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(Text and photos by Pete Porter) |  | |||
| The 32nd Annual RSVP Volunteer Recognition Luncheon was held at the Torrance Marriot Hotel on Friday, 19 April, 2006. Although this was the 32nd time that this event had been held, it was the very first time that it was hosted by our new Executive Director, Thomas White. As usual, it was a grand event and resulted in a room filled to capacity with all the volunteers, sponsors and dignitaries that were in attendance. |  | ||
 | Although there was no John Wayne at the luncheon, as on the previous two years, I did manage to meet up with Don Barnard who runs the "Save Historic Old Torrance" preservation group where several of our volunteers donate time. State Assemblyman, George Nakano, and Torrance Mayor, Dan Walker, were also in attendance and circulating amongst the tables prior to the start of the event. |  |  |
Thomas White opened the proceedings by welcoming everyone and introducing the guests.
 | RSVP President, Robert van Lingen, then led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and Pastor Evan Chase followed with a heart felt Inspirational message. |  | Laurie Canniady, of the Corporation of National & Community Services, thanked all our volunteers for the work that they do and said that it formed an important and integral part of what her organization stood for. |  |
 | A delicious lunch was then served to the accompaniment of music provided by Johnny Gall and Brian Asher. During lunch, Thomas told us that, although he had only been with RSVP South Bay for less than a year, he was still amazed by the vitality and commitment of our volunteers. He said that, although the staff and board were important, the success of RSVP was really "due to the volunteers who give their time and resources to make their communities better places in which to live". He mentioned that there "were now almost 900 men and women in the organization and that last year alone they had donated more than 100,000 hours to public agencies". He said that the Annual Recognition Luncheon provided the opportunity to say thank you to the volunteers as well as thanking our directors and staff. |  Hope Witkowsky at her table with Torrance Mayor Dan Walker and other elected officials |
 Honorees: Masako Oshita, Lillian Giff, Pat Rippe, Helen Kerr, Phyllis King, James Young & Bernard Slotnick.
| One of the purposes of this event was to acknowledge those volunteers who had accumulated more than 10,000 hours of service during their time with RSVP. Seven of the thirteen volunteers who had achieved this incredible milestone were in attendance at the luncheon and they each received special recognition from the elected officials who were there. James Young stands out as an example to all our volunteers in that he has accumulated a total of 22,142 hours of community service during the 23 years he has been with our organization!
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| Former two-term Mayor of our city, Dee Hardison, explained how important it was to give back to the community as a volunteer, and said that she still volunteers at local schools on a regular basis. She mentioned that it was important for the members of the younger generation to see how involved they can be even after they reach our age. In particular she gave the example of the impact that young High School children have on the members of Nursing Homes that they visit. |  |
 | Dee Hardison’s speech was followed by a presentation by Ed Kashi on his PBS film "Aging in America". Ed Kashi has dedicated his photographic career to documenting the social and political issues that define our times. After watching this film we were able to view a very personal documentary about how he has decided to look after his own father during the latter years of his life.. This was truly a moving documentary and really brought out how important this was for his younger children to experience. |  |
| Our luncheon concluded with the drawing of raffle tickets for the numerous items that had been donated for this event. |  |
