Long Beach Heroes | JustinRudd.com

Congrats to the 2011 Long Beach Heroes.

NEW PHOTOS: Long Beach Heroes | $16,000 awarded by Rudd's nonprofit C.A.T.

IN THE NEWS: Long Beach's Unsung Heroes Honored

A HERO'S WELCOME! Meet the remarkable 2011 Long Beach Heroes who were honored last night at a packed awards event in Belmont Shore hosted by Justin Rudd's nonprofit Community Action Team (CAT). Each received a $1,000 prize to help continue the good work they are doing in our city, and the Hero of the Year took home a $5,000 prize. Award money comes from the Long Beach Turkey Trot.

- Donna Bennett has raised more than $150,000 to help kids in need; coordinates gifting for dozens of needy families at Christmas; and actively encourages people to exercise their democratic right to vote.

- Angela Best is a college student who facilitates workshops on "employment challenges of the disabled;" volunteers with programs that help the homeless and senior citizens; and actively helps with drives to collect and distribute prom dresses and toys. Her nominator wrote, "Her wheelchair is her tool to success."

- Ameelia Ghareeb is a middle school librarian for two campuses. After enlisting help to overhaul one of her new school’s library, students checked out more books in the first month of this school year than they did all last year. Students who once hated the library now hand out there.

- Elyse Gordon (Hero of the Year), 65, has fostered more than 100 children of all ethnicities. Her nominator wrote, “Most of the children she gets are newborns straight from the hospital, born drug-addicted to parents who lose their parental rights, and with lots of physical and emotional problems.”

- Claudia Hoffman rescues dogs, cleans them up and finds them loving homes. She recently started a “volunteer dog walking group in Long Beach that walks abused and abandoned dogs, and she fights for legislation change by taking on local politics.”

- Mick Hoglund is a 14-year teacher and currently works at the continuation school. He offers hope to students who feel they have none. He secures scholarships and jobs for those that need them. Additionally, he oversees the prom, the student council and the school’s art contest.

- Pamela Hope co-founded and serves at a home that transitions homeless women and children to a more productive life. She writes grants to help with programs for at-risk youth. She solicits donations for charitable events, including a recent party for autistic kids and their siblings. With hard work, she also lost 130 pounds last year.

- Lisa McCarthy has implemented an all-campus lunchtime recycling program at her child’s school. Trash during lunch is now reduced by 85% -- that’s 95,000 gallons of trash that now gets recycled. The school even earns $2,000 a year by recycling bottles and cans. She also secured a grant to build a large garden on campus that serves as an outdoor classroom and even helps provide some food for needy families.

- Debora Reid has been training inner-city kids on her track and field team for 15 years. From her own pocket, she helps her young athletes with uniforms and entry fees to contests; gives them rides home; and provides food at track meets. She’s even helped pay expenses for her other coaches after they were laid off from other jobs. Her athletes hold national titles and even garner scholarships across the country.

- John Royce organizes weekly trash pickups, leads tree plantings, and organizes the annual home tour in his neighborhood. He assists local schools by planting trees, creating gardens, and helping with recycling programs. He is also known as the go-to guy in his area when animals are lost or found.

- Mary White, a single mother of four, leads a small, dedicated team of women every Friday from 10 to midnight as they seek to curb the city’s highest concentration of prostitution near the low-budget hotels on PCH, near Olive Ave. Regardless of weather conditions, they set up tables filled with sandwiches, candies, and small gifts to encourage conversations to help women on the street who might be feeling hopeless, helpless and lonely. Everything on the table is paid for from Mary’s pocket.

- Patricia Zaid provides pet food to homeless men and women so they can feed the dogs and cats that are their companions. Although this group she co-founded is just about a year old, more than 12,000 animal meals have been savored, thanks to Patricia and her small troop of volunteers. They also give out blankets, collars, leashes and pet toys every Sunday afternoon, rain or shine.

Public invited to Heroes Awards Dinner

WILL YOU PLEASE RSVP? It's $10/person at the door, with an RSVP to Justin@JustinRudd.com. Would love to see you there. Thanks for all your great work in this community.

A BIG HERO’S WELCOME AND ABOUT $15,000 CASH FOR C.A.T.’S INAUGURAL “LONG BEACH HEROES” AWARDS MONDAY NIGHT, FEB. 6

Fashioned after the CNN Heroes program, more than $15,000 will be handed out to approx. 10 unsung heroes at a dinner/awards ceremony hosted by Justin Rudd’s Community Action Team (C.A.T.).  The event is simply called “Long Beach Heroes” and is funded by CAT’s Long Beach Turkey Trot.  Semi-finalists won’t be revealed until the event. 

About 140 guests are expected at the event in the concert hall at Bay Shore Church at 5100 E. The Toledo in Belmont Shore on Mon., Feb. 6, 7 p.m.   

The semi-finalists have been contacted and will be introduced by their nominators at the event.  Nominators and nominees will be revealed to the public for the first time during the event.  After a pasta dinner, each nominator will be given 3-5 minutes on-stage to share with the judges and assembled audience why their nominee should be recognized as a 2011 Long Beach Hero.  Judges include a diverse group of the most outstanding volunteers with the Community Action Team: Ralph Millero, Brad Miyasato, Elisa Sabes and Colin MacDiarmid.

