Altadena Citizen of the year

The question came up this morning "Well how DOES one become the Altadena Citizen of the Year?" That's sort of a complex question. The ACY used to be an honor more or less reserved for a lifetime of work in service to First the Altadena Community, and then in addition,service elsewhere that brought honor to Altadena. SO it used to be that folks like Oscar Werner, Lawrence Lamb (no relation), Delores Hickenbottom, Jaquie Fenessey , and Cue McKenzie got the award, and they got it after making real and generallly agreed upon improvements to Altadena and, also for doing so usually in a classy kind of way.

Generally the Chamber of Commerce takes nominations, and in the old days the Chamber membership voted for the person. Then the vote went to a Committee. This Committee structure in recent years has been kind of a problem.

For at least five years in a row, I nominated Luther Eskijian. Luther was the first Armenian American to have a Architects license in California. He spent a lifetime mentoring young people into the profession, through his church and as a Rotary member. He was a dedicated Rotarian. He designed the Armenian Genocide Museum for free and made a major financial donation for its construction and Luther built many good buildings around town. He did a great deal of good at home and was a credit to Altadena everywhere he went.He was in his 90's when I started nominating him, but he was considered not as worthy as:

A former Altadena Town Council member who while a Councilman was known for angery outbursts, threats, and table pounding. (Go see the video's) His nomination and award stated he was instrumental in the efforts to save Christmas Tree Lane, in 2000, when instead, he actively worked towards no resolution of this issue and attempted to use the difficulties the lane was in then as a method of political revenge (Please don't believe me, ask George Lewis, Max Jouanicot, or Steve Bailey)

Then there were the folks who ran the Lane for several years, never planted a single tree, allowed the infrastructure and lines for the lane to deteriorate and didn't do repairs to anything while operating at a deficit. They did bill the Lane for a lot of work done by their companies.They too were honored, while the folks who took over, got rid of the deficit and put the lane in the black while repairing infrastructure, planting trees, and building lines have been called outright unworthy by the committee.

Hmmmm. One of the "worthies", while still on the Altadena Town Council, did his dead level best to do as much harm to the Lane through governmental process as he could for the first few years after he was removed from the lane. Again, please don't believe me, the 1995 & 1996 ATC tapes are in the Library.

Then there was the guy who was awarded Altadena Citizen of the Year and made his lover sit far away during the ceremony and never so much as even nodded at that person. Yeah, he's gay, but that's sort of a secret and so, at public events, is his lover. When he was deposed from a particular office in town, this person was heard to say in Amy's that he would see to it that the people who took his particular office from him would achieve nothing and that his group would then return to power and exact revenge. SO much for having the interests of Altadena at the center of his "service".(I have a source on that one too, should it be desired)

Those sterling examples of humanity and public service are the very Committee that votes people into the honor. They are all friends and what it takes to be the Altadena Citizen of the Year is to be one of them.

Luther Eskijian who deserved the honor more than any of them, nope.

Sam Walker, likewise, nope.

Eraca Allen, a trail blazer for African-American women in the SGV, nope.

Those folks who actually did rescue and improve CTLA? Oh NEVER.

None of those good folks and many more who were nominated were members of the correct faction, who hypocritically enough are always preaching Altadena "unity". They always speak of Altadena needing to "speak with one voice", not knowing where the idea of a community speaking with "one Voice" came from. (Facist Italy for those who didn't read much source material)

What it seems to take nowadays to be the Altadena Citizen of the Year is a certian lack of achievement and character, coupled with the delusional belief that one is part of a group that is itself the embodyment of Altadena and those necessary for Altadena to do or achieve anything. One must not only be a member of this tribe, but one must also act to supress achievement by any and all others. That's what it takes. I wonder who this years "honoree" will be?