4 newportbeachindy . com DECEMBER 9 , 2022

OC Chapter Childhelp President Pam Pharris , John O ’ Hurley , Co Chair Jacquie Casey / photo by John Watkins

By Christopher Trela | NB Indy

Several hundred guests boarded the Love Boat at the Balboa Bay Resort on October 1 to raise funds for the Orange County chapter of Childhelp , an organization that exists to meet the physical , emotional , educational and spiritual needs of abused , neglected and at-risk children by focusing on advocacy , intervention , treatment , prevention , family resilience and community outreach .

Nautical attire was encouraged and many guests went overboard to adhere to the theme , especially the Men ’ s Committee , who were adorned in matching skipper outfits .

The evening set sail in the Balboa Bay Resort ’ s foyer with a silent auction , cocktails and champagne .

Guests then moved to the main regatta in the resort ’ s ballroom for a surf and turf dinner of filet mignon and sea bass , and the evening ’ s program .

Chapter President Pam Pharris and

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committee member Kristin James welcomed everyone along with the Men ’ s Committee Chairs , David James and Scott Amling .

During dinner , Patti Edwards presented the “ Benevolent Heart Award ” to John O ‘ Hurley : actor , comedian , singer , author , television personality and longtime Childhelp Celebrity Ambassador and advocate .

“ This award is presented to someone who truly loves the Childhelp mission ,” said Edwards in her introduction to O ’ Hurley . “ He is a man of many talents . If you enjoy comedy and pop culture , you know him as J . Peterman on ‘ Seinfeld .’ If you are a game show fan , you loved him on ‘ Family Feud ’ or ‘ To Tell the Truth .’ If you are a dog lover , John has hosted the National Dog Show for 20 years . In theater , you know him as a Broadway star with ‘ Chicago ’ and ‘ Spamalot .’ In his spare time , he saves children ’ s lives .”

O ’ Hurley delivered a 10-minute acceptance speech that began as a witty

observation on his career and ended with a riveting homage to Childhelp .

He noted that during his career , which spans 40 years , he has killed three TV series and guest starred on 50 TV shows — but not one is still on the air .

“ During those 40 years , I have come to learn what a celebrity is — a celebrity is someone who gets to do something they have no business doing ,” O ’ Hurley told the audience . “ Every year I am reminded of that when they call me to host the National Dog Show . It gives me an opportunity to say some of the stupidest things I have ever said .”

O ’ Hurley recalled his first year hosting the dog show and watching a judge running her hands under the hair of an English sheepdog . O ’ Hurley asked his co-host to explain what she was doing . He responded that she is putting her hands on the dog to make sure the shoulders and hips align in proportion to what the perfect English sheep dog should be . “ You can hide a really bad dog under a really good haircut ,” he explained .

“ You ’ re telling me ,” retorted O ’ Hurley “ I went to junior prom .”

Then the judge started picking the hair up from the dog ’ s head . O ’ Hurley again asked what she was doing . The answer : “ She is trying to find the eyes .” O ’ Hurley responded “ if she lifts the hair and finds only one eye , she ’ s at the wrong end of the dog .”

The next day , the sports headline in a local paper read “ The wrong end of the dog .”

O ’ Hurley went on to say he was “ blessed to be here tonight , in the presence of people that care so much . My wife and I are blessed to have a perfect child . It ’ s not as though he never errs , he does many times , and often . And he is not a perfect student . Our son is not a great athlete .”

He then related a story of his son playing basketball . After the game O ’ Hurley told him that he should be

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more aggressive . His son ’ s response : “ I am just a common boy who doesn ’ t do things like that .”

“ My boy is anything but common ,” said O ’ Hurley . “ He is a perfect child because he posses three elements . The first is he understands the power of imagination . Second , he understands the importance of contemplation , of living in the present . Finally , he understands the notion of appreciation , the fact that he can see the inherent value and at the same time the apparent brokenness in a human being . The common boy has his sights set on living an extraordinary life .”

O ’ Hurley noted that when he and his wife were introduced to Childhedlp many years ago , he told the audience that “ we were met with the sobering gut punch that all children are not perfect . We were introduced face to face with the compound apocalypse of child abuse . The cases of child abuse could fill dozens of football stadiums , the stories were nauseating .”

So every year when Childhelp calls him , he does whatever he can to assist Childhelp in its mission .

“ Thank you for this honor — I support this journey as we put evil in its place .”

O ’ Hurley received an enthusiastic standing ovation .

An energetic auction followed , with guests bidding to win one of the eight live auction items . As an added bonus , O ’ Hurley auctioned off two tickets to the 2023 National Dog Show including a personal tour .

After the auction , guests danced to live music by King Salmon and the Junkyard Horns , and gambled at the casino in the foyer .

Co-Chairs Jacquie Casey and Gina Van Ocker organized Orange County Chapter ’ s 8th annual fall gala . The event raised over $ 475,000.00 for the children of Childhelp OC Chapter

Visit https :// www . childhelp . org / chapters / orange-county-chapter / for more information .

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