A lovely conversation with friends

What a way to start the day - the lush and peaceful riverfront grounds of Sara Jane and Bill DeHoff's Perrysburg home set the tone for an inspiring experience Sunday as major donors to the Toledo Symphony arrived.

Amid art and oodles of fresh flowers, guests sipped beverages in the living room as the Odyssey String Quartet - Liz Shelton, Christina Muresan, Ellen Craig, and Jana Luckey - mesmerized the group with a Beethoven work. Chamber music is a conversation among friends, said symphony president Bob Bell, as the musicians “talked” beautifully. To conductor Andrew Massey, the performance was “an erotic conversation of intimacy.”

Guests enjoyed a delightful sit-down meal before departing into the rainy afternoon. The elite group included Posy and Bob Huebner, Dorothy Price, Fran and Dick Anderson, George Isaac, Kristine and Jim Hoffman, Sandy Isenberg, and Norm Nitschke.

Community movers and shakers attended a cocktail and hors d'oeuvres reception on April 11 at Inverness Club in honor of David Jimenez and Steven Mickus. Mr. Jimenez, former chief operating officer and president of Mercy Health Partners, is the new executive vice president of Catholic Healthcare Partners, the Mercy Health Partners parent company. Mr. Mickus is the new CEO and president of Mercy Health Partners.

Bill DeHoff, left, and Sara Jane DeHoff, right, chat with Jim and Kristi Hoffman at the DeHoffs' Perrysburg home.

Gene and Marion Cook are still beaming over their daughter Shelly's wedding last October to Chris Straube. The couple exchanged vows at Hope Lutheran Church in Ottawa Hills, then celebrated with a reception at Inverness Club, and took off for a two-week honeymoon in Bora Bora, Tahiti, and French Polynesia. Mr. Straube is the son of Werner and Maria Straube.

An opening reception for “The Triumphant Spirit,” a poignant photographic exhibition of Holocaust survivors, was held Tuesday in the McFall Center Gallery at Bowling Green State University. Its creator, Nick Del Calzo, a 1960 BGSU graduate, was present to make remarks and autograph his book.

Barbara Hendel is The Blade's society editor. E-mail her at bhendel@theblade.com.