The latest installment in the Costa Mesa Historical Society<\/a>\u2019s Speaker Series, the afternoon discussion will cover Wylder\u2019s mission to tell the stories of the county\u2019s movers and shakers and industry leaders, both in her research for the book and through her website, \u201cGreer\u2019s OC<\/a>,\u201d and online newsletter \u201cDaily Dose of OC<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Greer Wylder\u2019s \u201cBorn in OC: Artists, Entrepreneurs and Visionaries Who Shaped Orange County, California\u201d was published in October 2024.<\/p>\n (Courtesy of Greer Wylder)<\/p>\n Wylder\u2019s interview subjects range from businessman\/philanthropist Anton Segerstrom and best-selling author Dean Koontz to Zoey Stevens, a scenic painter for Disneyland, and A.G. Kawamura, a third-generation produce farmer and former state secretary of food and agriculture who was the driving force behind the Farm + Food Lab at Irvine\u2019s Great Park.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone who I\u2019ve interviewed could basically live anywhere, but everyone loves Orange County very much and they all give back in some way,\u201d said the Costa Mesa resident.<\/p>\n Wylder\u2019s foray into publishing began in the early \u201990s, when she covered new retail openings and other happenings in the Daily Pilot column \u201cBest Buys.\u201d But a 2005 layoff forced the columnist and mother of four sons to shift gears.<\/p>\n \u201cI was extremely upset, obviously, and one of my sons was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, so I decided to start my own publication,\u201d she recalled Thursday. \u201cThis was pre-social media, so I started a website and a daily newsletter. And I\u2019m celebrating my 20th year of that this month \u2014 it\u2019s bananas.\u201d<\/p>\n The site Greer\u2019s OC focuses on the latest trends in fashion, travel and dining and puts its creator in touch with regional visionaries across industries, many of whom are featured in Q&A-style profiles, while the Daily Dose delivers notes on emerging lifestyle and culture brands directly to subscribers\u2019 inboxes.<\/p>\n One day in January 2020 while out on a run (she has so far completed 36 marathons), Wylder began hatching a plan for a new creation.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything I\u2019d been doing for so many years and everything I\u2019d done was so ephemeral \u2014 it\u2019s all online,\u201d she said. \u201cI just wanted to do something tangible, something you can hold. And for 10 years, I\u2019d had this idea for \u2018Born in OC\u2019 in the back of my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n So she plumbed her network of contacts and engaged in untold hours of interviews, many held via Zoom during the pandemic, working with an editor to compile the narratives into a finished product that will be available for purchase and signing at Sunday\u2019s event, which takes place from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Costa Mesa community center, 1845 Park Ave.<\/p>\n Costa Mesa Historical Society President Mikelle Fish, who organizes the bimonthly speaker-led events, said Wylder\u2019s work and \u201cBorn in OC\u201d were a perfect fit for the series.<\/p>\n \u201cThis history touches on all the different areas we participate in \u2014 shopping, restaurants, parks and even cities\u2019 streets and schools \u2014 and how they came to be,\u201d Fish said. \u201cBy honoring that history, you learn about how and why we have the public spaces we do today.\u201d<\/p>\n![\""Born](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783708475_191_.jpeg\")
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