Variety show raises $7,000 to help Camp Pendleton families ...

A San Clemente nonprofit that plans to put Thanksgiving turkeys on the tables of 1,000 Camp Pendleton families says it is more than halfway toward its $25,000 goal following a benefit variety show Saturday night.

Bob Crittendon, organizer of the fifth annual show sponsored by San Clemente Military Family Outreach, estimated the event netted about $7,000 to add to previous fundraising.

John Keating leads surf band Woodie and the Longboards in a tribute to the Beach Boys during the San Clemente Military Family Outreach Variety Show on Saturday night.

COURTESY OF JOHN KILLINGER

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How to help

Thanksgiving: SCMFO is collecting nonturkey components for Thanksgiving meals to be distributed at Camp Pendleton on Nov. 19. For a list of what's needed, call 949-388-2812. Items can be delivered to St. Andrew's Methodist Church, 2001 Calle Frontera, San Clemente, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays or Thursdays through Nov. 15.

Christmas: SCMFO's Christmas Thank-a-Family Program provides Camp Pendleton families with a tree, toys, clothing, gift cards and other contributions. For more information, email Theresa Lowe at Lowetd@aol.com or call 949-388-2812.

He said he is confident the campaign will reach its goal through monetary or in-kind donations. "We have a lot of churches that are helping that are going to be providing sacks with the nonturkey components," Crittendon said.

San Clemente's Camp Pendleton neighbors were in the hearts and minds of Saturday night's audience and entertainers. The band Woodie and the Longboards, performing a Beach Boys tribute, introduced "God Only Knows" with a line from the song for the Marines ? "God only knows where we'd be without you."

SCMFO is continuing to collect donations at militaryfamilyoutreach.com while preparing to distribute turkeys and fixings Nov. 19 to families in the San Onofre section of the base. Beyond the turkey dinners, SCMFO has a Christmas Thank-a-Family Program, an Easter-basket program, a school-supplies program and a year-round quick-response program to help Camp Pendleton families facing needs such as dental work, car repair, food, gas, diapers, cribs and strollers. The volunteer organization also provides baby showers for Camp Pendleton moms-to-be. It operates at office space provided by St. Andrew's by the Sea United Methodist Church in San Clemente.

In addition to Woodie and the Longboards, Saturday's show at the San Clemente Community Center featured stand-up comic Jimmy Brogan, concert pianist David Dunford and Orange County "Stars of Tomorrow" vocal-competition standouts Megan Forster, Alex Granito and Emma Werderman.

Five volunteers from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines provided security ? Cpl. Clancy Cheek, Staff Sgt. Matthew Cartier, Sgt. Jason Dyer, Staff Sgt. Andrew Bristow and Sgt. Jonathan Decker.

Brogan, who worked for nine years with Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show," busted up the crowd when he joked that he had served during Vietnam ? "I did two years in Canada."

He also alluded to his longtime association with Leno.

"We were at the White House one time, at the correspondents dinner," Brogan said. "This was right at the end of President Clinton's term and Jay had just been hammering President Clinton for eight years of Monica jokes, Monica Lewinsky. And so we're backstage right before the show. President Clinton walks in the room and Jay says to me, 'Would you like to meet the president?' and I said, 'Well, sure, that would be an honor.' So he walks me over to President Clinton and ... right as I shake hands with President Clinton, Jay says, 'This is the guy who writes all the jokes about you.'"

A couple of other Brogan lines:

"I went to NYU. It stands for Now You're Unemployed."

"I'm not as hip as I look. In high school, I tried to put together a rock group ? an intellectual rock group. It was called the Whom."

Contact the writer: fswegles@ocregister.com or 949-492-5127

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Source: http://www.ocregister.com/news/president-376014-san-clinton.html

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