Volunteering the Holiday Cheer
• December 12, 2012

In addition to exchanging gifts with family and friends, helping the less fortunate is another great way to spend time during the holidays. D.C. is filled with many volunteer opportunities that can enrich your holiday season.

Georgetown Ministry Center Coat Drive. Georgetown Ministry Center, located at 1041 Wisconsin Ave., NW, serves the homeless in the winter. Several Georgetown businesses, including the Georgetowner, have teamed up to warm up the community with a coat drive. Winter coats can be dropped off at the Water Street Gym, 3255 K St., NW. You can also organize a drop off at your own place of employment – contact trish@waterstreetgym.com. Water Street Gym will be collecting coats through Jan. 31, 2013. Last year, the drive collected over 90 coats for the homeless, according to the Georgetown Ministry Center’s blog. Hats, gloves, scarves and other warm winter items are also welcome donations. Please help homeless people in our community by supporting this worthy cause.

The Holiday Project, a nonprofit serving DC, Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, brings cheerful holiday spirit to those in nursing homes and hospitals. You can get involved by donating funds or participating in a one of their Christmas visits. For a list of dates and more information, visit www.holidayproject.org.

The Cathedral of St. Matthew is once again sponsoring their Adopt-a-Family program. This program has given helped hundreds of families over the years by providing them with clothing, household items, furniture, and toys. Volunteers are needed to interview families, organizes wish lists and help wrapping and distributing gifts. To get involved, email socialjustice@stmatthewscathederal.org.

The Morris Cafritz Center for Community Service is organizing a day of volunteering on December 25. Opportunities include visiting seniors, organizing Christmas parties, preparing food, serving meals, caroling or playing music, donating blood and spending time with Children. There are special projects for both families and small groups. Visit www.dcjcc.org to sign up.

The Capital Area Food Bank takes volunteers as well as monetary donations. For those wanting to do even more, the Food Bank also has information about organizing your own food drive. More information can be found on their website, www.capitalareafoodbank.org.

Food & Friends supports those with cancer, HIV/Aids and other illnesses by preparing and delivering specialized meals. Holiday volunteer opportunities include helping with meal delivery Dec 25 – Jan 1 and kitchen assistance Dec 24 – Jan 3. For more information email dpitz@foodandfriends.org or visit
www.foodandfriends.org.
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The Beltway of Giving: A Gift of Philanthropy
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The trees are trimmed, the lists are made and the holiday party planning is underway, but what some might call the most wonderful time of the year can be a hardship for others less fortunate. The good news is that 24 percent of U.S. households report that they give during the holiday period according to Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy, a time when many organizations need the most support.

I’ve spent this year coining the Beltway of Giving to encourage each of you to make giving a part of your life throughout the year. We’ve introduced you to some well-deserving non-profits and advocacy organizations across the District, from Fair Chance to Brain Food, and many more.

To conclude the year, I thought it was appropriate to ask the most charitable ladies I know in D.C. – businesswomen, mothers, social butterflies and philanthropic mavens who commit to giving 365 days a year through their charity work and fundraising for organizations – what local nonprofits they will support this holiday season and why. These women are giving the gift of philanthropy.

“I plan to support the Washington Jesuit Academy. There are so many issues concerning the plight of young men of color and they do an excellent job preparing them to be positive citizens. They engage men across the city to support their efforts through volunteerism. Most people lead busy lives and these men are committed to helping young boys excel in school.” Christal Jackson, Share Our Strength www.wjacademy.org

“I am passionate about the DC Metro Chapter of the Twelve Days of Christmas, Inc. We have a direct impact on children in our community. Without us, the children we serve would not have school supplies during the school year or gifts at Christmas.” Nicole Venable, Bockorny Group www.twelvedaysofchristmasinc.org

“Cancer Prevention is a year-round journey. It is important to remember, even when the weather gets cold, and we’re not running around on the beach. Just a $10 donation can cover the cost of a prostate exam or $25 a skin cancer screening. The Prevent Cancer organization provides information on the eight preventable cancers and holiday contributions can help us stop cancer before it starts!” Katherine Kennedy, Availor Group www.preventcancer.org

