Honoring Those Who Help Build Community

At first glance, they don’t seem to have much in common.

Dr. Koo Oh is president of the Korean American Federation of Orange County, which offers citizenship classes and sponsors cultural events. The Rev. Jon West is a pastor at Morningside Presbyterian Church in Fullerton.

But their shared concern for people will bring them together along with 20 others being honored later this month at the 27th annual Orange County Human Relations Awards banquet.

The ceremony is designed to highlight the achievements of residents who help foster inter-ethnic understanding in their communities, said Rusty Kennedy, executive director of the Human Relations Commission.

Oh and West took different paths to reach this moment.

Oh, a 57-year-old Fullerton dentist, said the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the destruction it brought to many Korean businesses impressed upon him the need to reach out to his neighbors.

“I thought maybe we should get good relationships with other communities and prevent future riots,” he said.

Oh initiated programs that bring together leaders from different ethnic groups for dances and other events that celebrate Korean culture. He also initiated Spanish-language classes for Korean Americans and an annual banquet for community leaders.

To better understand other ethnic groups, Oh began attending Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Santa Ana and Westminster’s Vietnamese Tet Festival.

“Now there’s a much better relationship with the Hispanic and black communities,” Oh said. “They know more about Koreans. They [better] understand our people, our culture.”

West was honored by the Human Relations Commission for his efforts to provide low-income housing.

For years, many residents and city officials opposed his plan to build a 27-unit complex in east Fullerton, saying it would bring crime, graffiti and increased traffic.

But West worked to convince neighbors that the East Fullerton Villas project would not harm the community. Eventually, resistance softened and the city approved the project. The $3.2-million complex was completed in July and is now fully occupied.

“We were under constant attack the whole time, but we succeeded,” West said. “We really had to work to convince everybody. . . . We’re pretty proud of it. It’s a very attractive facility.”

West is president of Interfaith Housing Development Corp., a nonprofit organization composed of churches and synagogues. The group works to build affordable housing across the county.

“I was really startled when I got the award,” the 58-year-old Brea resident said. “With all the resistance I got, I wasn’t expecting it.”

The other honorees are Sylvia Mora Krenzien, Teri Duarte Rocco and Alice Rumbaugh of Amigas de la Cultura in Garden Grove; Dr. Manuel N. Gomez of Irvine; Dianne Horn of Anaheim; Karen Jackle and Richard Barnard of Huntington Beach; Joyce and Randy Jordan of Mission Viejo; Veronica Kelley of Huntington Beach; Barbara King of Santa Ana; Rueben Martinez of Santa Ana; Sheila Mehta of Sunset Beach; Bob Montenegro of Westminster; Frank Quevedo of Irvine; Luis Sandoval of Orange; Jennifer Schymick of Santa Ana; Lt. Michael J. Stedman of Fullerton; Patricia Walsh of Irvine; and Andre Winstanley of Laguna Niguel.