Many of the ladies were resplendent in evening gowns and jewels.  Stacey wore a very becoming black dress with a daring neckline, accented by a subtle necklace that curved at her collar bone.  Crystal Johnson, a hearing representative with the firm, wore a bedazzling purple sequined dress, fitted closely to her body, that only she with her runway model figure could wear to such perfection.

A new lady lawyer, just hired by the firm, Ronni Stewart, wore a gorgeous black lace dress. She fit in well with the elegance as well as did Georgia Connolly, a veteran lawyer, who wore a cream white lace dress that was long and becoming.

Lisa Moore was there, wearing a thin strapped evening gown with a scooped neck that looked beguiling on her slender figure. Lisa is the owner of Accelerated Claims Services in the Irvine area.  Her claims supervisor, Allen Kennedy, wore a black suit with a classic character hat that made him stand out like a character actor.  Allen Kennedy and Lisa Moore are also the wonderful and fun-loving co-owners of Claim Crazy, which can be found on the web at claimcrazy.com.  They invite professional adjusters of all types in claims to log on and share with the claims world their craziest, and sometimes most astonishing, claims they've ever handled.

Many guests hit the dance floor.  The DJ played dance club music which I think included some rap and other modern day hip hop stuff. 

It was a nice chilly evening, but even so, many people chatted outside in the cool air, not seeming to mind the cold at all.  The bar was perpetually open, until a late hour--at least midnight--and one or two guests could be observed ordering a shot of Patron tequila.  Wine flowed like a water fall, beers were distributed, and people drank water with limes rather than lemons.  Someone asked the waiter for a slice of lemon, but she got a lime when she specifically asked for a lemon for her glass of water. I explained to her that only limes grow in Mexico, so every Mexican waiter will bring you a lime even if you ask for a lemon. That's a little piece of trivia I learned along the way in my travels.  It's a little fluke you learn in Mexico and in Mexican restaurants if you frequent them often.

Lisa Moore's husband, Jim, was there.  He owns Sundance Copy Services and was born in the Middle-East.  He talked and was very social with many of the guests.  I caught him on camera with Pat Peterson, Stacey Tokunaga's office manager.

The buffet dinner line had many salads, including a waldorf salad, which is one of my favorites.  The soup was a kind of pumpkin with squash soup, which someone at my table loved.  She insisted I go back through the buffet and get some, since I didn't dish up any my first time through.

There were succulent meats, chicken dishes, and duck.  There was fresh white fish and delectable breads.  There were numerous and sundry desserts of all assortments.  It made one wish that the evening would never end.  I wanted to eat absolutely everything, and then wished I could afterwards not eat for a month.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if it worked like that?

The two new men attorneys who have just joined Stacey's firm deserve mention: Aaron Kurlan was just recently hired by Stacey and comes directly from Washington D.C. where he worked for the government.  He will now work out of SLT Law's new Walnut Creek office, which has just opened within recent weeks.  Another lawyer, who has been with the firm for some time, Yemi Odesanya, will also be on board in the Walnut Creek office.  James Gabriel, also brand new with the firm, will work out of the Orange office.  Ronni Stewart, who is shown above with James Gabriel, is the third new lawyer and will be based in Orange.  

The evening closed with people trailing off the dance floor while others moved to the main hotel lounge and bar when the private servers closed the private area.  The fountain at the entrance of Island Hotel dappled its rythmic water tune as some guests went home and some slept at the hotel. 

It was a perfect party celebration in commemoration of the December season that also spoke a soft and suggestive message of a fine and prosperous New Year to come.  

Readers may write to writer Lonce LaMon at lonce@adjustercom.com