Volunteers of the Year honored at Downey Coordinating Council gala

DOWNEY – Downey’s Volunteers of the Year were feted at a celebratory dinner last week hosted by the Downey Coordinating Council at the Azar Event Center in Santa Fe Springs.

The award winners are listed below with their bios as they appeared in the program.

Jazmine Thies - Assistance League of Downey

Jazmine Thies grew up in Downey. When she found herself with a husband, a new baby, and a new house in Downey, she decided to find a way to give back to this city. Happily for us, she joined the Assistance League of Downey. As Vice President, she has overseen multiple philanthropic programs including Operation School Bell and Scholarships. She now fills the role of Coordinator of the Assisteens, young women and men in high school. Their projects include Hug-A-Bear, Holiday Distributions, Gardening Days, Spring Tea, and Self-Improvement Day. Jazmine has also raised attention to the “Second Tyme Around Shop” by maintaining an active Instagram site with 1732 followers! Congratulations Jazmine on being the Assistance League of Downey Volunteer of the Year!

Pete Marsh - Citizens Climate Lobby

Pete Marsh is a very dynamic leader of our local Chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby, representing the district of Representative Robert Garcia, from Long Beach north to Downey. He also co-leads CCL’s Electrification Team, where he works with our 400+ chapters nationwide helping them engage with their cities and states for electrification policies. These policies will make our homes, businesses, and vehicles perform better, keep us healthier, and cost less as we speed up the transition to clean energy. Pete is also active in the community with the US Green Building Council, American Institute of Architects, Abundant Housing LA, Rewiring America, and more. He’s owner of Vector Green Power, where he consults in solar, storage, and building energy optimization. 

Bianca Salgado - Downey Arts Coalition

Bianca Salgado has been volunteering with the Downey Arts Coalition since she was in high school (Downey High 2013). We knew she was special then. Over the years she has helped with productions of Make Music Downey, our participation in the Dia de los Muertos festivals, our Blues concerts, and with the Garden Parties for the Downey Symphony Orchestra. Bianca received her BA in Political Science at CalState Long Beach and she currently works for LA County in the Dept. of Public Social Services. Bianca is also the current President for the United Nations Association – USA, Whittier Chapter. In 2018 she was featured in Downey’s 40 Under 40. Thank you, Bianca, for your numerous contributions to the community of Downey.

Carmen Gonzalez - Downey Chamber of Commerce

Carmen has dedicated her efforts to the Chamber for over ten years and served at the 119th Chamber President. Carmen guided the initiation of the Women’s Empowerment Conference which was designed to improve the business opportunities for female business leaders. This was a sold-out event. She also oversaw the Chamber’s 120th Anniversary Gala, which incorporated a “Taste of Downey,” to highlight local restaurants. Carmen continues to serve as a valued volunteer at the annual Street Faire, Golf Tournament, and Christmas Parade. Carmen is a long-time Downey resident and a professional with 32 years of working within the community and government relations field.

Thelma Rosiack - Downey City Library

Thelma Rosiack has been a valued tutor at the Downey City Library for 26 years. She has a gift for meeting the needs of her students with excellence and kindness. She tutors the whole person assisting each individual in making life changing differences. The woman she is currently tutoring needs assistance passing her driver’s license. Recently Thelma’s student came to class very upset because at lunch that day a woman had said some unkind remarks about her looks. Thelma immediately changed her schedule for the day and role played ways her student could handle similar situations in the future. Her student left with a smile on her face. Thelma deserves this honor because she has helped so many students with different needs

Jesus Reyes - Downey Historical Society

Jesus started volunteering at the Downey Historical Society while attending Downey High School. Jesus was active in helping with computer work, keeping the membership lists up-to-date, and printing out the labels needed for the Society’s newsletter. He provided valuable assistance for video shoots for the series “Downey Then And Now.” He is one of our most trusted drivers for the Christmas parade. In spite of a busy class schedule at Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology in Inglewood, Jesus donates his valuable time whenever he is back in town. His goal is to receive his airframe and power plant certification and eventually work for the NTSB as an air safety investigator. We are very proud to have Jesus on our team.

Claude Bilodeau - Downey Los Amigos Kiwanis

Claude Bilodeau has been a member of the Downey Los Amigos Kiwanis Club for nearly six years. Three years ago, he served as President during the COVID pandemic and shutdown. Claude stated that giving back to the community was his goal and he feels that being a part of Kiwanis is the best way to do that. His favorite activities include the annual Christmas Shopping Program, Breakfast with Santa, and the Kiwanis Scholarship Program. Currently Claude is in charge of the Annual Kiwanis Auto Show which is raising funds to build the new Downey YMCA. The event has raised nearly $100,000 to date. We deeply appreciate Claude’s dedication to serving the Downey community.

