Private Equity Dads Hit Bull’s-Eye at Southampton Camp Picnic

(Bloomberg) -- The long holiday weekend in the Hamptons was almost perfect. That is, the details of Deutsche Bank’s plans for a restructuring hit only after chatter of market highs had filled the muggy night air of the biggest social bashes, like Jane Lauder Warsh’s birthday on Thursday and the American Picnic for the Southampton Fresh Air Home on Friday.

At the picnic, the world’s troubles seemed far away as multiple generations of families came together in July 4 finery on the grounds of a very big house on Meadow Lane. The agenda for Craig Huff, Izak Senbahar and John Wambold, among others: to play carnival games, dine at tables set up on the tennis court, do some dancing with glow sticks in hand and take in Grucci fireworks.

“My son’s a better shot than me,” said General Atlantic’s Andrew Crawford, standing next to a giant bullseye target. “Though I was standing farther away.”

It’s fair to say the dads dived into the activities more zealously than the moms. Victor Wu of Lexington Partners went head-to-head with his son in a game of Connect Four. Drew Mogavero of Barclays and Steve Hessler, a bankruptcy attorney at Kirkland & Ellis, squired their beribboned daughters around red-and-white striped tents offering everything from sand art to hot dogs.

Meanwhile, Whitney Mogavero and Stephanie Hessler filled in the details about what the party means to their families. “We met here, and our children ended up in pre-school together,” said Mogavero, who’s attended the picnic for about for 10 years. Hessler’s been going since she was 10 or 11 years old, when her mother, Peggy Hill, started taking her.

The picnic supports a camp founded in 1901 for children with physical challenges. Hill, who died in September, was a faithful supporter. “She cherished her time in Southampton, and loved the idea that she could expand that to others,” Hessler said.

Hessler’s favorite things about the event are meeting campers, the bouncy house and the display of patriotism, she said. This year she accessorized her red dress with American flag scarves tied around each wrist. Mogavero sported a red, white and blue manicure.

“It’s a sweet, fun experience,” Ashley Wu said as she held her daughter in her arms. While Hessler recruited Mogavero as a co-chair, Wu was recruited by fashion designer Lyn Devon.

Devon grew up spending summers in Southampton at the home of her parents, Pam Michaelcheck, who once ran the camp, and Bill Michaelcheck of Mariner Investment Group. As a teenager, she volunteered at the camp. “Despite our differences, we all had a great time together,” she recalled.

A “squatter” at her parent’s house these days, Devon said attending the Fresh Air picnic is part of what makes her weekends in Southampton “paradise,” and she isn’t alone in that view.

“It’s the one thing we go to a summer,” Mimi Crawford, another a co-chair, said, though her husband hedged. “It’s one of the few events we do,” Andrew Crawford said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Amanda Gordon in New York at agordon01@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Pierre Paulden at ppaulden@bloomberg.net, Steven Crabill

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