On the Town: YWCA honors 7 women and establishes memorial award
For the many gifts they give to the Glendale community, seven women were recognized at the 20th annual YWCA Glendale Legacy Luncheon held earlier this month at the Oakmont Country Club.
Receiving the Heart & Excellence Awards were Jeannie Flint, Nancy Guillen, Janet Hamilton, Joan-Patricia “JP” O’Connor, Nancy Stone and Georgiana Wu.
Lina Petrossian of Clark Magnet High School was presented with the Jane O’Connor Community Volunteer Service Award that includes a $1,000 scholarship.
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Flint is an active member of Las Candelas, which helps vulnerable children improve their lives. That commitment includes hands-on volunteer work at Hillsides Education Center, Hathaway Sycamores School, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services and Ascencia Homeless Shelter.
She serves on the board of the Glendale Community College Foundation, is a member of the Philanthropic Educational Organization Chapter DJ, board member of Glendale Humane Society and docent at the Los Angeles Zoo.
Guillen dedicates her time and energy to projects that address cancer research, including the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and the Fiesta of the Spanish Horse. She is a member of the Glendale Kiwanis Club, vice president of Family Promise of the Verdugos and recently served as chair of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce.
She is past president of the Glendale Latino Assn. and continues to serve on its board.
Hamilton has been a member of Soroptimist International of Glendale for 10 years and has served as second vice president in charge of fundraising and as chair of the annual Bras for a Cause event.
She is president of the Philanthropic Educational Organization Chapter FO, treasurer of the L.A. Philharmonic Glendale Committee, vice commander for the Knight of the Vine LA Chapter and serves on the USC Verdugo Hills Hospital Foundation Board.
O’Connor is a second-generation recipient of this award. Her mother, the late Mary Alice O’Connor, received it in 2002. The mother and daughter were members of the first class of National Charity League’s Burbank chapter.
JP O’Connor co-designed and facilitated Leadership Burbank for seven years and is a Family Promise National Associate. A double cancer survivor, she has served twice as Burbank Relay for Life chair and twice as chair of the American Cancer Society San Fernando Valley Leadership Council.
Stone founded the Community Service Learning Project that inspires volunteering at Crescenta Valley High School and it has been adopted by high schools in Glendale and Burbank.
She was one of the founders of the CV Alliance and helped secure a five-year $625,000 Drug-Free Community Grant that provided resources to prevent drug and alcohol abuse.
She also gives time to Las Candelas, Ascencia and is a child ambassador for World Vision.
Wu is a life member of Glendale Adventist Medical Center’s Founders Guild, where she has helped raise funds for the Pediatric Play to Learn Center for children with developmental disabilities and life-altering illnesses.
She has been a member of the Glendale Adventist Governing Board, where she has been instrumental in passing policies that make the hospital a safer place and ensuring the community has access to vital services.
Petrossian is a senior at Clark Magnet High School. She serves as the student ex-officio on Glendale’s Commission on the Status of Women, where she interfaces with civic leaders and shares her ideas for improving the city.
She volunteers at Montrose Pediatrics, is a California Scholarship Federation tutor and a member of the United Young Armenians, where she helps to organize cultural events such as last year’s event to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.
The luncheon culminated with a surprise announcement that a memorial scholarship was created in honor of Cameron Willia Hali Burton, the daughter of Carol Ann Burton and Alasdair John Hunter Burton.
Cameron Burton, 25, died in an automobile accident on March 20 in Malawi, a country in southeast Africa, while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Raising scholarship funds is always in fashion
The Verdugo-Glen chapter of the American Business Women’s Assn. held its fifth annual fashion show at Pickwick Gardens in Burbank earlier this month.
Eighty-five attendees enjoyed the fashions from Chico’s, Ruby Ribbon and Nelson’s Treasures. The master of ceremonies was comic Laniea Dominguez. Included in the admission were a three-course lunch, appetizers and champagne.
“It was one of our most successful fundraisers,” said Barbara Williams, chair of the fashion show, who added that the chapter raises money for college scholarships.
President Ardis Bazyn spoke about the history of the chapter, celebrating its 54th anniversary in June, and advantages of being a member, including personal and professional development, and learning business and professional skills to help them in their careers.
Committee members included Kandice Astamendi, Patricia Nelson, Anne Marie Johnson, Lisa Swain, Martha Preciado, Lori Hartwell and Teri Chandler.
JOYCE RUDOLPH can be reached at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com.