Pastor George Villa is the new spiritual...

Pastor George Villa is the new spiritual leader of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Gardena. Villa is a native of Los Angeles and holds degrees from UC Santa Barbara, Arizona State University and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley. He and his wife, Elvia, and their two children will live in the parsonage near the church. St. John’s is at 1204 W. 163rd St., Gardena.

Michele L. Heriot of Gardena and Sondra K. Sakita of Torrance are among four students at Cal State Dominguez Hills who are spending the academic year studying abroad as participants in the 1992-93 CSU International Program. They are among 354 students from throughout the 20-campus Cal State system selected for this program. Heriot, an international business major, is studying at Iberoamericana University in Mexico. Sakita, an accounting major, is studying in Japan at Waseda University.

Rene Makoto Oda, a student at Torrance High School, is one of five students from Southern California to receive the first Asian Pacific Youth Leadership Awards for making a difference in their communities. Each student received $1,000 in cash toward a college education. A $500 donation was also awarded to the community-based organization of their choice on behalf of the Asian Pacific Youth Leadership Program. Oda, who shared his honor with the South Bay Japanese-American Citizens League, created and organized an Adopt-A- Grandparent program at a local convalescent home. The awards were made at a luncheon sponsored by the McDonald’s Operators Assn. of Southern California and multilingual television station KSCI-TV.

Manhattan Beach artist Nixon Galloway presided at the sixth annual forum of the American Society of Aviation Artists (ASAA) in San Diego. Three of Galloway’s paintings were exhibited as part of the juried exhibition of works by ASAA members at the San Diego Aerospace Museum.

Four members of the Kiwanis Club of Hawthorne have been cited for distinguished service by club president Les Wixon. Those honored were Hawthorne police Lt. Jim McInerny; Dick Miller, manager, Northrop Recreation Club and Personnel Activities; Dick Huhn, Hughes Aircraft; and Hawthorne police Sgt. Vince Schiavi.

Blair Contratto of Palos Verdes Estates has been elected to serve a three-year term on Chadwick School’s Roessler-Chadwick Foundation Board of Trustees. Contratto is vice president of corporate development at Little Company of Mary Hospital. She grew up in Rancho Palos Verdes and graduated from Miraleste High School. She received a BS in Public Health from UCLA and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Tennessee.

Robin Cronin, Beryl Justice and Rosemary Marconi are winners of the 1992 Jean Fraser Award given by the Volunteer Center, South Bay-Harbor-Long Beach. Cronin works at the Volunteer Center in Long Beach and has started a food program for the Senior Center there. Justice has worked as a community service interviewer at the Torrance office for more than 10 years. Marconi has worked in public relations for the Torrance center for 14 years.

Miraleste High School graduate Tina Hibsman has been commissioned as an ensign in the Navy. Her father, Col. Ed Hibsman of the Air Force, administered the oath of office. Also present at the ceremonies aboard the Duncan at Long Beach Naval Station were her mother, Nora Hibsman, her sister, Trevi Hibsman, and her brother, Tim Hibsman. Hibsman graduated in June from UC Berkeley with a BS in biology and is now attending University of Pittsburgh Medical School. After graduation she plans to serve as a Navy physician.

Elyse Rothstein, Marilyn Day and Juanita Naranjo were each named a Woman of Achievement by South Bay branches of the Business and Professional Womens organization. Rothstein, of El Segundo BPW, is owner of Industrial Lock and Security; Day, of San Pedro BPW, is owner of Marilyn Day Bookkeeping and Tax Service in San Pedro; Naranjo, of Wilmington BPW, is an instructor at Los Angeles Harbor College.

Capt. Jackson Pearson, former chief pilot of the Port of Los Angeles, was honored as a “Guiding Angel in the Harbor” by the maritime industry for his years of service to the seafaring industry in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Pearson was also recognized for his contributions to the Seamen’s Church Institute, where he served as a board member from 1958 to 1960. The awards were made at a reception benefiting the Seamen’s Church Institute’s work with the merchant mariners and other seafarers.

Dr. John Fiore was honored upon his retirement from medical practice by the Westchester Rotary Club. Fiore was a founding member of the club 42 years ago and conducted his medical practice in Westchester for 45 years.

Capt. Rick Prentice of the Hawthorne Police Department was named Kiwanian of the Year by the Hawthorne Kiwanis Club. Prentice was praised for his ongoing service to Kiwanis since joining the organization in 1983.

Dave Risher of Torrance is the new director of His House, a social service agency of the Salvation Army. Risher grew up in Hawthorne and worked for more than eight years at Lutheran Social Services in Long Beach, the Long Beach Food Bank and in case management. He, his wife, Ren’ee, 20-year-old son Jason, and 16-year-old daughter Alyssa are members of the First Lutheran Church of Torrance.

Bettie M. Albright has been awarded the Book of Golden Deeds Award by the Exchange Club of Inglewood. In addition to her work with the Exchange Club, Albright is a life member of Centinela Hospital Medical Center Auxiliary and the Historical Society of Centinela. She also has served as Commissioner of Parks and Recreation. She is credited with obtaining the addition to the Siminski Park building and the restoration of the “Wall of Transportation” mural at Centinela Park.