IRVINE, CA—GlobeSt.com will once again be the exclusive media sponsor for the second-annual Orange County Real Estate Luncheon, set for April 20 at the Hotel Irvine. The charitable event aims to increase proceeds to help veterans in programs where the money can effect notable change, Donahue Schriber's chairman and CEO Patrick Donahue tells GlobeSt.com.

The event, underwritten by the real estate firm, will feature keynote speaker Chad Hennings, a former All-American and Outland Trophy winner from the Air Force Academy. Jennings flew 45 combat missions for the Air Force in the Gulf War; returning home to play nine seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and winning three Super Bowls.

Last year's luncheon, with GlobeSt.com as exclusive media sponsor, netted $560,000 from 450 attendees toward OC-based veterans' charities aimed at providing health, education and employment to those who've served in the military. The event, which took place at the Westin South Coast Plaza here, represented the kickoff to the Orange County real estate community's commitment to the Orange County Community Foundation's Veterans Initiative, whose mission is to provide assistance to veterans as they transition from military service to the civilian community.

Donahue tells us that 10 organizations received grants generated by proceeds from last year's event. Those organizations include:

1. Semper Fi Fund's Education & Career Transition Assistance Program

2. Zero8hundred's Military Transition Support Project (MTSP)

3. Volunteers of America's Battle Buddy Bridge (B3)

4. UCI Foundation's Veterans Resource Center

5. Cal State Fullerton Philanthropic Foundation's Veterans Resource Center

6. Vanguard University's Veterans Student Leadership Career Program

7. Saddleback College's Veterans Resource Center

8. Irvine Valley College Foundation's Veterans Resource Center

9. Goodwill of Orange County's Tierney Center for Veterans Services

10. Easter Seals So. Ca.-Bob Hope Veterans Support Program

The selection committee for the grants includes:

Larry Casey, President and Chief Operating Officer of Donahue Schriber
Paul Cate, Chief Executive Officer and President of Mark IV Capital, Inc.
Steve Craig, President and CEO of Craig Realty Group
Kevin Jennings, Market Executive-Southern California, Commercial Real Estate Banking for Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Jeffrey Moore, Senior Managing Director Broker Services CBRE
Geoffrey Stack, Managing Director of Sares-Regis Group
Don Vodra, Chief Operating Officer of Rancho Mission Viejo, L.L.C.
David Zamudio, Vice President of Human Resources for KBS Realty Advisors
John Rhodes, retired Lieutenant General USMC
Brent Theobald, former Sergeant USMC
William Wagasy, former Special Operations Chief USN

We spoke with Donahue about his experience with this charitable endeavor and what he foresees for it as time goes on.

GlobeSt.com: What can you tell us about the proceeds from the first OC Real Estate Luncheon last year?

Donahue: Last year, I stood in front of the group and asked them to invest in an idea really. I didn't really know where the money was going to go. We accomplished choosing a selection committee of people to help us underwrite the various grantees; it's very time consuming and well thought out. Of the 10 companies that received grants, some were already here in Orange County and some weren't. Zero8hundred was a highly regarded program in San Diego and, because of the luncheon and the grant, they were able to open up here in Orange County, which is a big win.

The other thing we learned going through the process is that there's a lot of good work going on by a number of organizations; however, not many of them have much scale. The ones touching the most number of veterans are colleges and junior colleges in Orange County—there are more than 10,000 veterans enrolled in those schools. We thought the schools on the list were a great place to invest our money—more than half of the money went to the five institutions on that list.

GlobeSt.com: How do you expect the amount of proceeds to change this year?

Donahue: I hope it goes up. We're on schedule to meet our goals, but there's just such a great need out there that whatever we can do above that is going to be put to good use. We're on schedule from where we were last year, and I'm hoping we can break last year's inaugural event. We netted more than a half-million dollars. Our company and our executives underwrite all the expenses, and it costs about $100,000 to put on the event. We do that so everybody knows that their money is going directly to these organizations. We will be distributing between $500,000 and $600,000 this summer.

GlobeSt.com: What changes do you foresee for this philanthropic endeavor as time goes on?

Donahue: The idea for the luncheon is to gather the real estate industry and have a positive effect on the county. It's pretty simple. We've made a commitment as a group that will take all the proceeds from the first three years and support veterans' initiatives. That's where you have to start as a civilization or society: if you don't take care of the people protecting your freedom, what do you have?

We hope long term we will begin to address the most pressing needs of the county. It could roll into education, health, whatever the pressing problems are where we can go and make a difference. We will go into things where the money can be put to use where there's a very visible return on the investment. We're very pleased that, between our efforts and the OCCF's efforts, the situation for Orange County's veterans is better than it was a year ago. Our goal is to gather people to get involved. People will come out of these three luncheons that will get actively involved in the veterans' space. Everybody wants to help, and they don't know where to help. We tried to bring a sense of the private sector and business practices to the process and see if we can improve the chances of the money being more efficiently used. We're pleased with the first year, but there's still a lot of work to do.

There are 50 tickets left for the luncheon—it's a great networking opportunity and only two hours out of your day.

Instant Insights /

Real Estate Luncheon Strives to Make a Difference

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