“Lucky Dog Animal Rescue rescues dogs from high-kill shelters in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and D.C. They have partnered with low-income and rural area shelters to save hundreds of highly-adoptable dogs that are euthanized each month due to overpopulation problems. The organization does not have a shelter so they solely rely on the volunteers to foster the pups until they are released to a good home. I truly believe in the organization, there is nothing better than saving the life of a defenseless, loving animal!” Lydia Arshadi, Capitalize LLC
www.luckydoganimalrescue.org

“Young Invincibles, led by D.C. resident Aaron Smith, is an organization that seeks to amplify the voices of young, low-income Americans and expand opportunity for the millennial generation. They developed a free mobile app to help persons, aged 18 to 34, take control of their health, wherever they may be. They are one of the winners of the director’s choice prize for the IGNITEgood Huffington Post millennial impact. Many organizations are investing in engaging millennials, but few are tackling the issues facing millennials on a national level. YI is doing that and doing it well.” Natalie Braga, Ignite, goodyounginvincibles.org
“I support the Adventure Theater – Musical Theater Center in Glen Echo, Maryland – the oldest children’s theater in the D.C. area. They recently celebrated 60 years, and not long ago, produced their first African American play ever – Mirandy and Brother Wind. The play is part of their African American Adventures series, created by the theater’s director after he discovered the theater had never produced a black children’s play.” Tracey Webb, Black Gives Back
www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org

“The Chris4Life Colon Cancer Foundation was founded by Michael Sapienza who lost his mother Christine to the disease. Since its inception, the foundation has fought from a grassroots level against this preventable cancer, starting in D.C. and expanding to other major markets. A few little known facts are that colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women combined and that colonoscopies not only discover cancer, but can also stop cancer.” Pamela Lynne Sorensen, Pamela’s Punch
www.chris4life.org

“I work at CityDance as a dance and production instructor. What inspires me the most about CityDance is the high level of quality attained in all our departments. From our Community Programs, which span 24 sites in the area, to our School and Conservatory at Strathmore, which is home to nearly 500 students, CityDance aims to create opportunities to present, teach and educate about all genres of dance, at all levels, to our community, through our broad range of programs.” Sarah Ewing, City Dance. www.citydance.net

“I support Horton’s Kids because they are an organization that nurtures the dreams and desires of children. I think success messages are very important to mental stability. Horton’s Kids makes sure that kids in Ward 8, one of DC’s most underserved communities, are confident and well rounded by exposing them to opportunities and programs.” Adra Williams, Otim Williams
www.hortonskids.org

“The Junior Council of Children is the perfect avenue for young professionals in our city to engage in philanthropic efforts. More importantly, it is a group in support of Children’s National Medical Center, where no sick child is ever turned away regardless of their ability to pay.” Amanda Burke, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
www.dcchildrensfoundation.com

Jade Floyd works for the Case Foundation and is a frequent volunteer and host of fundraising events across the District supporting arts, animal welfare and education programs.

Hurley’s Icy Images of Shackleton’s Trek at Ralls Collection
• December 11, 2012

If you’re dreaming of a white Christmas, you might wander over to the Ralls Collection before it’s too late.

You have until Dec. 15 to catch the exhibition, “The Photographs of Frank Hurley.” You want white—you’ve got white—the white of Antarctic ice, icebergs, ice floes and snow and blizzards, as endured by the men of 360-foot wooden ship Endurance, all part of a mission by English explorer Ernest Shackleton, who set sail for the Antarctic in August of 1914 with his crew and official photographer, an Australian by the name of Frank Hurley. They were leaving behind England and Europe, where World War I was just beginning.

Shackleton was attempting to become the first man to lead an expedition that would walk across the Antarctic from the Weddell to the Ross Sea. His expedition—named the Imperial Transantarctic Expedition—never accomplished that. Instead, the Endurance—it was named after a Shackleton family motto–was trapped in the ice along with the crew, which remained on the ship for a year until it sank. The men were then forced to live in what they managed to construct out of what was left of the lifeboats, subsisting on penguin and sea lion meat, until they were eating boiled bones. They moved to a barren island from which Shackleton set sail with five men on one of the lifeboats to try and reach a whaling station in the South Atlantic. After a harrowing 800-mile journey, he returned with help to rescue the rest of his crew, including Hurley. All of the members of the expedition survived.

Shackleton’s journey was a failure but in an age of brave exploration his survival and the rescue of his crew became a legendary story—a legend built on solid, black-and-white evidence that came with almost artful emotional content.

