the ballroom past sponsors’ displays (in this case, a shining array of Rolls Royces, Bentleys and Maybachs, plus an adorable children’s playhouse) — the standout of the evening was a poignant cash call announced by the arrival of massive bouquets of mylar star balloons onto the dance floor, each balloon representing a wish for a severely ill child. One by one, they were sold, first at $5000, then $2500, then $1000 until all were gone and tied to the donors’ chairs. It truly brought the cause home as did a moving speech by a father whose daughter got her wish to meet Robin Williams.

Among the stylish crowd, chairladies Andrea Kosoy, Nicole Munder, Tracy Smith, Darcie Kassewitz, and Crissy Poorman, chairmen Brian Kosoy, Ryan Munder, Matthew Smith, Joel Kassewitz and Doug Luce along with Susie Dwinell, Sonja Abrahamson and Mark Stevens, Sarah and Brian Miller, Don Burns and Greg Connors, Tricia Quick, Talbott Maxey, Steven Stolman, Bryan McDonald and Mark Brentlinger with his mom, stunning Barbara Brentlinger Fergus, Collen Orrico and Matt Cohen and hundreds more of that ilk.

Nicole and Ryan Munder

Andrea and Brian Kosoy

Adam and Elisabeth Munder

Sonja Abrahamsen and Mark Stevens

Susie Dwinell and Caitlin Tashjian

Talbott Maxey and Don Burns

Steven Stolman and Tricia Quick

Mark Brentlinger, Tricia Quick, and Bryan McDonald

Michael and Diana Perry

The Young Friends of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County certainly do get around. Known as the area’s largest and most energized young support group, their latest stop for a chat and chew was at Bloomingdale’s in Palm Beach Gardens (that’s north, for all you northerners.) There, in Lilly Pulitzer’s pink and green department, pieces from her 50th Anniversary Traveling Retrospective along with a Lilly printed Steinway piano and, of course, a bar.

On hand: Sean Brevak and Dr. James Goad with his mom, Bo, Mark Montgomery, Stephen Mooney and Scott Velozo, Scott Moses, Catherine Tolton, Alexander Ives, Sharon Kearns, Janice Owens, Geoffrey Thomas and Sharon Sondes with her sister Maureen, Steven Stolman, Casey Orrico, Greer and Kristy Pressly, Jamie Habanek, Laura Wissa, Paula Martin, Kae Jonsons, Lisa de la Ronda, Penny Murphy, Deborah Koepper, Mira Jarvinen-Fain and more.

Deborah Koepper and Sue Ellen Pintarelli

Paula Martin and Laura Wissa

Sommer Haynes and Steve Geerts

Sharon Kearns, Scott Moses, and Janice Owens

Stephen Mooney, Catherine Tilton, and Scott Velozo

Kristy and Grier Pressly

Mira Fain and Dan Comerford

Bonnie and James Goad

Rubbernecking is the latest sport among kings on the tony island of Palm Beach. You know the drill — drive by a massive car wreck on the turnpike and it’s impossible not to slow down, let alone gawk at the frantic attempt at a rescue — what with it’s flashing ambulances, fire trucks, trauma hawks and “jaws of life.” Such is the scene on a similar scale in the town that Bernie Madoff napalmed. You can’t help but stare at the mawkish faces moving through the paces in an exercise that can only be described as a “dance macabre.”

It’s Palm Beach’s younger set that is clearly creating the new world order. Free from the devastating losses of the previous generation defined by their planes, cars, houses, jewels and clothes, this terrifically energized bunch of locals are pressing on with optimism, vigor and an intense joie de vivre that is at once inspiring and refreshing.

/Pucci models.

So there they were in full force in support of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, an organization hell bent on providing each and every Palm Beacher, especially kids, with a sense of place through educational programs in schools, terrific books, events and a new museum that tells the story of the swamp that became America’s definitive la-la land.

Beginning with a romp down Antique Row, the string of shops along South Dixie Highway that have long been the source for every decorator worth their fancy fringe- complete with outposts from the area’s best restaurants- the great looking crowd ultimately gathered at the hip Hotel Biba for an Emilio Pucci fashion show, more booze and expanded eats from Café Boulud. What recession?

There: event influencers Stephen Mooney and Scott Velozo, Penny and Keith Williams, Kristy and Grier Pressly, Aimee and Christopher Dunstan, Janet and Mark Murphy and Christina Matthews and Benjamin McFarland along with Palm Beach out-and about-ers like Beth Rudin DeWoody, John Christensen, Penny Murphy, Melanie and Chris Hill, Kae and Charles Jonsons, Patt and Bill Sned, Victor Moore and John Tatooles, Chad Renfro, Pam Walker, Scott Moses, John Ripley, Julia Duresky and literally a thousand more.

Beau Breckenridge with Pucci models

Chris Benvenuto and Brooke Johnson

Melanie Hill and Kevin Cler

Nicole and David Atkinson

Mary Tobin, Scott Moses, and Tara Tobin

Carin and Derek Acree

Aime Dunstan with Keith and Penny Williams

Wyatt Koch and friend

Maura Ziska and Pam Squillaro

Bernardo Ortiz and Paula martin

Katie and Ben

Jen Burford, Mark and Susan Elhilow, and Kae Jonsons

Roy Rodriguez and Liz Quinn

“Polo with Pedro” took place Sunday, March 8th at the International Polo Club Palm Beach, and honored the longtime Palm Beach resident, who was a polo player and board member of the YMCA. Pedro’s twin brother, Carlos, was the event’s Presenting Sponsor.

The afternoon began with a reception and silent auction, followed by luncheon, a live auction hosted by YMCA board member Robert Wyner, and the 26-goal finals of the C.V. Whitney Cup following the luncheon.

More than 350 friends and guests attended the fundraiser, including Honorary Chairpersons Jonathan Cameron-Hayes, Marc Ganzi, and H. Loy Anderson, III. Supporting the event were table sponsors; Altima International, H. Loy Anderson, III, Hugh Bate, Big Time Restaurant Group, William Bolles, Robert Butler, Castle Restaurant Group, Paul Emmett, Charles Evans Foundation, Andres and Cathie Fanjul, Marc Ganzi, Gentlemen of the Garden, Lori Gleim, Jonathan Cameron-Hayes, Arvo Katajisto, Dr. Scott McCranels, Carlos Morrison, Tom Quick, J.C. Rodriguez and Robert Wyner.

Arvo O. Katajisto, Jonathan Cameron Hayes, and John Wash

Additional supporters included the International Polo Club, Aaron’s Catering, and Francesco Blanco of Café Sapori, Rocco Mangel of Rocco Tacos, Lucien Capehart, Aime Dunstan, Fredric Roy, and Linda Soper.

Proceeds from the afternoon benefit the “Strong Kids Campaign” of the YMCA of the Palm Beaches, which is dedicated to building healthy spirit, mind, and body for all through programs that promote strong kids, strong families, and strong communities.

For more information about the YMCA of the Palm Beaches or how to get involved in next year’s “Polo with Pedro” Polo Brunch, contact Russell T. Martin, President/CEO at 561.968.9622 or emial russell.martin@ymcapalmbeaches.org [1].