Eric Pierce - Downey Patriot

The Downey Patriot would like to recognize Eric Pierce as Volunteer of the Year. Since the paper’s inception, Eric has been an essential part of this team. His sense of community truly defines the word dedication and commitment. Eric has been the Editor of The Downey Patriot and The Norwalk Patriot newspapers for more than a decade. He has also accrued countless volunteer hours which he has invested in the city of Downey. Eric has been active in Gangs Out of Downey, Los Amigos Kiwanis Club of Downey, Downey Symphony, Community Family Guidance Center and most recently, assisting the Downey YMCA to secure the needed funding to rebuild. We are proud to honor him in recognition of an endless list of contributions and service.

Mike Negrete - Downey Rose Float Association

Mike Negrete’s initial visit to the Downey Rose Float Association in 2006 was to assist in decoration, when his friend was crowned Miss Downey. That initial visit is all it took, as Mike became intrigued and wanted to learn more about float building. He became part of the Construction Crew, spending countless hours, year-round, building floats, eventually joining the crew inside the float during the parade. In 2014, Mike took on his new role of Float Driver and has been behind the wheel ever since. Countless hours of building and driving the float, with many sleepless nights is why the Downey Rose Float Association has selected Mike Negrete as Volunteer of the Year.

Anthony Crespo - Downey Symphonic Society

We proudly name Anthony Crespo, President of the Downey Symphonic Society since 2021, as our Volunteer of the Year. Anthony joined the board in 2018, bringing a deep knowledge of music and performance to our concert programs. Anthony’s day job is Production and Personnel Manager for the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and he formerly oversaw the free music education programs for underserved students in downtown Los Angeles at the Colburn School. Anthony is a lifelong Downey resident (St. John Bosco 2009) and holds degrees in Music Industry Studies from Cal Poly Pomona and Music Industry Administration from Cal State Northridge. We deeply appreciate Anthony sharing his time and musical expertise for the betterment of the Downey community.

Carrie Redfox - Exchange Club Family Support Center

Carrie has been volunteering as an Exchange Club Family Support Center Board Member since September 2014. Carrie first became acquainted with the Center while working in her role as a middle school Counselor. For years, Carrie has served as a community volunteer with much of her drive devoted to serving young people while also being a support to families as a whole. Carrie is always quick to assist in any special event, fundraiser or project. Carrie, who has formed two student groups from Doty Middle School, has even organized donation drives benefitting our Center’s client families, providing to those in need while teaching the kids the value of giving. THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS CARRIE!

Theresa Donahue - Friends of the Downey City Library

We are honored to recognize Theresa Donahue as Volunteer of the Year for her outstanding achievements and contributions to the Friends. After joining our volunteer team in October 2021, Theresa immediately and effortlessly dove in to the numerous volunteer duties associated with bookstore operations. From processing mountains of donations, to stocking and rotating the bookshelf inventory, to working our special events, to providing scheduled and substitute coverage for bookstore shifts, Theresa quickly earned a truly fantastic reputation as a star volunteer. From day one, Theresa has contributed awesome ideas for the operation of our bookstore, proving that she is an integral and vital member of our team. Thank you, Theresa, for your tireless volunteerism and for all you do! 

Tony Cristani - Gangs Out of Downey

We are honored to recognize Board President Tony Cristani this evening. Tony has been a catalyst for collaboration with DUSD, law enforcement, city officials, local residents, and business leaders to keep Gangs Out of Downey. One of Tony’s favorite GOOD events is the Community BBQ and Backpack Distribution, featuring music, games, food, and school supplies. Just under 1,000 backpacks were distributed in 2023, with 400 going directly to schools to be given out as appropriate. Tony and his wife Elizabeth have a seven-year-old daughter and two dogs they all love to pamper. Tony is the Director of Business Banking at Financial Partners Credit Union. We are grateful that Tony volunteers his time and talent with GOOD. Congratulations, Tony, on tonight’s Award.

