Women earn city honors

COSTA MESA — When Becky Bailey-Findley was a child, she often asked her parents to take her to eat at Dick Church’s Restaurant on their way back from the Orange County Fair. Her parents always declined, and it wasn’t until after Bailey-Findley got a job at the fair herself that she got to enjoy a meal there.

As it turned out, though, Bailey-Findley found plenty of other reasons to stay around the fairgrounds. This summer, the Anaheim Hills resident plans to step down after 14 years as the fair’s chief executive — and Friday, the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce and South Coast Metro Alliance rewarded her for her service. The groups bestowed their Lifetime Achievement Award on Bailey-Findley at the 2008 Hall of Fame Awards at the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa.

“What a blessing to be able to call the O.C. Fair and Costa Mesa your summer camp,” Bailey-Findley said in her acceptance speech.

With City Manager Allan Roeder as emcee, the ceremony honored three recipients — two women and one shopping center — who have dedicated years of service to Costa Mesa. Betty R. Moss, the founding executive director of the Orange County Business Committee for the Arts, won the Community Spirit Award, while the Corporate Leadership Award went to South Coast Plaza as a whole.

Roeder described Moss, who founded the Business Committee in 1981 to encourage collaboration between local business and arts organizations, as a persuasive and innovative leader.

“She’s earned a reputation as the woman you just can’t say no to,” Roeder said, before showing a video montage in which a number of community partners voiced the same sentiment.

Moss, in her speech, quickly passed credit to the business and arts groups she’s worked with through the years.

“Achievement and success are rarely accomplished without teamwork, and I’ve shared the bench with some pretty wonderful teammates,” she said.

Sandy Segerstrom Daniels, a managing partner of C. J. Segerstrom & Sons, accepted the award on the shopping center’s behalf. After the ceremony, she said she hoped the center would serve as an inspiration to others.

“It’s nice to have people recognize what we do in the community, but I’d rather they use it as an opportunity to follow in our footsteps and do their own thing,” she said.

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.