As part of the City of Long Beach’s Peace Week—which leads up to the 25th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace and Unity Parade Celebration on Saturday—6th District Councilmember Dee Andrews chose six more recepients of the Peace Maker Award all of whom were honored during the City Council meeting Tuesday night.
Recognized for volunteerism, positive community messages and commitments to neighborhood engagement, nonviolence and unity, the candidates come from the 6th District and beyond. The award was established in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who Andrews says brought innovative strategies in spreading compassion as well as utilized nonviolence as the means to transform communities.
“The City of Long Beach values diversity and multiculturalism. It is due to this that we must continue spreading Dr. King’s message among our neighbors, especially our youth”, said Andrews.
The six recepients of this year’s award include a youth, one female and one male from the community, one community organization and two corporations. Short biod of each honoree are below, as provided by Andrews’ office. For more information on Peace Week activities, go to longbeach.gov/district6.
Christopher Covington, the Youth Honoree, is a dedicated activist in the 6th District. Raised by a hardworking single mother on Section 8 and Welfare, Chris has overcome many tough circumstances, such as bullying and drug usage in his household, to become a proactive citizen. Chris currently serves as a Building Bridges Youth Coordinator on behalf of the California Conference for Equality & Justice (CCEJ). In addition, he is the Vice-Chair of the Long Beach Building Healthy Communities Initiative, serving on Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation’s Youth Advisory Board, and is a current board member of the Latin American Community Center. Eventually, Chris would like to transfer from Long Beach City College and become a homeowner, continuing to contribute to Central Long Beach.
Nina Allison, the Community Female Honoree, is an advocate who started doing Project Impact in 1998 with Tom Reeves. Her efforts included going door-to-door conducting surveys on how to improve neighborhoods and making them safer. In 2000, she formed her own organization, the Central Neighborhood Strategy, whose works centers on improving and clean up neighborhoods. In 2007, she started working with the courts to allow people to perform community service with local agencies, as well as graduated from the City of Long Beach’s Neighborhood Leadership Program. She is also a City of Long Beach Code Enforcement volunteer and assists her mother, Stella Davis, with feeding the impoverished and those in need.
Logan Baughman III, our Community Male Honoree, is a community member who started his volunteering endeavors at Poly High School in 1987. Since then, he’s become a mentor to local youth, volunteered at the Long Beach Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade & Celebration numerous of times, as well as other 6th District events and the City of Long Beach’s Human Dignity Program. Logan went to the U.S. Army for two years, before attending LA Southwest College and Cal State University, Dominguez Hills, getting degrees in psychology and criminal justice. He’s been married to his wife, Lisa, of 11 years and has two children. Currently, he’s also a minister at Glory Christian Fellowship at Carson and heavily believes in the City of Long Beach, especially the 6th District. He is also a President of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and a member of the NCNW.
Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance (WANA), the Community Organization Honoree was founded in July 2007 by neighborhood advocates who had a desire to build a local organization dedicated to community service. Since its founding, the Board and Officers of the Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance meet on a monthly basis at Veteran’s Park to develop volunteer opportunities and activities to achieve their objectives, ranging from stewardship of the Annual Daisy Avenue Christmas Tree Lane Displays, creating holiday activities for the senior citizen population, addressing air quality concerns with the West Long Beach Association, partnering with Friends of the Los Angeles River to address Watershed Restoration issues, annual clean-ups at Compton Creek, Willow Street Estuary and Golden Shore Wetlands, doing cell phone collections to benefit Integral House, providing assistance to the Annual Police and Fire Department Christmas Toy Drives, and much, much more.
Steve Goodling, will receive the Corporation Honoree award on behalf of the Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. For the last eleven years, Steve has been the President & CEO of the Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, transforming the organization into one that is interwoven with the local community. Steve graduated from Penn State University with a degree in marketing, bringing 25 years of hotel and destination marketing experience to Long Beach; first with the Marriott and then with Shangri La Hotels, introducing many Fortune 500 companies to Shangri La’s rapidly emerging tourism trade during the 1990’s. Steve serves on the Board of Directors for the California Coalition of Equality and Justice (CCEJ) and has assisted dozens of Long Beach agencies, including Children Today, the Ronald McDonald House, Millers Children’s Hospital, Boy Scouts, Cambodia Town, and the NAACP. Steve enjoys exploring the world with his wife of 17 years, Lisa.
Alejandro S. Angulo, will receive the Corporate Spirit award on behalf of Rutan & Tucker, LLP. Alejandro is a partner in the Trial Section of Rutan & Tucker, LLP, focusing on general business and civil litigation. He has represented a broad range of clients, including high-net worth individuals and publicly held companies, in state and federal courts, administrative proceedings and private arbitrations. Alejandro was selected by OC Metro Magazine as one of their “40 Under 40” for 2011. Alejandro is a member of the State Bar of California, the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association, the Orange County Bar Association, and the Orange County Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Section. He is also admitted to practice law in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Alejandro graduated from California State University, Long Beach in December 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. Later on, he received his Juris Doctorate, with distinction, in 2001, from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. In his spare time, he performs as a bassist for various jazz venues.