Elsie Mallari Nash - Downey Kiwanis

Elsie has been a long time Kiwanian as a member of the Bellflower Kiwanis Club (28 years). For the past several years, she has served as the Regional Advisor for 56 local Key Clubs, serving 1200 students, and including the clubs at Warren and Downey High. She works tirelessly, helping the clubs coordinate fundraising events, divisional meetings, participation in regional events, and facilitating trips for groups of students to District Conventions. Much of her weekend time is dedicated to assisting student leaders with their meetings and projects. She will often attend three or four events on a Saturday to help the students. It is the efforts of people like Elsie Nash that are helping to build our future leaders.

Roxana Alaniz Medina - PTA H.E.L.P.S.

We are pleased to honor Roxy Medina this evening as our Volunteer of the Year. Roxy has been active in Downey school PTAs for more than a decade and has been touching lives as Director of our PTA HELPS food bank. We have seen the number of recipients grow in the past few months and Roxy has actively sought out new sources of donations. She and her husband have one son who is the light of their lives. Roxy has been an AYSO soccer coach in the Special Education Division for six years and part of Northwest Downey Little League, Challenger Division, for three years. Roxy is dedicated to helping the underserved in Downey and we thank her for her gifts of service.

Lorine Parks - Rotary Club of Downey

Lorine became a Rotarian in 1988 in a small group of the first women members of Downey Rotary. She was a friend to Rotarians blessed to know her for decades and a mentor and inspiration to those who wish they knew her longer. She wrote for our club and District newsletters for over 35 years. Lorine rarely missed a meeting, even visiting local Rotary Clubs when traveling. Lorine created a weekly book donation for the children’s section of the library. Lorine leaves a Legacy of adding “Sisterhood” to Downey Rotary, bringing her love of words to children, and sharing her words and thoughts in our newsletters. There will never be another Lorine Parks!

Chon Cervantes - Scouting BSA, Pio Pico District

Chon Cervantes has been active in the BSA Scouting program since joining Troop 219 with his nephew in 2005. Over the next few years, Chon learned the ways of BSA training methods and completed Wood Badge training in 2011. He has held positions as Assistant Scout Master, Troop Committee Chair, Cubmaster, Unit Commissioner, Merit Badge Counselor, Friends of Scouting Chair, and District Member at Large. Most recently he served as the Rio Hondo District Chair and Pio Pico District Chair from 2016 to 2024. The Pio Pico District serves boys and girls in 23 cities, including the City of Downey. Chon is an inspirational leader, effectively guiding both Scouting youth and adult leaders toward ever improving themselves and the Scouting program.

Alejandra Gamez - Soroptimist International Club of Downey

Alex Gamez has been a valued member of Soroptimist International of Downey for fifteen years. Her upbeat, “can do” attitude makes volunteering with her a joy. She is currently the Recording Secretary and is on the Scholarship Committee, coordinating student applications for Downey, Warren, and Columbus high schools. One special project Alex has assisted with is Foley House, an alcoholism treatment program. Alex photographs mothers who are part of the program with their children; then she gives them those photos for Mother’s Day. For some families, this is the first time they have had professional photos of their family. Alex is a judicial paralegal for the Honorable Sandra S. Ikuta, in Pasadena. She is married to Armando Hernandez and lives in Downey. 

Sahira Arroyos - Toastmasters Club 587

Our Toastmasters honoree, Sahira Arroyos, lives in Fairfield California and attends weekly meetings via Zoom. She has been a member for four years and has held several leadership positions. Currently she is Vice President of Education and manages all aspects of the education of members. Her responsibilities include: formulating a complex weekly agenda and distributing it by email, documenting completion of levels on the Toastmasters website, creating and editing documents on Google Docs, and meeting frequently with the president to work on the Club Success Plan. Sahira has developed into a valuable leader and is currently a board member of Regional Center in the Bay area. Please join me in applauding Sahira Arroyo’s achievements!

Cynthia Deack - Woman’s Club of Downey

Cynthia Deack has been a member of the Woman’s Club of Downey for 38 years and held many positions during her tenure. She is our long-time Treasurer who guided the organization through financial ups and downs, especially during Covid. Recently she assumed the position of Curator/Facility Manager. In this role, Cynthia spearheaded a remodel our commercial kitchen, coordinated the upgrade to LED lighting inside and outside, upgraded the security, and arranged repairs and replacement of the roof after our most recent storms. She also planned and coordinated the landscaping that makes our facility a beacon to the community we serve. Cynthia’s dedication to the Woman’s Club of Downey shines a light on the importance of volunteering. We thank Cynthia for everything she does to protect our Woman’s Club legacy.