— Photo by Nina Elisius and Lisa Morsey ©
A group of young men and women recently got a lesson in etiquette.
Nearly 50 students from the junior classes of the National League of Young Men and the National Charity League came together for an evening of dining and etiquette on March 26.
The 10th annual Etiquette Dinner was held at the Newport Hills clubhouse in Harbor View Homes community. NLYM, an organization that promotes the development of young men from grades 9 through 12 into community leaders with an emphasis on charitable and community service, protocol, and culture, hosted the event.
“The Etiquette Dinner is a wonderful event that not only teaches the young men and women proper dinner party behavior, but allows for them to immediately put their polished skills to practice,” public relations representative for NLYM, Marie Goffman, wrote in a press release. “Both the young men and women look forward to it all year.”
— Photo by Nina Elisius and Lisa Morsey ©
Both the young men and women dressed in semi-formal dinner party attire. Etiquette lessons continue throughout the evening.
The event began with etiquette coach Susan Werner providing the young men with a private lesson about greeting guests, conversation skills, and formal table settings, explained Goffman.
The young women from NCL arrived and were escorted into the dining room for a social reception. Dinner was then prepared and served by some of the dedicated mothers of NLYM.
Participating in the etiquette dinner were NLYM members Jake Bashore, Ryan Binford, Jack Brennan, Jake Elisius, William King, Sam Lohr, Jake Marlo, Cole McFetters, Eann McKasson, Blake Moorad, Michael Morsey, J.T. Murphy, Jack Pitchess, John Rankin, Colin Read, Blake Richter, Brady Scanlan, Brett Sheward, Aidan Steinke, Blake Vaughan, Harrison White and Cole Whitelaw.
The young women from NCL were Allison Barnes, Stephanie Beder, Kate Briggs, Betsy Calder, Annabelle D’Eliscu, Isabella Deckey, Sarah Duarte, Kenzie Frank, Raleigh Garner, Lauren Griffen, Blair Hodges, Parker Hoffman, Eva Merrell, Lauren Merrell, Kate Montgomery, Layne Owen, Annie Pellegrini, Chloe Rettig, Emery Rolfes, Mackenzie Storm, Paige Warmington and Ellie Yacoel.
A big part of the NLYM program is the involvement and relationship between son and mother. The Etiquette Dinner highlighted that, with the help of a group of NLYM mothers organizing the evening.
“The evening was successful because of the support and dedication of a fabulous group of women,” said event chair Caroline King.
Mothers in charge from the NLYM committee included Dana Binford, Julie Brennan, Elise McKassan, Shelly Rankin, Suzanna Richter, Katherine Sanderson, Leanne Sheward and Elizabeth Steinke. Also, in attendance and contributing to the evening were NLYM President Lorna Wardwell, Protocol Chair Bianca Mossman, Nina Elisius, Lisa Morsey, and NCL grade level advisors Tamara Deckey and Leslie Montgomery.
The Newport Beach chapter’s junior class of young men has completed over 3,400 hours of community service since May of 2014. They have completed 944 hours this year alone.
The nonprofit encourages the young men to be involved and care about their community, especially those in need, Goffman explained in the press release.
“The boys have developed a passion for giving back through volunteer work,” Goffman wrote in the prepared statement.
They have volunteered at CHOC, Second Harvest Food Bank, sent care packages to military, and prepared a barbeque in honor of the Marines at Camp Pendleton.
National Charity League has similar goals, and the young members have completed 1,320 hours of volunteer service to the local community this year alone. Their outreach involves organizations including Girls, Inc., Orangewood, Thomas House, Second Step, and Race for the Cure.
Goffman also noted that 2017 is a special milestone year for NLYM. It has grown from one local chapter that started a decade ago to 13 chapters nationwide, and is still growing.
“ It was 10 years ago this January that the first mother’s meeting took place,” she wrote. “NLYM was the brainchild of two women, Diane Edmonston and Mary Pat Lucas who wanted to create an opportunity for the young men in our community to gain more exposure to volunteerism, culture, and leadership.”
For more information, visit nationalleagueofyoungmen.org and nationalcharityeague.org.
