Adelsons, Newton honored by Woodrow Wilson Center
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution came to Las Vegas on March 24 and 25 to bestow its awards for Public Service and Corporate Citizenship upon three Las Vegans: Wayne Newton, and Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson.
On March 24, in conjunction with the awards dinner, the Woodrow Wilson Center and UNLV's Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution hosted a public lecture by Haleh Esfandiari, Middle East program director at the Wilson Center, who gave a lecture titled "Iran-U.S. Relations: A View from Prison." Esfandiari, a Middle Eastern scholar and Iran specialist, was detained for eight months in Iran in 2007.
The awards dinner followed on March 25 at The Venetian. Chairing the affair were Theodore Jacobs and Parvin Modaber Jacobs, and Claudine Williams served as the dinner vice-chairwoman.
The evening began with a cocktail reception attended by Dee and Don Snyder, Toni and Victor Chaltiel, Art Marshall, Jewel Brooks, Sue and Paul Lowden, Kitty Rodman, Karen and Bill Goff, Amy Ayoub, Siegfried Fischbacher, Gov. Jim Gibbons, Karen and Morgan Cashman, Alan Kaercher, Phyllis Schwartz, Mariam and Rokh Afshai, Mark Fine, and Sonja and Michael Saltman.
White roses filled the dining room where the Jacobs welcomed the 300 guests and introduced Joseph B. Gildenhorn, chairman of the board of the Woodrow Wilson Center and former ambassador to Switzerland. A video about the center was shown on two video screens.
Frederick M. Bush, associate director of the Wilson Center, presented the Award for Public Service to Newton following a video on the entertainer. Aside from his 165 albums and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Newton was recognized for his 16 USO tours to conflict areas in the Middle East, and his endowment and participation in the National Association of Missing and Abused Children, the LA Lupus Foundation, Opportunity Village and the Native American Music Awards.
Bill Weidner, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp., introduced a video on the Adelsons. Sander R. Gerber, board member of the Wilson Center, presented the Award for Corporate Citizenship to Dr. Miriam Adelson for her work in drug addiction, research and advocacy on stopping the spread of debilitating diseases and HIV; and to Sheldon Adelson, entrepreneur and chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
He joined his wife in funding their second clinic in Israel for Drug Abuse Treatment and Research. Now they have brought the clinic to America and are involved in numerous philanthropic endeavors.
Other guests in attendance were Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nevada, university regents Thalia Dondero and Mark Alden, Linda Smith, Jason Smith, Camille Ruvo, state Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, Assemblyman Lynn Stewart, R-Henderson, Kathy and Ernie Becker, Melinda Jackson and Michael Kessler.
A royal event: Lia Roberts, honorary consul of Romania, and the DOINA Romanian-American Society of Las Vegas honored Princess Margarita and Prince Radu of Romania at a dinner Saturday at the Las Vegas Hilton.
The event's proceeds will benefit the New York-based Princess Margarita Foundation for orphaned children in Romania. Roberts greeted the 150 black-tie guests and made introductions to the royal couple at the reception.
Among those attending were Gibbons, Fischbacher, Annee and Ziggy Nounna, Lynette Chappell, Susan and Bill Houston, Diane and Patrick Clary, Carolyn Sparks, Eleonore and Edward Doumani, Stephen Fleming, Terri and Tom Eden, Parvin Modaber Jacobs and Ted Jacobs, Isabel Pfeifer, Nancy and Jack Weinstein, Kay and Allen Browne, and Gayle Anderson, chief of protocol for Nevada.
Larry Hart and Michael Flach of Botanica and Sandy Peltyn transformed the dining room into a castle banquet hall using Romania's coat of arms on the wall and plate chargers.
Three long tables with seating for 30 each were extended out from the sable fur-trimmed head table. The dining tables were covered in royal blue and red crushed velvet. Centerpieces were large four-foot rectangle-shaped ornate silver mirrors holding 45-inch-high silver baroque candelabras topped with seven dozen red roses each, and 450 silver mermaid candlesticks were on each table.
The Clark High School Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Chuck Cushinery, performed as Gibbons escorted Princess Margarita into the banquet and first lady Dawn Gibbons escorted Prince Radu.
The Rev. Aurel Sas of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Las Vegas offered the dinner's blessing. The governor welcomed the royal couple and presented a cultural exchange plaque from Nevada. They were given a crystal piece donated by Karen and Morgan Cashman and a pair of blue and white diamond earrings for the princess from Jack Weinstein.
Fischbacher spoke about his sister, a Franciscan nun in Germany who decided to go to Romania and care for the orphaned children. He told of meeting the princess' father, the deposed King Michael I.
Entertainer Ingvar Estrada offered a vocal selection.
More guests attending were Deborah and Robert Holgate, Anna Klein, Jim Gould, Gail James, Maria Briskin, Dayaisi Darias and Carlos Collado, Isabelle Colon and Richard Houtakker, Toni Hart, Meredith and Craig Johnson, Cindy Doumani, Dorothy and Don Kemp, Patti Babore and Brad Schultz, and Honorary Consul General of Mexico Mariano Lemus, Honorary Consul General of Austria Ed Prud homme, Honorary Consul General of Lithuania Astra J. Michels, Honorary Consul General of Italy Stefano Ripamonti.
The Las Vegas World Affairs Council and the Nevada Committee on Foreign Relations co-sponsored a luncheon in honor of the princess and prince at the Golden Nugget on Friday.
