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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Local Leaders Receive Arabian Awards

Seven area leaders were honored at the annual Justice Armand Arabian Leaders in Public Service Awards luncheon on Oct. 25. The seven recipients: former Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck; Grossman Burn Center Chief Executive Dr. Peter Grossman; women’s issues activist Judith Hirshberg; Loyola Law School Professor Laurie Levenson; former Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Ross Porter; Valley News Group Publisher Kathleen Sterling, and realtor and former NFL football player Mel Wilson. The awards are given to those who perform significant community service but who may not otherwise be recognized. In addition, scholarships were awarded to three students: Dakota Michael Rose, who has volunteered to feed the homeless and who was selected by Mayor Eric Garcetti to be on the Youth Council to teach others how to make a difference; Rosemarie Pacheco, a student at California State University – Northridge, who has overcome her autism to achieve academically and who volunteers in the community; and Jonathan Barragan, a military veteran who now volunteers as a tutor as he takes classes for a career in health care. Nearly 400 business, political and non-profit chiefs attended the 19th annual luncheon, held at the Hilton Woodland Hills hotel. The awards are named for former California Supreme Court Justice Armand Arabian, who died in March at age 83. A video tribute was given by Rickey Gelb, a longtime friend and co-producer of the event. Arabian was a lawyer, deputy district attorney and Superior Court judge before he became an associate justice on the state Supreme Court in 1990. Arabian was known for his civic work, particularly on behalf of sexual assault victims. Gelb said the idea for the awards was hatched during a conversation among Arabian, Gelb of the Gelb Group real estate firm and Karl Boeckmann of Galpin Motors. Encino Chamber Chief Executive Diana Dueñas offered welcoming remarks; the chamber puts on the event. Wink Martindale, the former television game show host, was the master of ceremonies. Coco Dolenz, who works at the Gelb Group and is a singer (she is the sister of Micky Dolenz of the Monkees, who won an Arabian award last year) sang “God Bless America.”

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