John Arrillaga: The Parks & Golf Division is proud
to announce Mr. John Arrillaga has been awarded the 2003 Community
Star Award for his contribution to the installation of a new restroom
at Hoover Park.
In 2002, members of the Palo Alto Little League approached the
City Council regarding the lack of a restroom facility at Hoover
Park. Although Council was sympathetic to the request, no funding
was available. Mr. Arrillaga approached the City and offered to
finance the restroom personally.
Palo Alto Youth Council: The Recreation, Open Space and
Sciences Division is proud to announce the Palo Alto Youth Council
has been awarded the 2003 Community Star Award. Seventeen high
school students from the Palo Alto School District make up the
Youth Council. Their job is to serve as a task force to identify
and address the issues that face teens in our community. Over
the past year, some of their accomplishments have been advertisement
and awareness of teen oriented programs and activities, developing
relationships with other local groups for joint projects and support,
volunteering in the community and completing the Youth Master
Plan. They have shaped this year's projects around these four
goals.
The Youth Council helped form focus groups made up of both middle
and high school students to identify the needs of this age group
and find ways to provide services to address these needs, leading
to the completion of the Youth Master Plan (YMP). Members of the
Palo Alto Youth Council presented the YMP to the Parks and Recreation
Commission, Policy and Services Committee and the City Council
in the form of a power point presentation. In this presentation,
they highlighted the goals, objectives and accomplishments in
the YMP.
Another accomplishment for this year is the teen activity database.
Compiled over the course of the year, the Youth Council members
researched and collected information on teen activities, programs,
and teen-oriented businesses. They organized the information into
categories. The Palo Alto Weekly will highlight one or
two of the activities each week, raising awareness for local teens.
The Youth Council has also worked with the Weekly to link
the Palo Alto Youth Council's website to the Palo Alto Online
system and received free advertising for the Teen Band Nights
program.
One of the issues facing middle and high school students this
year is the increase in stress levels. The Youth Council is presently
collaborating with the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and
PAUSD to put on a Teen Forum where doctors from Stanford will
speak on stress and its effect on teens' health.
This group of high school students has made a real difference
in our community. This award is to recognize them for their hard
work and dedication to making Palo Alto a great place for teens
to grow into healthy adults.
Alison Lee: The Arts and Culture Division is proud to
announce Alison Lee has been awarded the 2003 Community Star Award.
A long time resident, Lee has been an active Palo Alto arts activist
since the 1970's. Her initial involvement was as the representative
for the Children's Theatre on the Standing Committee for the Arts
(SC) a year prior to the passage of Proposition 13. At that time,
the SC, comprised of elected representatives from each of the
16 various arts organizations were struggling with a proposed
across-the-board budget cut of $3 million. The SC, under the leadership
of Alison Lee as Chair, successfully advocated to City Council
the importance of the Arts and their role in Palo Alto. During
her tenure as Chair of the SC, she also argued successfully before
City Council the need to support a Cable Co-op franchise, and
persuaded Council to dedicate subsidized spaces for artists and
arts organizations as the City took control of closed school sites.
The Cubberley artist studio and dance space program is a legacy
of the SC and a living tribute to the work Alison did as Chair.
Marci Brown: The Human Services Division is proud to announce
Marci Brown has been awarded the 2003 Community Star Award for
her life's record of involvement and commitment to interests and
goals that rise above personal benefit to the level of services
to human-kind. Her track record of voluntary participation and
leadership in our community covers a broad range of organizations
and efforts that have far reaching influence for a diversity of
beneficiaries. These include the Girl Scouts of America, the PTA
and the PAUSD, the Junior League, the YWCA, Leadership Palo Alto,
Class of '94, MPAC (MCMC) NeighborSpace, and the City's Family
Resources Program.
For the past 3 years, Marcie has been an active participant and
champion of the Family Resources Program as both an Ambassador
and as a member of the Family Resources Community Steering Committee.
Among other things, Marcie cemented the natural links between
Family Resources and the PAUSD. Likewise, she facilitated mutually
supportive connections between Family Resources and many other
community-minded organizations. Marcie is a living example of
the spirit of community, serving as an outstanding model of good
community membership and creating opportunities for others to
join in and feel privileged to do so. The Human Services Division
is honored by her dedication of time and her commitment to the
goals of Family Resources.
Ann Shelby Valentine: The Library Division is proud to
announce Ann Shelby Valentine has been awarded the 2003 Community
Star Award. Shelby has served on the Board of the Friends of the
Palo Alto Library for five years, including two and a half years
as President from early in 2000 to September 2002. Her work with
the Friends has been, and continues to be, substantial.
In April 2002, she organized a kick-off birthday party to begin
a two-year celebration of the Library's centennial. Her work with
a graphic designer to produce a centennial poster resulted in
a first-place award for excellence from the California Library
Association. Under her Presidency, the Friends membership grew
and fund-raising in support of the Library reached new levels.
She has promoted the activities of the Friends before City Council,
service organizations, and at street fairs.
Always a passionate supporter of the Palo Alto Library, Shelby
also was a founding member of the Libraries Plus Bond Committee
that worked on Measure D to improve library and other community
service buildings. She also served on the committee that developed
an improved site plan for the Main Library and the Art Center.
Shelby and her husband, Doug Molitor, have three children and
reside in Palo Alto. She was recently reappointed by Governor
Davis to serve as Santa Clara County's representative to the State's
Area 7 Board on Developmental Disabilities.
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