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(Text and Photos by Pete Porter)
The 33rd Annual RSVP Volunteer Awards Luncheon was held in the Grand Ballroom of the Torrance Marriot Hotel on 23 April, 2007,
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The Luncheon tables were assigned according to the many stations where our members volunteer. Our generous Sponsors had donated so many wonderful prizes to be won in the upcoming raffle that our volunteers had no trouble selling tickets as they circulated among the tables.
 Some of the wonderful array of raffle prizes. |  Pat Benson prepares the rafflers |
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 | At 12:00 noon Community Volunteer and Board Member, Earl Mealins, called the luncheon to order and introduced our Executive Director, Thomas White. Thomas had been previously interviewed for the Torrance Community TV channel and this interview will be broadcast on Cable Channel 3 along with a report on the actual proceedings. Thomas White then thanked all those volunteers who he said make such a difference by serving the local community in the way that they do. |  |
 | He then went on to introduce sveral RSVP Board Members who were seated at a nearby table, as well as acknowledging the Luncheon Committee
and commending the hotel and their staff
for their efforts. The RSVP Directors present were: |  |
| The luncheon group was then lead in the Salute to the Flag by Earl Mealins and the luncheon continued with Thomas White introducing Mark Applegate. Mark thanked Torrance Mayor, Frank Scotto and School Superintendant, George Mannon for their attendance and gave special thanks to the program sponsor, Anastasi Realty as well as Platinum Sponsor, Toyota Motor Sales and Gold Sponsor, Robinson Helicopter. General thanks were also given to all of the Silver and Bronze Level Sponsors who supported the mission of the Torrance South Bay RSVP as well as the many other contributors to this organization. Mark then handed the podium back to Thomas White, who introduced th Luncheon Master of Ceremonies, Patrick Coulter. As well as being the Vice President of Rayethon Company's Space and Airborne Systems, you may well know Mr. Coulter as he has been the voice of the Torrance Armed Forces Day Parade during the last few years. William Hurst, Senior Pastor of the First Lutheran Church then lead the Invocation for the meeting. |  2nd Vice Chairman, Mark Applegate. |  Patrick Coulter. |
 Senior Pastor, William Hurst. |
Patrick Coulter then introduced Laurie Cannady, the Program Specialist for the C.N.C.S. (Corporation of National and Community Services) who spoke briefly about RSVP's part in the operation of that agency.
A wonderful lunch was then served. During lunch Mr. Coulter apologised for the fact that the originally scheduled speaker, Frank Zamperini, was not able to attend as he was (at 90 years of age) giving a talk about his experiences in another part of the country. Mr Coulter stressed that Frank exhibited a particularly fine example of how someone can continue to give back to the community without giving into the ravages of time. In his absence, our mayor, Mr. Frank Scotto, had volunteered to give the luncheon keynote speech.
 | Frank Scotto was elected to his first term on the Torrance City Council in 2000 and garnered the mayoral seat in 2006. As mayor, he serves as the voting delegate to the following organizations: Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), South Bay Economic Development Partnership (SBEDP), and the Los Angeles County Sanitation District. As a council member, he served as chair of the Finance and Governmental Operations Committee, a member of the Public Safety Committee and the Citizen Development and Enrichment Committee. He was also a delegate to the Municipal Area Express (MAX) Board. Prior to his role as a councilman, Frank Scotto served on the Civil Service Commission from 1996 through 1999. He is a local business owner, operating Frank Scotto Towing since 1975. The Mayor thanked the efforts of RSVP. He noted that Volunteers touch a community in many ways and open avenues for better communication between city government and its residents. Today, more than ever, he said that communities rely on the willingness of citizens to work together to enhance public services. In the City of Torrance, the volunteers of RSVP enrich the community every day by giving the time out of their lives. |
Our Mayor introduced RSVP's Program Manager, Ms. Ges Davis, who acknowledged all the achievements of our volunteers who now put in hours at 118 stations in the local community. Patrick Coulter then introduced RSVP Board of Directors Chairman, Herb Stark to help assist Ges in presenting the awards to the 2007 Volunteer Honorees. Ths year the honorees included Doris Henrich (1347 hours); Mimi Brody (1275 hours); Darrel Gray (1212 hours); Chris Moser (1186 hours) and Burton Dobratz (1003 hours).
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 Honorees Mimi Brody, Chris Moser and Darel Gray (Doris Henrich was unable to attend due to illness and Burton Dobratz was out of town). |  Chris Moser looks at one of her presentations. |
It was now time for the much awaited raffle to begin and Patrick Coulter introduced Luncheon Raffle Chairman, Andrew Meinzer, to perform this function, assisted by Thomas White, Mark Applegate, Richard Berryman and Ges Davis.
 |  And the winner for this prize is .... | 
.... Terrie Winn who volunteers with Meals on Wheels. |
As the luncheon drew to a close, Thomas White gave out special gifts toPatrick Coulter, Laurie Cannady and Frank Scotto. Mr. Scotto's gift was accepted by RSVP Board Member Judy Gibson as he had left earlier to take care of city business.
 Patrick Coulter accepts his gift. |  then Laurie Cannady, | 
and Judy Gibson (standing in for Frank Scotto). |
Thomas White then gave special thanks to all our sponsors, including Silver Level Sponsors: Array Systems Inc,; Continental Developement Co.; Surf Management Inc.; Van Lingen Towing Co. Inc. and Virco Manufacturing Co.,
Bronze Level Sponsors: Ball Corp.; Boeing Co.; California Water Co.; Collette Vacations Co.; Exxon Mobil Corp.; Liberty Mutual Group; Marcel Family Foundation; South Bay Bank; South Bay BMW; Roadium Open Air Market; Torrance Memorial
Med. Ctr. and Kaiser Permanente.
 | Scott Anastasi was asked to say a few words prior to the conclusion of the event, which was sponsored by a $10,000 donation from Anastasi Development. His father's company is responsible for a large amount of construction projects in our local area. Scott mentioned that the Company is proud to be associated with RSVP and particularly wanted to thank its volunteers for the 33 years of service and support in the South Bay. |
Special acknowledgement, thanks and appreciation also went to all RSVP Volunteers, the Volunteer Honorees, the RSVP Board of Directors, Dignitaries, the Luncheon Planning Committee, the Hotel and Staff for the good food and job well done, D.J. "Jazzy Jackson" for the good music, and the local community for all its support. With this, the meeting was adjourned and we all wended our way homeward, looking forward to serving the community in the coming year.
