People : Orange Body Builder Will Flex With Best of Them for Mr. America Title

Amateur body builder John Carrido of Orange has won the Mr. California title in the lightweight category and will now go on to compete in the National Body Building Championship for the title of Mr. America.

Carrido, even though he is 5-foot-3, played basketball at Estancia High School, where he won All-League and All-Southern Section. He also played on Orange Coast College’s state championship basketball team in 1979.

“I was always into fitness and I had to be more aggressive than the guys who were 6 feet--eight and nine inches taller than me,” Carrido said while working out at a Fullerton gym Friday.

Carrido got ready for the competition without the help of a trainer. He credits the use of a computerized “bioelectrical analyzer system” to help him win the competition. The high-tech, state-of-the-art machine scientifically determines the ratio between the amount of lean muscle mass to body fat. Training prior to a competition has Carrido lifting weights about 1 1/2 hours per day, aerobic exercises from one to three hours per day and posing an hour a day in front of a mirror. If he wins the Mr. America contest, he would next compete for the title of Mr. Universe in his division.

Five Latino educators will be honored tonight by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) at the second annual Hispanic Educators Recognition Awards Banquet. The five are: Ronald Raya, assistant superintendent of the Placentia High School District; Cordelia Gutierrez, a Costa Mesa High School teacher; Dr. Jose Y. Anguiano Sandoval, a professor at UC Irvine; Sam Mendoza, a counselor at Cal State Fullerton, and Gualberto Valdez, a teacher of 44 years from the Placentia Unified School District. The keynote speaker will be Cecelia Preciado Burciage, associate dean of graduate studies and research at Stanford University. Frank Cruz, news anchorman from KNBC-TV--Channel 4, will be master of ceremonies.

Several elected officials from Orange County were elected as members of the Southern California Assn. of Governments’ (SCAG) Executive Committee, the area’s regional planning agency. SCAG is a planning and coordinating agency dealing with transportation, environmental quality and urban growth issues, among others.

Supervisor Harriett Wieder will represent the county on the committee. Buena Park Councilman Don Griffin will represent the cities of Orange County and Carol Kawanami, mayor pro tem of Villa Park, is an at-large delegate. Supervisor Roger Stanton, Brea Councilwoman Norma Hicks and La Habra Councilwoman Dorothy Wedel will serve as alternates. The executive committee includes 20 elected officials from member cities and counties.

Rhoda Stanley of Newport Beach has been named president of the National Charity League’s Newport Beach chapter. The philanthropic organization supports the Golden Timers Senior Citizens Center in Costa Mesa as well as High Hopes, Orangewood, Canyon Acres, Hoag Hospital and other community programs.