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Community Stories
Whitney Leanne Haggins Receives Certificate as a Graduate of Protocol Officer
Training - Level I ... click here to view
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It is with both sadness and joy that a community extraordinaire, Mark Anthony Leon 48 years young, took his
journey home to be with the Lord, on May 2, 2008. Mark received a liver transplant several years ago and has been battling
health related issues for some time. At the time of his passing, he was in the intensive care unit at Huntington Hospital,
with his family by his side.
Mark was a Christian, serving at New Hope Church in Eagle Rock, a public servant of the Pasadena community,
a true pillar, a man of great character, a very loyal and kind friend. He loved his family and his community and served them
well until the time of his death. He was employed by Northrop Grumman Space and Technology for 20 plus years. Last year he
ran for a seat on the City Council, District 1, which was a life rewarding experience. Although he lost to his friend, Jackie
Robinson, the people that crossed his path and the support he received was a true victory. Prior to running for a council
seat, he served on the Pasadena City Planning Commission 2 terms, chairman last year, Transportation Commission, City
Charter Reform Task Force (representative), Leadership Pasadena (graduate), Citizens Police Academy (graduate), Latino
Heritage (board member & co-chair sponsorship, planning committee for the Latino Parade & Jamaica), and on the Pasadena
Latino Forum as corresponding secretary.
Mark was also a very supportive father and husband and was very active in the education and activities of
his children. He enjoyed watching David run track, Daniel play football and Diana in her softball games.
Mark lived in Pasadena, California and was highly respected and loved by everyone who came in contact with
him. Mark is survived by his wife, Christine, and 3 children, David, a Senior at Polytechnic School, Daniel, an 8th grader
at Chandler School, and Diana who is in 4th grade at Polytechnic School; and many other loving relative and friends.
Funeral services will be held at Friendship Baptist Church, 80 W. Dayton, Pasadena, on Saturday, May 10 at 12:00 p.m.
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Whitney Leanne Haggins Receives Certificate as a Graduate of Protocol Officer Training - Level I
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| Whitney LeAnne Haggins (right) and Pamela Eyring |
Pasadena, California resident Whitney LeAnne Haggins was recently trained and certified as a Protocol Officer
by The Protocol School of Washington®.
The training was held at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, McLean, Virginia. Protocol Officer Training - Level
I is a comprehensive training designed to broaden participants understanding of functional business, government, and international
protocol, as well as the expertise to confidently and appropriately apply protocol formulas in the most complex or critical
situations. Graduates obtain the skills to facilitate events for people of different cultures to find common purpose, engage
strategic and sensitive issues, and create relationships and memories for a lifetime.
The Protocol School of Washington® is the leader in protocol and etiquette services and is the first company
to provide professional training and certification in protocol and etiquette.
Since 1988, more than nineteen hundred men and women throughout the United States of America and more than thirty-nine
other countries have been trained and certified to use the school’s comprehensive training manuals and support materials.
Graduates of The Protocol School of Washington® are providing the highest-quality programs and events in the United States
of America, Canada and abroad, and many are featured on major television networks and radio, and in publications worldwide.
For future trainings, contact The Protocol School of Washington® toll-free (877) 766-3757, via e-mail at info@psow.com or
visit the school’s Web site at www.psow.com.
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3rd Annual Signature Banquet
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| Karen Bass, State Assembly Speaker |
D’Veal Family and Youth Services 3rd Annual Signature Banquet will be held Thursday,
May 15, 2008 at the beautiful, La Cañada Flintridge Country Club, 5500 Godbey Drive in La Cañada Flintridge California. The
Social Hour starts at 6:00 p.m. and dinner will be served at 7:00 p.m.
The Keynote Speaker is the dynamic, history making Assembly Speaker-elect, Karen Bass;
the nation’s first African American woman to lead a state legislative body! Ms. Bass is the recipient of D’Veal
Family and Youth Services’ Heritage Award.
The Honorary Chairperson is Actress and Author, Bern Nadette Stanis (Thelma of the TV
sitcom, "Good Times")! This evening of elegance promises you a delectable cuisine, photography opportunities with various
celebrities, a book signing, silent auction and live entertainment by Tiffany "Makeda" Purnell (two-time Black Music Award
Honoree) and Shelea Kyle & Friends. The one and only Eric J. Chambers, Host/Executive Producer of "The Jazzspel" is the
Master of Ceremonies.
Our honorees are: Dr. Paul Carlo, Officer Victor Cass, Officer Thomas Francis, Dr. George
Mallory, Officer William Shipman and Lieutenant Alexander Uribe. Commander Eric Mills will represent the Pasadena Police Department
and accept the "Guardians of Hope" award on behalf of Lieutenant Uribe. All of these "men of merit" demonstrate extensive
involvement in community services and truly warrant recognition. They have gone above and beyond the extra mile to improve
the quality of life for many in our community.
Dr. Carlo is the Director of the Center on Child Welfare at the USC School of Social
Work.
