Roundup of Burbank Clubs
Burbank Noon Lions
“Children Know Peace” is the theme for the 2011 International Peace Poster contest sponsored by the Burbank Noon Lions club, and on November 16, the club recognized the winners in a ceremony held at the Burbank Central Library. This is the first level of competition.
The peace poster contest was established by Lions Clubs International to promote the awareness of world peace internationally among youth. Burbank City officials, students, teachers, Lions and parents gathered for the awards presentation to honor the winners from three Burbank Middle schools and the Boys & Girls Club who took part in this year’s contest. This is the 16th year the Burbank Noon Lions Club has sponsored the project in Burbank. Winners of this competition have the opportunity to proceed to the next level. After judges weigh in around the world, there will be 23 merit winners, each receiving $500, and one top winner receiving $2,500 and a trip to the United Nations in New York City.
The winning students, selected by personnel from each school, were: Ryan O’Neill, Jordan Middle School; Jasmine Garcia, Luther Burbank Middle School; Sebastian Schug, Muir Middle School and Margo Akopov from the Boys & Girls Club. All Burbank student entries will be on display in the Burbank Central Library until January.
The Awards Presentation included certificates of recognition presented by Bud Alleman from the Burbank Noon Lions, Mayor Jess Talamantes from the city of Burbank and commendations from the offices of Congressman Adam Schiff, State Senator Carol Liu, Assemblyman Mike Gatto and County Supervisor Mike Antonovich.
The Burbank Noon Lions meet on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at noon at the Holiday Inn, 150 E. Angeleno Ave., Burbank. For more information, contact Marva Murphy at (818) 955-8018.
Burbank Sunrise Rotary
On November 17, the Burbank Sunrise Rotary Club got together at the home of one of their members and held a book-labeling party to label over a thousand books, which they had collected to donate to the St. Finbar School Library. On December 14, club president Rod Gregson, Beth Anderson (who had done most of the organizing), Lee Stacy, Dave Thomas, Janice Lowers and Mary Gilbert loaded their vehicles with dozens of boxes containing about 3,000 books they had collected, purchased and labeled. They delivered them to the St. Finbar Library, which had lost many of their books during a remodeling fiasco. The kids were very excited to have some new books to read and reference and librarian Dora Morales was moved to tears she was so happy with the donation.
November was a busy month for the Sunrise Rotary. Besides hosting a food drive to benefit the Burbank Temporary Aid Center, they also met at Stough Canyon Nature Center to assemble and donate three benches made with 100% recycled plastic. The nature center’s director, Carol Mercado, said the center has needed the benches since losing two in a fire 10 years ago. They will serve the center well — although it receives about 2,500 visitors a year, including hundreds of school children, there was no money in the budget to replace the benches.
Burbank Sunrise Rotary meets on Tuesdays at 7:15 a.m. at the Holiday Inn, 150 E. Angeleno Ave., Burbank.
For more information, please contact Rod Gregson at (818) 428-0151 or visit www.burbanksunriserotary.com.
Isabel Adams can be reached at (818) 842-7359 or at izzieadams@sbcglobal.net.