Lasorda to Be Honored for Aiding Youth Center

Citing Tommy Lasorda as “an inspiration to youth,” the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce will honor the former Los Angeles Dodgers manager at a downtown hotel tonight with a 1997 Award of Merit for his contributions to the Hollenbeck Youth Center in Boyle Heights.

“Tommy is unbelievable,” said Mike McClure, the center’s program director. “I have never seen him not take time to stop and talk to a kid here. We get a lot of celebrities and they are up sometimes and down other times. Tommy is always up. He’ll spend two hours extra here to give some pointers to a kid in need. He would never brush off a kid.”

The 6 p.m. event at the Hyatt Regency Hotel is open to the public. Tickets are $70 at the door.