Mayor Donald Garcia today honored Aliso Viejo’s 2009 Citizens, Senior and Youth of the Year during his “State of the City” address breakfast at the Aliso Viejo Conference Center.
Robin Colton and Debra Morris were named Aliso Viejo’s Citizens of the Year for their outstanding individual contributions to the community, and Edwin Shandrew was honored as the City’s Senior of the Year for striving to make a difference in the lives of others. Alexis Moore was honored as Aliso Viejo’s Youth of the Year for serving as a shining example to others. The top 2009 residents were feted amid a sea of people gathered for Garcia’s presentation, which took a different approach by featuring a spoof of the “California’s Gold” television show, hosted and produced by Huell Howser.
Robin Colton was the first person to sign up for the Aliso Viejo Police Assistance Liaison Services (PALS) Volunteer Program in September 2008. Since the program’s inception, she has donated more than 178.5 hours of service.
As a dedicated PALS volunteer, Colton has worked to provide public outreach at the Aliso Viejo Community Association’s Harvest Festival, Soka University’s International Festival and has helped with crowd and traffic control at the Aliso Viejo Chamber of Commerce Street Fair, the City’s Snow Fest and during Aliso Niguel High School’s graduation.
In an effort to make a difference in the lives of others, Debra “Debby” Morris got involved in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event to support individuals who were either battling or had lost their battle to cancer. Fast forward six years and Morris continues to press ahead with her quest to help find a cure for the dreaded disease. She served as event chair for last year’s Aliso Viejo-based Relay for Life. Under her leadership, the city received the Circle of Excellence Award from the American Cancer Society for its extraordinary contributions through its annual Relay for Life fundraising event.
Edwin Shandrew joined the Aliso Viejo Police Assistance Liaison Services (PALS) Volunteer Program in September 2008 and has volunteered more than 225 hours to the program that assists Police Services. On any given Tuesday or Thursday, Shandrew can be found canvassing City streets in the PALS vehicle. He serves as an extra set of eyes in the community and reports on graffiti or suspicious activity he sees in town. He plays an active part in the “Remove It or Lose It” campaign, which is designed to educate and remind residents to lock their vehicles and remove valuable items. He has devoted his time to assisting with several community events.
Alexis Moore believes that giving back to the community is a privilege and something that people should just do. In fact, this young lady has made volunteering and hard work her mantra. She has dedicated more than 40 hours of service as a city volunteer. This year, Moore also displayed her talents for selling cookies. For the fourth year straight, she led the way in cookie sales throughout Aliso Viejo. The 15-year-old sold 1,300 boxes and raised about $1,000 to benefit her troop.
Along with her accomplishments in Girl Scouts, the Aliso Niguel High School excels academically and enjoys giving back to the community.
This is the third year Aliso Viejo has honored its top residents. The City Council in 2006 adopted a policy for the program, which was created to recognize individuals in the community who have shown outstanding commitment to quality of life in Aliso Viejo.
Kelly Tokarski
KT Community Relations