Marsha Ralls bought 35 of Hurley’s photos from the National Geographic Society 35 years ago and ended up keeping them. Hanging on the walls of her gallery in Georgetown, the images make an odd assemblage—they’re full of the kind of grandeur and stories that keep trying to escape the boundaries of their frames and edges. Each pictures seems to contain a frozen story.

Hurley was no stranger to the Antarctic, having accompanied Australian explorer Douglas Mawson on a trip to the Antarctic on the Nimrod. His photographic results led to his appointment on the Endurance.

The photographs in the Ralls exhibition appear to encompass the first year of the crew’s stay on the Endurance before it sank. The look is almost fantastic, like a visual tall tale, except, of course, that they’re real images, especially the photographs of the ship frozen in tundras of ice. The ship seems at once a powerful contraption and one totally in the grip of helplessness. Against the vast expanse of ice, the ship at times seems like a toy, the men working on the ice stick figures. Especially haunting is an image of the Endurance at night.

Hurley’s pictures—including one showing him draped across a mast, or underneath the ship, at work—are famous. There have been books about the expedition, stories and tales and pictures, all of which has elevated the failed expedition to the realm of legend. But it’s the pictures that tell the story, keep it alive in the mind as fact, a living fact of what men can endure, of how precious and powerful the earth is, we and the creatures in it (In one image, a group of king penguins seem to be in conference.).

According to stories about Hurley, he was a taciturn sort of Australian who was a doer, a great maker of pictures and also maker of makeshift environments —a dark room on the ship. He was without question brave—he dove into icy waters to save negatives, then returned from his ordeal with the expeditions to jump into the midst of World War I, chronicling the fortunes and misfortunes of the Australian troops in France and at the battle of Ypres.

“The Photographs of Frank Hurley” through Dec. 15 — The Ralls Collection, 1516 31st St., NW; 202-342-1298.
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Fairmont Tree Lighting
• December 7, 2012

WTOP’s Bob Madigan was master of ceremonies at the Fairmont Washington D.C.’s ninth annual tree lighting ceremony Nov. 29. Mayor Vincent Gray and Councilmember Jack Evans, who encouraged holiday shopping in D.C., attended. Guests were asked to bring an unwrapped gift for Toys for Tots. There were crafts for children with American Girl, a raffle, entertainment and family photos with Santa and Rudolph in front of the gingerbread village created by Fairmont’s pastry chef Rebecca Kinsella, which took 120 hours to create. [gallery ids="101082,137341,137338" nav="thumbs"]

Gero’s Take: Saving E. Scrooge Each and Every Christmas
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I think it’s getting into my DNA,” said Ed Gero, as we talked on the phone.

Gero, who’s been a vivid presence as an actor, teacher, performer and good theater citizen on the Washington scene since 1981, was talking about his fourth gig playing Ebenezer Scrooge at Ford’s Theater, the theater’s yearly contribution to Washington holiday traditions.

“Sure, it’s familiar, and it gets easier,” Gero said. “That doesn’t mean that you can sort of ease your way through it, that it doesn’t remain fresh. My family knows I’m one of the people that works during the Christmas holidays.”

“You know, we’re talking six days a week plus matinees, and the people always come from all over the country,” Gero said.

We were talking about Scrooges, references to Greek tragedy, Lear, and Joseph Campbell and the idea of the hero in humanity drift in natu- rally. Gero is one of these guys—doesn’t mat- ter whether the subject is, be it Mark Rothko, American art, the classics, Shakespeare, teaching theater—who’s a great talker and a good listener. Interviews, no matter what the length, end up being conversations.

“You always find new things in Scrooge,” Gero continued. “I mean Dickens is like Shake- speare in that sense. He creates enduring characters, and Scrooge is always present in our minds no matter how you do it.”

As for the character in question, Gero said: “He’s a man who’s lost his way. He’s losing his humanity. He’s incredibly lonely and a loner and so that’s how this journey—with the ghosts, in time—begins. It’s a journey of renewal, self-discovery. He’s come to this state entirely of his own mak- ing: he is the pitiless, all alone and bit- ter man he is because of the decisions he’s made. What’s true for Lear is true for Scrooge — and Oedipus Rex for that matter.”

