The Burbank Temporary Aid Center celebrated its 35th anniversary Friday night by staging its sixth annual Burbank’s Top Award for Citizenship event at The Castaway.
This year’s honorees were Burbank Water and Power General Manager Ron Davis and Burbank Recycling Inc., owned and operated by Geoff Folsom.
The evening’s honorees were the perfect choice to coincide with the event’s theme to direct attention to conserving, recycling and sustainability, said BTAC Board Chairman Michael Walbrecht.
“Aside from Ron Davis’ role as chief executive of the city’s utility company, he’s also well known for his hands-on work with numerous nonprofit organizations and service clubs in Burbank,” said Walbrecht, who added that Burbank Recycling Inc. and Geoff Folsom have always been quick to answer the call for help from so many in the city.
“Both men and their organizations have been tireless in their efforts to promote a greener lifestyle in Burbank, including everything from dramatically reducing waste of what we do consume to identifying new, cleaner and renewable resources,” Walbrecht said.
The planners of this year’s gala, headed up by BTAC Executive Director Barbara Howell and event Chairwoman Vicki Williams worked to leave a much smaller environmental footprint on the community by embedding wildflower seeds in the event’s invitations and creating a décor of recyclable materials.
Others who made the event possible were BTAC staff members Edward Stapleton, Stacy Schumacher, Jennifer Ross and Harlen Dahlen, along with board members and the event committee that included Susan Borders, Priscilla Davis, Darryl Forbes, Maddy Horne, Nancy Gams Korb, Jocelyn Paris, Will Rogers, Leslie Smith, Lynn Talamantes, Annmarie Volpei, Dan Linegar, Jennifer Ranney and Ron Sorensen.
Among those in attendance for the event emceed by Sunder Ramani were executives and representatives of every city department and special guests Cheryl Davis, Kristen Folsom, Janis Walbrecht, State Sen. Carol Liu, Assemblyman and Assistant Majority Leader Paul Krekorian, City Manager Mike Flad, Assistant City Manager Joy Forbes, Mayor Dave Golonski, Vice Mayor Gary Bric and Councilwoman Anja Reinke.
Also in attendance were former Mayors Bill Wiggins and Mary Lou Howard, and U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul McKenna, who is home in Burbank for a short break from his service in Iraq.