At the conclusion of the evening, Heroes will be presented with $1,000 checks to continue doing the work they do in our community.  The Hero of the Year will receive a $5,000 check. 

For the two-week nomination process that ended Jan. 19, Rudd asked the public:

DO YOU HAVE a relative, a friend or a co-worker who is having a big impact in the Long Beach area? In every neighborhood, there are "unsung heroes" - volunteers and paid professionals who go well beyond their expected duties. Perhaps the person you nominate is active in education, the environment, animal welfare, youth or sports. Or, maybe there is no one "category" for which the person champions. We want to know about people you think should be recognized. WE WANT TO recognize the unsung heroes and help them to financially continue doing what they are doing.

This is the first year for this program.  The Community Action Team puts on about 42 events and projects each year.  Their other events this weekend include the Bulldog Beauty Contest and Haute Dogs Pageants with 12 contests for various breeds/mixes of dogs; a Yappy Hour and Valentine’s Card Contest for shelter pets; and the Father/Daughter Dance.

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Nominate an unsung hero by Jan. 19. Approx. $15,000 to be awarded by C.A.T. at Feb. 6 Dinner/Ceremony

LONG BEACH HEROES is presented by Justin Rudd’s nonprofit Community Action Team
and is funded by proceeds from their Long Beach Turkey Trot.





4Hero of the Year: $5,000
4Finalists: $1,000/each

4click here: nomination form

DO YOU HAVE a relative, a friend or a co-worker who is having a big impact in the Long Beach area? In every neighborhood, there are "unsung heroes" - volunteers and paid professionals who go well beyond their expected duties. Perhaps the person you nominate is active in education, the environment, animal welfare, youth or sports. Or, maybe there is no one "category" for which the person champions. We want to know about people you think should be recognized.

WE WANT TO recognize the unsung heroes and help them to financially continue doing what they are doing.

Public Welcome at Awards Ceremony & Dinner on Feb. 6

THE AWARDS DINNER will be at 7 p.m. on Mon., Feb. 6, at Bay Shore Church, 5100 E. The Toledo in Belmont Shore. Tickets are on sale for $10/person at the door and include a pasta and salad dinner. RSVP by Sun., Feb. 5 to Justin@JustinRudd.com. All nominees, nominators and the general public are invited to attend.

It's simple to nominate a Long Beach Hero 1. Come up with some reasons that you think make your nominee unique and remarkable.  Also, think through the kind of impact the person has made here in our community. 2. Go to our online {nomination form} and tell us about your hero.  Remember, in order for your hero to move along in the selection process, it’s important for you to answer each question directly on the online form.  Remember, the information you share with us will be shared with the general public and media if your nominee is selected.  TIP: We highly suggest that you first write and save the answers to the questions in a word-processing document, in case you want to re-submit your nomination, you can "cut-and-paste" those answers into the form without re-writing them. 3.  Be sure to click “submit” when you are satisfied with the info you have typed in.  You’ll get a confirmation email.  4. Nominations for 2011 Long Beach Hero awards must be received by midnight on Thurs., Jan. 19, 2012.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is an "unsung hero?"
A: a person who makes a substantive yet unrecognized contribution; a person whose good work is unknown or not acknowledged.

Q: Who is eligible to be considered as a Long Beach Hero?
A: Nominations must be in the name of an individual, at least 16 years of age, whose accomplishments occurred (or continued) after Oct. 1, 2011. Groups and organizations are ineligible for consideration. Self-nominations will not be accepted. Nominees must live in the Long Beach area (Long Beach, Seal Beach, Lakewood, San Pedro, etc.)

Q: How will I know if my hero is selected?
A: Because of the number of nominations that will be received, we cannot respond individually to each submission. However, if your nomination advances, we will contact you and your nominee through the contact information you provide.

Q: What if I don't know my nominee's address, e-mail, and telephone number?
A: Please make every effort to provide as much contact information as possible. We require either an email address or telephone number so we may quickly contact your nominee to obtain their permission for consideration as a Long Beach Hero.

Q: May I submit additional supportive information about my nominee?
A: There's space at the end of the form to provide links to articles or Web sites with more information about your hero. Please do not send additional materials unless requested.

Q: May I mail or fax my nomination?
A: No. All nominations must be submitted online through our Web site.

Q: What if my nomination form is rejected?
A: When filling out your form, please note that certain information is required. Those fields are marked with an asterisk (*).

Q: Can I attend/buy tickets to the Long Beach Heroes presentation?
A: Yes, it's $10/person to attend the dinner ceremony. The general public is welcome to attend. RSVP to Justin@JustinRudd.com.

Q: When is the award presentation?
A: THE AWARDS DINNER will be at 7 p.m. on Mon., Feb. 6, at Bay Shore Church, 5100 E. The Toledo in Belmont Shore. Tickets are on sale for $10/person at the door and include a pasta and salad dinner. RSVP by Sun., Feb. 5 to Justin@JustinRudd.com. All nominees, nominators and the general public are invited to attend.

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