Gero has played the Scrooge role four times. “I look forward to it each time,” he said

Here is an actor, who some- what later in his career has suddenly launched himself into the big roles, and Scrooge, no matter what you might say of its popularity, is a big, demanding piece of work.

At Arena last season, Gero commanded the stage in “Red,” a two-character play about the giant American Expressionist artist Mark Rothko, which he first performed at the Goodman Theater in Chicago before it was brought to Arena. Before that, Gero was an astonishing Gloucester in a Goodman production of “King Lear” (Stacey Keach was Lear) at the Shakespeare Theatre Company.

He’s done Richard Nixon, Solieri in “Amadeus,” Chekhov, Bolingbroke twice in “Richard II” at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. He was a haphazard and addled member of a group of drunken Irishmen in Martin McDonagh’s “The Seafarer.”

“You can’t get lazy just because you’ve done a part for a long time,” Gero said. “For one thing, we always haves children in the cast, and each year, they’re a different group. Sometimes, there’s a new Tiny Tim, as well as new actors. To them, it’s completely fresh. You can take some cures from that, plus it has the effect of making it new for you. There’s the added fact that there’s always a new audiences, a new group, new visi- tors, more kids and families. You’re keenly aware they’re out there and that to many of them, it’s a first time.”

Gero’s career in the D.C. area began in 1981 at the Barter Theater at George Mason University where he now teaches classical theater.

He has been a stalwart performer at the Shakespeare Theatre Company but also has been a regular at the Studio Theatre, where his work was more in the contemporary vein (“Skylight”, for which he won a Helen Hayes Award, “Shining City” and “American Buffalo, among many) and Round House Theatre.

His stage work has grounded him here where he’s raised a family and lives in Maryland with his wife Marijke, a special education teacher.

The Ford connection for Gero is getting deeper. He will take on the role of Horace Van- dergelder opposite Tony Nominee Nancy Opel as Dolly in the Ford’s Theatre production—co-produced with Signature Theatre—of “Hello Dolly” in March.

“It’s not a departure for me, and I’m really looking forward to it,” Gero said. “I’ve done ‘Sweeney Todd.’ So, I’m comfortable in a musical. Actually, I played the same part in a version of the Thornton Wilder play, “The Matchmaker.”

It’s another addition to what has by now be- come a hefty gallery of roles, getting larger, later.

We didn’t ask about Macbeth or Lear, which he has not done yet.

Nor did we ask whether he would do Scrooge again next year. It’s gotten so that it’s hard to imagine a Scrooge without Gero

Up & ComingDecember 6, 2012
• December 6, 2012

DECEMBER 6

The Berrette Family Foundation Official Launch and Keystone Dinner
The Berrette Family Foundation announces its first cohort this winter with a fundraiser-launch event. The inaugural theme, ?The Beginning of a Community Staple,? showcases the desire to inspire and transform the communities in which we live. Co-hosted by ABC7?s Jummy Olabanji and poet and entrepreneur Beny Blaq, the fundraiser will include a performance by Grammy-nominated songwriter Kyonte Vincent. Tickets are $45 per person. Visit bfflaunch.brownpapertickets.com. Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th St., NW.

40th Annual Landon Greens Sale & Holiday Boutique
Celebrate the holiday season at the 40th Annual Greens Sale and Holiday Boutique at Landon School on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 6 and 7, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Shopping features specialty wreaths, artful greens and boxwood, as well as the Holiday Boutique with 40-plus vendors. Stop by the bake sale and caf? and visit the historic Landon Farmhouse. Proceeds benefit financial aid and faculty enrichment. Landon School, 6101 Wilson Boulevard, Bethesda, Md. 20817.

DECEMBER 8

Cuba + World Holiday Poster Sale
This is an annual holiday sale on Saturday Dec. 8, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., offering more than 100 silk-screen movie posters from Cuba and more than 100 cultural and social cause posters from the U.S., Asia, Middle East & Latin America. Cubans design a silk-screen poster for every movie shown on the island, whether it is from the United States, Europe, Japan or Latin America. These beautiful 20-by-30-inch posters are highly collectible and make fabulous holiday gifts. For more information, email CubanPosterGallery@msn.com. 3319 O St., NW.