Dr. Mallory is D’Veal Family and Youth Services’ Medical Director.
Lieutenant Uribe, Officer Cass, Officer Francis and Officer Shipman comprises the H.O.P.E.
team. The acronym HOPE stands for Homeless Outreach Psychiatric Evaluation team.
The Pasadena Police Department and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health
have partnered together to form the HOPE team, spear-headed by Lieutenant Uribe, to provide a cooperative, compassionate mental
health and law enforcement response team that assists those persons in need of mental health assessment and services. Currently,
the Pasadena Police Department has three teams assigned to the Patrol Division. The basic task of the team is to assist the
City of Pasadena and the Pasadena Police Department with mental health crisis, related emergencies and homeless issues. The
HOPE team is specifically designed to provide individualized mental health outreach while maintaining public safety.
We encourage everyone to come out and support this event and applaud all of our honorees
for a job well done! Please call (626) 296-8900 for ticket information. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Your
donation is tax-deductible. D’Veal offers a full range of community based intervention and prevention services. The
fundraising focus is renovating our recently purchased building in Altadena to serve more children and families and expanding
our "Alive and Free" program through instruction in violence prevention methodology, mentorship and educational support (tutoring).
For additional information, please contact John McCall, CEO, D’Veal Family and Youth Services
at (626) 296-8900, email dveal3@aol.com and visit our web site at www.dveal.com.
Young African American Women’s Conference
The Pasadena Alumnae Chapter served as the host and lead organizer for the 6th Annual
Young African American Women’s Conference on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at Pasadena City College. Sorors Deborah Blanton
Williams and Chapter President, Gwendolyn McMullins served as Conference Chairpersons. The full-day innovative and interactive
conference was specifically designed to inspire and motivate African American females ages 12 to 18 years old in the choices
they will need to make to ensure their future success and well-being. The conference had targeted 300 girls and planned to
provide tools to help realize career, education and life goals. The conference was a phenomenal success and had over 500 girls
and parents in attendance. Dena Cali, model, entrepreneur and philanthropist, served as the keynote speaker and did a fantastic
job of setting the tone for the event as almost all took notes! She called on the girls to increase their awareness of the
changes and challenges that they will encounter on their journey through life.
Personal wellness workshops were also offered. Discussions focused on making healthy
food choices and recognizing healthy and unhealthy relationships. A variety of prizes such as exercise bands and pedometers
were given to all participants to encourage them to adopt or maintain active lifestyles. Other workshop topics ranged from
information on how to start a business, dressing for success to graduating from high school and getting into college. African
American women served as workshop presenters for all workshops and as exhibitors. Information about a host of career paths
was shared such as biomedical research, space engineering, physical therapy, nursing, special event planning, producing movies
and CSI (crime scene investigator).
The closing session was lead by a film producer Chimene Davis and film writer Bonnie
Rutherford. They shared their film "Origin of Rainbows: Colorism Exposed" with the girls and engaged them in a lively but
targeted discussion. The discussion focused around issues of perceptions of beauty and skin color both in the African American
community and throughout the world.
The conference was funded through corporate and individual donations. Continental breakfast, lunch,
tee shirts and bags were provided to all participants. Partners for the conference included the Kaiser Permanente, Pasadena
City College, the City of Pasadena Commission on the Status of Women, Pasadena Unified School District, Women at Work, Metropolitan
Community Action Services Corporation, and HBCU Campus Tours, Pasadena Branch NAACP and Wescom Credit Union.
Five Acres Family & Friends Picnic Just for Fun
A young boy darts across the lawn holding aloft a brightly colored kite and a dozen children
jam on drums as a steady stream of tiny bubbles fills the air. Elsewhere, foot races and cupcake decorating is underway and
snow cones, hot dogs and burgers are devoured at a furious pace.
It’s Five Acres Family & Friends Picnic for the 80 children in residence at
the child and family service agency’s Altadena campus. Held April 16 during national Child Abuse Prevention Month, the
picnic is a time for carefree fun shared with family members and special friends, volunteers from the community who provide
family-like experiences.
"Children at Five Acres are working through a litany of emotional, psychological and
learning challenges and the picnic allows them to take it easy and be themselves in a non-graded, fun and loving environment,"
said Bob Ketch, executive director of Five Acres. "It is also therapeutic play that helps them work on family relationships
that will be important as they return to their own or other family placements or foster care or adoption."
Five Acres, founded in 1888 as one of Los Angeles’ earliest orphanages, is a child
and family services agency providing therapeutic prevention, treatment and education programs to strengthen families and prevent
child abuse. Services include residential care and education, mental health services in homes and schools, deaf services,
foster care and adoptions and domestic violence prevention. The agency serves more than 4,000 children and families throughout
Southern California annually.
For information about Five Acres, contact Susan Silverman at (626) 798-6793 ext.2279 or ssilverman@5acres.org,
or visit the Five Acres website www.5acres.org.
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