Palm Beach Social Diary

Life-sized sculptures of children at play on Via De Lela along Worth Ave.

On Friday evening, a week, at Club Colette in Palm Beach, there was a Gala Dinner to benefit the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States. Arnaud de Borchgrave, who was guest of honor, spoke about Sir Winston. Gala Chairs were Bill Bernhard, Edward Elson, David Gilmour and Martin Gruss. Décor for the evening was created by Jose Camargo.

Among those attending: Mr. and Mrs. Winston Churchill, Virginia Coleman, Alexandra (Mrs. Arnaud) de Borchgrave, Nanette Ross, Michael Carr, Maura and Bill Benjamin, Catherine Cahill, Susie Elson, Harry Elson, Mashi and Manucher Azmudeh, Mario Gabelli, Pat Cook, Dale Coudert, Elizabeth and Patrick Gerschel, Jill Gilmour, George and Darcy Gould, Olive and Ernest Greeff, Hope and Ed Gropper, Audrey Gruss, David and Catharine Hamilton, Candy Hamm, Frances Hayward and Michael Stanley, Edwina Sandys (a Churchill granddaughter) and Richard Kaplan, David Koch, Parker Ladd and Arnold Scaasi, Carol Mack, Lililan Mahtani and the Duke of Marlborough (a Churchill cousin), Howard and Michele Kessler, Donna and Robert Lloyd George, John Mashek, Joan McGivern, Anka Palitz, Donald and Muffy Miller, Billy and Kathy Rayner, Hilary and Wilbur Ross, Anne and Howard Ward, Allan and Maggy Scherer, Richard Ziegelasch, Christopher Phillips, Fernanda Niven and James Oxnam.

The mission of the Winston Churchill Foundation of th United States is to encourage the development of American scientific and engineering talent and foster Anglo-American relations by providing scholarships to outstanding American students, chosen in rigorous competition, to pursue graduate studies in engineering, mathematics, and the physical and natural sciences at Churchill College, Cambridge, in preparation for careers related to science and technology.

Carol Mack, Susie Elson, and Anka Palitz

Winston Churchill, Edwina Sandys, Luce Churchill, and Richard Kaplan

Patrick and Elizabeth Gerschel

Winston Churchill and friends

Harry and Lisa Elson with Susie and Edward Elson

Mashi and Manucher Azmudeh with Luce Churchill

Carl Adams and Susan Lloyd

Winston Churchill, Martin Gruss, David Gilmour, Edward Elson, William Bernhard, and Patrick Gerschel

The Duke of Marlborough, Lillian Mahtani, and Virginia Melhado

Robert Nederlander and Pat Cook

Jill and David Gilmour

William Bernhard and Catherine Cahill

Luce and Winston Churchill

Nick and Anna Loeb

Wilbur and Hilary Ross

Winston Churchill and David Gilmour

Donald and Muffy Miller with Roberto and Joanne de Guardiola

Kathy and Billy Rayner with Candy Hamm

David Koch and The Duke of Marlborough

Anna Loeb and Alexandra de Borchgrave

Audrey and Martin Gruss

Hilary Ross and The Duke of Marlborough

George and Mariana Kaufman

Frances Hayward and Dan Ponton

Dale Coudert, Matthew Barrett, and Diane Millner

Vera and Julio Serrano with Audrey Gruss

For the past nine years in the early spring in Palm Beach, Jim Held and Kenn Karakul hold an al fresco luncheon to benefit the Center for Creative Education. This non-profit organization pairs working professional artists and musicians with core curriculum public school teachers specifically targeted to serve Palm Beach County’s neediest schools. Their program has proven to cause test scores to rise dramatically, helping keep kids in school and, most importantly, filling in the missing gaps in today’s art-starved public schools.

This year’s luncheon was held at the home of Tussi and John Kluge. Among the guests: Tony Bennett, who was houseguesting with the Kluges; Grace Meigher, Britty Cudlip, Tommy Quick, Pauline Pitt, Kit Pannill, Emilia Fanjul, Annette Tapert Allen, Talbott Maxey, Victoria Amory, John Mashek, Ross Meltzer, Renee Wood, Catherine Adler, Frannie Scaife, Ellen Graham, Ali and Bill Hanley, Dani and Kelly Moore, Leslie Singletary, Cynthia Boardman, and on and on ... so much so that the island of Palm Beach was noticeably quiet for several hours.

Keith Williams, Dave Atkinson, Phil Friedly, Ross Meltzer, Carol Kirchhoff, Jamie Gordon, Michele Millard, Kenn Karakul, Helene Lorentzen, Pam Miller, Susie Dwinell, Mia Matthews, and Beau Breckenridge

Young violinist Alice Maxey

The Kluge Lawn

Tom Pilecki and students from Bak Middle School of the Arts

Bob and Mia Matthews

Ross Meltzer, Whitney Baldwin, and Stuart Kerwin

Kenn Karakul and Blair Griffin

Keith Williams, Susie Dwinell, and John Ripley

Steven Stolman and Mia Morrison

Bill and Ali Hanley

Lore Dodge, Tommy Quick, and Ann Summers

Afsy Pottash

Robin Azqueta and Linda Soper

Lois Frankel and Tom Pilecki

Mark Montgomery and Harvey Oyer

Danielle Hickox Moore and Whitney Baldwin

Pam Miller, Jim Held, and Talbott Maxey

Tony and Susan Bennett

Craig and Michelle Millard

Dora Kino with Beau and Jackie Breckenridge

Kenn Karakul and Pauline Pitt

Grace Meigher and Lore Dodge

Jimmy and Meredith Marshall

John Mashek and Victoria Amory

John and Tussi Kluge

On March 19, Alfred Fiandaca hosted his first fashion show in Palm Beach and showed his elegant Fall 2008 collection along with Alexandra Lind for Fiandaca at the Colony. The seats were filled with both Palm Beach and New York tastemakers, including Patty Raynes, Alexia Hamm, Eleanora Kennedy, Jessie Araskog, Liz Lind, Grace Meigher, Louis Rose, and Lily Holt.