Toys for Tots Drive at Rhino
Make a donation to Toys for Tots and have your holiday gifts wrapped by Rhino elves. Get your photo taken with Santa and sample sweet treats from Sweet Events Design. Rhino Bar & Pumphouse, 3295 M Street, NW. For more information, visit www.rhinobardc.com. Rhino Bar & Pumphouse, 3295 M Street, NW.

DECEMBER 9
Handel?s ?Messiah? Concert
Music at National presents: ?King of Kings: Our Coming Savior? in ?Messiah? by G.F. Handel, featuring The National Presbyterian Church Festival Choir & Orchestra. No tickets required; ample free parking available. Located a short walk from the Tenleytown stop on the Metro red line. The event is free to the public. Visit www.nationalpres.org/messiah for more information. The National Presbyterian Church, 4101 Nebraska Ave., NW.

DECEMBER 11

Bowen McCauley Dance Holiday Concert
Come see the BMD dancers perform on the Millennium Stage. Rounding out the program are guest performances by Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, BMD?s Dance for PD participants, and a holiday musical finale culminating in an audience sing-and-dance-along. Join us at Rivers at the Watergate restaurant for a celebration immediately following the performance. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.bmdc.org/upcoming. 2700 F St., NW.

DECEMBER 12

Hurricane Sandy Relief
Toy Drive
The celebrity chefs of the District Hogs motorcycle gang David Guas, R.J. Cooper and Robert Wiedmaier will be collecting toys to support the children in New Jersey on behalf of Wiedmaier?s employees of Mussel Bar & Grille at Revel, Atlantic City, and others displaced by Hurricane Sandy. Drop off an unwrapped gift to the motorcycle-paper covered box at any of the restaurants below on Wednesday and received a free chocolate treat.

Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery- Arlington, Va.
Rouge 24, Washington, D.C.
Mussel Bar & Grille, Bethesda, Md.
Mussel Bar & Grille- Atlantic City, N.J.

DECEMBER 15

Georgetown Lutheran Church Sing-along
The Georgetown Lutheran Church is hosting a community Christmas sing-along with organ accompaniment on Saturday, Dec. 15, 5 p.m. The event is free and welcome to all. For more information, call 202-333-3642. Georgetown Lutheran Church, 1556 Wisconsin Ave., NW.

DECEMBER 16

GBA Yoga Fundraiser and Reception
Join the Georgetown Business Association in raising money for the Georgetown Senior Center by taking a Restorative Yoga class at Georgetown Yoga on Dec. 16, 4 p.m., followed by a wine reception at 5:30 p.m. All donations will go to Georgetown Senior Center with GBA matching funds up to $500. Suggested minimum donation $10 for the class and reception. Not sure you are ready for yoga? You are welcome to attend the reception from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Georgetown Yoga, 2603 P St., NW.

Actor Larry Hagman: Adored by a Genie, Shot by a Mistress — and Loved by All
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I was talking with a friend of mine today about Larry Hagman, who died Nov. 23 at the age of 81.

“Ah, Major Nelson,” he said.

True, true, but that may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of the life and career of Hagman.

When you think of Hagman, you think first, foremost and forever of “J.R.,” the unredeemably scheming, double-crossing, philandering, more Texan than Texas tycoon J.R. Ewing for 13 years on “Dallas,” the prime time soap opera where oil wells weren’t the only gushers. Hagman, with those about-to-take-off big eyebrows, a gleaming, predatory smile and the requisite larger-than-they-should-be cowboy boots and hats, was the patriarch and anaconda-in-chief for millions of viewers.

When at the end of one season, J.R. was shot in the shower by persons unknown and his fate still unknown until the start of next season—your old basic prolonged cliff hanger—record millions watched and more kvetched about J.R.’s fate and the name of his assassin all summer. Talk about the reality of unreality shows.

“Dallas” buzzed its way through the 1980s and the Reagan era, where corporate greed was as big a trend word as it is today, accompanied by junk bonds and oil wells. “Dynasty” soon followed, featuring a female version played by the rhymes-with-witchy Joan Collins. But it was always Hagman’s J.R. who was the man you loved to hated or, in women’s case, hated to love. There was something iconic and big in the part, an American character made up of equal parts of bad breath and expensive after shave.

