28 outstanding community leaders and organizations will be honored tonight, Friday, for their outstanding contributions to the City of Long Beach. The Go Long Beach Awards will be presented by Mayor Robert Garcia to these members of the community, including neighborhood volunteers, private and public sector leaders, service advocates and event planners.

Mayor Garcia said in a statement, “These recipients have demonstrated a love for Long Beach, a passion for service and a commitment to improving our community through creativity, hard work and dedication. I’m proud and grateful to be able to recognize them and pay tribute to their contributions.”

The following is a list of tonight’s award recipients.

  • Nayiri Baghdassarian, CSULB ASI Vice President
  • Mary Stanton, LBUSD Board Member
  • Lois Irving, Site Director, LBUSD Child Development Center at Martin Luther King Jr. Park
  • Dr. Minnie Douglas, Governor, Long Beach City College Foundation and Chair, California Conference for Equality and Justice
  • Jo Rae Zuckerman, President, Friends of the Long Beach Public Library
  • Long Beach Senior Police Partners
  • Joshua Fischel, Artist, Musician, Singer, Event Planner
  • Kelly Ruggirello, Executive Director of the Long Beach Symphony
  • Al Williams, President, Rainbow Promotions
  • Jan Ward, Board Member, East Anaheim Street Business Alliance
  • Joan Stiehl, East Spring Street Business Association Founder
  • Monorom Neth, President of the Cambodian Coordinating Council
  • Alice Robinson, Feeding in the Park and Friends Of Alice Robinson (FOAR) Founder
  • Karen Highberger, Member of the Cal Heights Board, Preservationist of the Year 2015
  • Martha Thunte, Community advocate and organizer
  • LaVerne Duncan, Founder and Executive Director, Andy Street Community Association
  • Daniel Marolda, Animal Care Services – Volunteer of the Year
  • Angela Madsen, Olympian, Author, Coach
  • Grace Earl & Vickie Elliot, Founders of the El Dorado South Neighborhood Association
  • Shirley Wild, Press-Telegram Columnist
  • Annette Kashiwabara, Director of Development for the Assistance League of Long Beach
  • Stella Ursua, President of Green Education, Inc. and Stellar Organizational Development, LLC
  • Pete Ronca, City of Long Beach Development Services
  • Rabbi Abba Perelmutter, Shul by the Shore
  • Jeff Montooth, Long Beach Polytechnic High School
  • Long Beach TV
  • Long Beach Little League Honorees
    • Long Beach Little League – Scott Burack
    • Catholic Baseball – Glenn Leckie
    • East Long Beach Pony Baseball – Chris Barrientos
    • Heartwell Cal Ripken – Rudi Broshears
    • Lakewood Village Little League – Andy Fife
    • Long Beach Plaza Little League – Kevin King
    • Long Beach Pony Baseball – Ken Jakemer
    • Los Altos Youth Baseball/Softball – Dwayne Fowler
    • West Long Beach Little League – Angel Garcia
    • Heartwell Pony/Colt Baseball – Al Weiner
    • Long Beach Little League Senior Division – Rick Shoemaker

Asia Morris is a Long Beach native covering arts and culture for the Long Beach Post. You can reach her @hugelandmass on Twitter and Instagram and at [email protected].