Planned Parenthood California Central Coast’s medical director, Dr. Ginny Siegfried, with Birds and Bees Bash honoree Dan Hone. 
Event co-chairwomen Wendy Wheeler Smith, left, Kristen Klingbeil-Weis and Cynthia Abulafia. 
Planned Parenthood California Central Coast president and CEO Jenna Tosh, left, and board president Anne Schowe. 
Sponsors Ashish and Leslie Sweem Bhutani. 
Judy and Jack Stapelmann in the pink-hued ballroom. 
Amy Baird, left, Laura Macker Johnston, and Mary and John Russell. 
Vijaya Jammalamadaka with emcee Geoff Green. 
Mike “Hot-Pence” adds some frivolity to the bash. 
An event centerpiece.
More than 400 guests packed the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort for Planned Parenthood California Central Coast’s annual Birds and Bees Bash on March 30. Proceeds from the event will support the organization’s provision of reproductive health services, education and advocacy.
Guests mingled on the Hilton’s outdoor patio and in the foyers to enjoy hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, a silent auction and photo opportunities.
Later, a sit-down dinner of a pear and arugula salad, filet mignon, garlic whipped potatoes, baby carrots and berry tart was served in the pink-hued main ballroom. Wine was donated by Au Bon Climat, Beckmen Vineyards, Foxen Vineyard, Hitching Post Wines, Justin Vineyards & Winery and Qupe.
Emcee Geoff Green welcomed the audience, led a successful live auction and paddle raise, and acknowledged the event leadership team of co-chairwomen Wendy Wheeler Smith, Cynthia Abulafia and Kristen Klingbeil-Weis.
“With a goal of $75,000 in the paddle raise, we were thrilled that $120,000 was raised,” PPCCC president and CEO Jenna Tosh told Noozhawk. “This allows us to provide care, no matter what.”
Board chairwoman Anne Schowe introduced this year’s Jean K. Schuyler Award recipient, Dan Hone Ph.D. Award namesake Jean Schuyler was in the audience.
Hone joined the PPCCC board of directors in 1989. During the next 25 years, he served as a board member, capital campaign committee member and in various board leadership roles. After a prominent career in physics at UC Santa Barbara, he recently retired as deputy director of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics.
A 10-year veteran at PPCCC, its medical director, Dr. Virginia Siegfried, spoke about providing care at Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood plays a large role in health care in California, with one in five women having visited one of its health centers, according to the nonprofit organization. PPCCC provides reproductive health services, including cancer screenings, contraception, abortion services, sex education, and testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
Last fiscal year, the five centers in San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Thousand Oaks served about 33,000 patients, primarily young women, the organization says. The Santa Barbara center served about 8,000 of those.
The event’s Change Leader sponsors were Ashish and Leslie Sweem Bhutani, Dr. Jeffrey Block and Liz Hahn-Block, and Blake Irving and Carol Hillygus-Irving. The Movement Builder sponsors were Judy and Jack Stapelmann, and Kristen Klingbeil-Weis and Karl Weis. The Health Care Guardian sponsors were Heather and Christopher Biles, Book Sale volunteers, Tom and Nancy Crawford, Susan and Jim Deacon, Elizabeth and Steven Green, Monica Kunz, Donald Polk and J. Paul Longanbach, Bob and Siri Marshall, Richard and Marilyn Mazess, Montecito Bank & Trust, Beatrice Oshika Ph.D., the L&J Redman Trust, Anne and Tom Schowe, Wendy Wheeler Smith, Jenna and Andrew Tosh, Carrie Towbes and John Lewis, and the Zegar Family Fund.
After the formal program, dinner and auction ended, more supporters joined the crowd in the ballroom for the After Hours Party, where they danced until midnight to tunes spun by DJ Jadaboo and DJ Ian.
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— Noozhawk contributing writer Rochelle Rose can be reached at rrose@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.