Eight who care
Saturday, the Ides of March blew blustery and cool but the spirit of generosity and good will shone brightly at The Mission Club for Malibu’s 12th Annual Dolphin Awards. The eight recipients who earned recognition for extraordinary contributions to the community gave, and continue to give, in a range of ways, from lifelong service to Malibu’s children, pets and ancestry of Malibu, to an individual personal passion to make something lasting for the city.
The event was hosted by Arnold and Karen York, publishers of The Malibu Times, although the inspiration for the Dolphin Awards is credited to the late Harvey Baskin, founder of Geoffrey’s. He was a giver, someone who loved this town and its very special nature and who sought ways to reward all those who expressed their affection by contributing to its well-being. The tradition began with a Citizen of the Year award and has grown, as the city has grown, to laud as many as a dozen citizens each year. Today, more than 120 Malibuites proudly wear the gold dolphin pin for selflessly giving to Malibu.
The recipients for 2002 are:
Ann Ferguson: A school teacher for 50 years-43 at Webster Elementary School-who credits a “teaching gene” for the creativity and enthusiasm with which she greeted every day in every class. Ferguson inspired generations of Malibu’s youth and the enduring affection of parents and students who came to love her.
David Legaspi III: An architect-turned-artist who found that business took too much of his time away from the community’s children, Legaspi is the openhearted soul who has painted 21 murals at local schools, nine in Malibu. With the students’ help, he is about to paint the portraits of all 41 of Malibu’s fourth-grade students on a bridge at Leo Carrillo State Beach.
Marlene Matlow: A woman so magnanimous, her gifts to the community extend from spearheading development of the Community Center on Point Dume to saving the Urgent Care facility at Webb Way. With affectionate jokes about her more-than-ample generosity, presenter Barbara Cameron noted that the giving all started with feasts for the Sheriff’s deputies and their families during Christmas.
Ozzie Silna: Although he sees himself as an environmental activist, Silna earned his award through extraordinary generosity to almost every social and cultural cause in the city. Ask for help and “all roads lead to Ozzie” was the way presenter Remy O’Neil put it. For his part, Silna credited his wife, Wendy, saying she believed that the children of Malibu deserved as good an education from our public schools as from any private school in the country.
Sherman Baylin: If you live here and have a dog or cat, you’ve seen the collection boxes for Malibu Pet Companions – drop in a buck or a check; it’s a good cause. Sherman, as she is known to all, is an inexhaustible animal advocate. Sherman was late to the awards ceremony. Why? She was rescuing horses. Found a lost or injured beast? Call Sherman. Have space in your heart to adopt one? Call Sherman. Dogs, cats, fish, snakes or birds, Sherman saves them. Call Sherman at Sherman’s Place across from Zuma Beach.
David Katz: Founder of the Malibu Film Festival. This 33-year-old wunderkind had a dream that Malibu, glittery home to the stars, could spawn them so he networked and prodded, begged help and support until he made it happen – and then happen again and again. Today, the festival attracts international attention and launches important work by young artists.
Allan Emerson: A longtime Malibuite as committed as Smokey to preventing forest fires in our town, Emerson leads a group of 50 Arson Watch volunteers who monitor our back roads and police reports to keep us safe. Presenter Mayor Jeff Jennings said of Emerson’s dedication to keeping Malibu safe from fire, “He is always on the scanner,” and noted that, as he spoke, Emerson, who did not attend the ceremony because he was sick, even during monsoon like rains, was on the scanner.
Adamson House and Malibu Lagoon Museum Docents and Volunteers: The group award went to all the local citizens who sit through months of history lessons to become docents and volunteers for our local landmark. A pristine example of the Spanish Colonial ideal, the Adamson House was built on the beach 80 years ago and restored by volunteers and the U.S. Park Service to entertain and educate 20,000 visitors a year. Docents and volunteers Sandy Mitchell, Bob Hertz and John Guiney, and Parks Area Superintendent Hadyn Sohm were present at the ceremony.
Friends, elected officials and grateful citizens at the impeccably restored Old Malibu Courthouse on Pacific Coast Highway feted the recipients. Renamed The Mission Club by Doug Himmelfarb, the building’s new owner, it has been converted from an austere jail to a warm and visually exciting evocation of Malibu architecture as it was when the city was founded. It is an apt setting for the annual awards that honor Malibu’s citizens who make the city the extraordinarily special place it has become.
Kay Unisa and SheiLu Bharwani-Burman, students of the California Institute of Culinary Arts, provided the abundant, delicious hors d’oeuvres for the event, their first catering “gig.”