On the Town: Three honored at Boys & Girls Club’s annual gala
The Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley welcomed more than 400 supporters to its annual gala earlier this month held at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel.
Presented annually as the organization’s premier fundraiser, this year’s event, staged in patriotic fashion under the theme “2016 Red, White and Blue Gala,” honored U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank); the club’s 2016 Youth of the Year, Burbank High School sophomore Margo Akopov; and the memory of the late Barbara Sykes, a life-long community volunteer, activist and founding member of the club who died of cancer in February.
“During my 15 years with the Boys & Girls Club, Congressman Schiff has been instrumentally involved with what we do, especially in assisting us in finding funding opportunities,” said the organization’s chief executive, Shanna Warren. “He has been a staunch supporter, and he gets it. He understands the importance of the services we provide to the youth of our community and their families.”
Shortly after the arrival of many members of Sykes’ family, including her widower, former Mayor Dave Golonski and two of her three children, Randi Tamillo and John Golonski, Warren fought back emotion.
“Barbara was a driving force in the formation of this club,” she said. “She was the one who started this event, so there’s a big hole in a lot of our hearts tonight.”
The event, chaired by Joan Ortiz, began with a cocktail party that included interactive stations that focused on programs provided by the club.
Along with the main event, attendees were given the opportunity to participate in a silent and live auction, the latter presided over by actor and comedian Kurt Long, who is featured on the Disney Channel’s sitcom “Liv and Maddie.”
The evening also presented entertainment from the 14 Gentlemen From Swingtown Orchestra that was formed and produced by Sykes’ late father, Richard Sykes, and dance students from the club’s own creative arts program and deaf-and-hard-of-hearing program.
Among the many luminaries and special guests in attendance were Burbank Mayor Jess Talamantes, Vice Mayor Will Rogers, City Council members Emily Gabel-Luddy and Bob Frutos, City Clerk Zizette Mullins, former Mayors Michael Hastings, Marsha Ramos and Mary Lou Howard, former City Councilman Tim Murphy, Lorrie Copeland, who serves as the club’s board president, and the organization’s director of operations, Brittany Vaughan.
Among the many who made this year’s gala a success were members of the club’s board composed of Dan Stillwell, Sally Knutson, Lynn White Shelby, Kimberly Abesamis, Dave Augustine, Michelle Bouse, Garett Chipman, Michael Dragan, Bret Hannifin, Paul Herman, Susan Kim, Leena Mathew, Mathew Poage, Sherine Saad-Anderson, Joe Santos, Al Shapiro, Riad Sleiman, Michael Walbrecht, Terry Walker, Denis Cremins and Brian O’Rourke.
Proceeds from this year’s gala will be earmarked for the club’s numerous education programs that have grown considerably over the past 20 years and now serve 2,300 young people at the club’s main facility and 18 local school sites.
For more information about the club, its programs and support opportunities, visit BGCBurbank.org or call (818) 842-9333.
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DAVID LAURELL may be reached by email at dlaurell@aol.com or (818) 563-1007.