J.R. was not all Hagman was—in fact, except perhaps for a too-long-a-time penchant for living big and giving in to his appetities, mainly alcohol, Hagman was known by reputation as one of the good guys, a gentleman, warm and funny, an actor’s actor with whom his fellow actors loved to work. Linda Gray, who played his “Dallas” wife on the show called him her best friend of 30 years. She returned for a recent TNT reprise of the show and was at his side along with his family last week when Hagman passed away from complications of his long bouts with cancer. He also had at one point chirrosis of the liver, which resulted in a liver transplant. Asked how the transplant changed his life, Hagman quipped, “I didn’t die.” In addition, he created a foundation benefitting organ transplants and became a champion of the cause

Hagman really did play other parts than J.R.—including the part of Major Tony Nelson, an American astronaut who finds himself keeping company with a fetching genie, played by Barbara Eden, in a hit sitcom, “I Dream of Jeannie,” that preceded “Dallas.” He also acted on Broadway. He had the genes for it—his mother was Mary Martin, the legendary Broadway star of “South Pacific”—in which Hagman performed with her once in London– and “The Sound of Music” not to mention being “Peter Pan” on television. Martin headed for California when she was still a teenager, and both of them understood a little something about enduring fame.

Hagman had small but significant roles in a number of films before and after he hit it big in television series, notably as the interpreter for Henry Fonda’s U.S. president in the nuclear crisis film, “Failsafe,” a blustering general in “The Eagle Has Landed” and a truly fine part of a politician who cannot quite let go of ambition in the thinly-veiled Clinton campaign movie “Primary Colors,” which starred John Travolta and Emma Thompson.

Hagman always insisted he played J.R. as a kind of cartoon, a composite of numerous Texans he had known all of his life. He also admitted that he fairly floated through the length of the show, on doses of daily champagne. He said he liked working while being a “little loaded.”

Other than for his excesses, Hagman was nothing like J.R.—he was noted for his charitable work, he was married to his wife Maj Axellson for 59 years.

He accurately noted the craziness surrounding the shooting of J.R. episodes. “We were in the middle of a hostage crisis and there was an election campaign but all everybody wanted to know was ‘Who shot J.R.?’ ”

For the record, it was Kristin, J.R.’s scheming sister-in-law and mistress, played by Mary Crosby, who shot him. Take that.

Azza Fahmy’s Dazzing Jewels
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Seasons at the Four Seasons Hotel was transformed into an Arabian nights fantasy on Nov. 15 as internationally acclaimed Egyptian jeweler Azza Fahmy presented a trunk show at a VIP by invitation cocktail reception. Stunningly gowned models showcased the designs which were also on display. Syra Arts hosted the presentation of hand-crafted gold, silver and precious stone pieces which carry diverse cal- ligraphic interpretations and are characterized with beautiful Azza Fahmy filigree craft and layering. [gallery ids="101071,137155" nav="thumbs"]

The Georgetowner Holiday Benefit & BazaarDecember 5, 2012
• December 5, 2012

The Georgetowner, with EagleBank?s assistance, put on its third annual Holiday Benefit & Bazaar Nov. 29 at the George Town Club to honor the Georgetown Senior Center. With hors d?oeuvres and wine tastings, the guests perused the tables, bought some great goods and did well by the silent auction. The host committee included Lolly Amons, Joe Clarke, Michele Conley, Michelle Evans, Jade Floyd, Jeanne Jennings, Krista Johnson, Cami Mazard, Victoria Michael, Nancy Miyahira, Bob Pincus and Lesley Steiner. The bazaar shops included Ella Rue, Queen Bee Jewelry, Sentsy, Ibhana, Traci Lynn Jewelry, Kamisol Accessories, J McLaughlin and Homayoun Yershalmi.

Innocents at RiskDecember 5, 2012
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Innocents at Risk (IAR), which Deborah Sigmund founded 2005 to combat the scourge of human traf- ficking, has had singular success due in large part to international support and the vigilance of airline per- sonnel. Following a Nov. 28 performance of My Fair Lady at Arena Stage, sponsors were invited to a four course repast in the private Placido Domingo room at Caf? Milano. In her remarks Deborah hailed special guest Virna Luque, Secretary General of the Minister of Security in Panama, as ?the voice of human trafficking? in her country. She acknowledged guests who included the Reeders, who had underwritten a fact-finding trip to Panama; the Carstens Family Fund; Pamela Johnson and Wes King as well as Patricia Vojack and Michael Kentor, who traveled from Austin, Texas.