Date: Sunday, October 16, at 1 pm

Hosts: Jeff ’72 and Hea-Sook Hyman and Hsiao-Ching Chen PhD ‘96 and Philip Peng

Donation: $75 per person

Limit: 12 guests

Buy tickets at http://www.cornellclubla.com/store.html?event_id=1642.

Escape from honking horns and screaming humanity.  Dare to walk up 42 stairs (8 landings break the ascent) and relax in a treetop retreat overlooking Spanish-tiled rooftops, the Oakmont Country Club golf course and the magnificent San Gabriel Mountains.  Gaze across at Mount Lukens, the highest peak in Los Angeles.   Enjoy the hilltop breeze while discussing art with internationally-known Korean artist Hea-Sook Yoo whose studio is on the street level.  Sample a variety of Korean dishes along with barbecued chicken hot off the grill.  And maybe top off the meal with a game or two of ping pong.

Jeff Hyman graduated from Cornell as a writing major, worked as a flamenco guitarist for singers and dancers in Boston, New York and Spain, then returned to Boston to start a toy company with his patented Bloogle Musical Tube and copyrighted instruction booklet (millions sold). In 1984, he began a career in photography, which led to jobs photographing celebrities and traveling the world as a photographer for Club Med Advertising.  By 1994, he was writing magazine travel features and celebrity profiles, together with his photos, but then got a real job in 1997 in credit card processing, married in 2002 and now lives the artist’s life vicariously through his wife, who works diligently and sells her artwork all over the globe.

Hsiao-Ching Chen never thought she would settle down in Los Angeles.  A city planner by training, she believes LA could be transformed just by great coffee and food and people taking Pilates lessons. Cornell legend has it that if a couple walks all the way around Beebe Lake holding hands, they will get engaged. That was how she and her husband Philip Peng sealed their fate (and Phil later proposed by the lake on her graduation day.) They have two cats and a 16-year-old daughter Isabelle, who plays lacrosse.  Hsiao-Ching is a city planner and Phil a defense attorney.  Both work for the County of Los Angeles.

MORE ABOUT THE CCLA SCHOLARSHIP DINNER PROGRAM

How can you simultaneously have a wonderful meal, meet new Cornellians and help provide much-needed scholarships for deserving Los Angeles Cornell students?  The Club’s annual series of Scholarship Dinners & Events offers you a chance to have a great time while benefiting CCLA’s Scholarship Endowment.  This year’s dining and event options can’t miss!

From September through Thanksgiving, generous Cornell hosts open their homes, tables and other interesting venues to other scholarship-supporting Cornellians and friends, with 100 percent of all donations going to the Endowment.  As veteran attendees know, Scholarship Dinners are a win-win-win deal for hosts, guests and the Club. Many choose to go to more than one event; a few years ago one member attended six!

In place since 1996, the CCLA Endowment now stands above $400,000. Out of this total, this year we are providing $30,000 in scholarship awards. The club is continuing to grow the Endowment through the Scholarship Dinner program and other fund-raising.

Your tax adviser can explain how your Dinner costs may be deductible. If your schedule prevents you from attending a Dinner this year, please consider making a donation in lieu of attending. We hope to see you at one of our events!  

Please check http://www.cornellclubla.com/events.html for a full list of Scholarship Events.  New events will be added throughout the season.