Community Activities

• Sylvan Old Auburn Road Neighborhood Association (SOAR) (1998-present)
  SOAR is incorporated as a non-profit organization and has a 5-member Board of Directors. I have served as President of SOAR since 1999, elected by the membership. Under my direction, SOAR is one of the more active neighborhood associations of the city. As its president, I am responsible for the adoption and implementation of many of its programs. We meet each month on the 4th Monday at 7:00 Pm at Lion’s Clubhouse at the corner of Community and Sylvan Rd.
  
• In May 2008, SOAR organized the very first Senior Health Fair in Citrus Heights (“SOAR to Healthy Heights”).  SOAR partnered with the City of Citrus Heights, the Citrus Heights Collaborative, Sunrise Recreation and Park District., Sacramento Adult & Aging Commission, Mercy San Juan Medical Center and Senior Nutrition Services.  We had generous sponsors at all levels: gold: Allied Waste, Mercy San Juan Medical Center, City of Citrus Heights, Wal-Mart, Silver: All Star Printing, People’s Advocate, Lucky Derby, Kelley-Moore Paints, Orchard Supply, SMUD and Union Bank; porcelain: Chuck & Joy Engvall, Tonya Wagner, Steve Miller, Lorraine Furry and Dr. Jayna.  We had 59 exhibitors, lectures, screenings, and demonstrations. And despite the 3-digit temperatures, we had over 200 attendees.  Look for 2009 to be even better (and cooler).
  
• 9-1-1 House Numbers . Our neighborhood improvement project is to provide every home and business with a reflective address number for emergency vehicles to find more easily. The signs are free if you live or own a business within SOAR's boundaries. The signs are funded by a Neighborhood Improvement Project grant from the City.
  
• Free Bike Helmets for Kids --2002, 2003: SOAR started a program sponsored by Mercy San Juan Hospital to provide free bike/skateboard helmets to kids that need them. We hope to find funding to do this project again and to combine our efforts with other neighborhoods.
  
• Christmas for the Seniors of SOAR: 2001 – present. In 2001, I worked with the honor students at Carriage Elementary who presented our gifts and performed Xmas tunes for the senior residents of Sunrise Community on Sunrise Boulevard; in 2002 - 2006, the youth group at Pioneer Baptist Church participated in the gift giving and singing Xmas songs. When that facility closed, we turned our efforts to home-bound seniors. In 2007, Hazel Avenue Baptist Church provided a bus and driver and the Pioneer Baptist youth group caroled in front of a dozen houses and distributed sugar-free “sweets” to our homebound seniors (and recuperating Mayor Miller)
  
• Residents’ Empowerment Association of Citrus Heights (R.E.A.C.H.)
  (1998-2004). I was active in the creation of this organization in 1998 and served as its first Vice-President.  REACH was the invention of Bill Hughes, our late mayor, who believed that good democracy required citizen participation; and good government required citizen involvement. I passionately share that vision with him.

REACH is an organization with 10 Directors, representing the 10 Neighborhood Associations of Citrus Heights. REACH serves as a funnel for information from the City to its residents and from the residents to the City. REACH provides a forum for discussion of community concerns. REACH provides input to the city on neighborhood requests for funding for neighborhood improvement projects.

• Caring Neighborhood: This program is promulgated by the Sacramento County Department of Aging and the City of Sacramento. SOAR members help their senior and disabled neighbors to do those little tasks that need to be done -- or just do something to lift their spirits.
  
• Planning Commission  (2000- 2004); my favorite project I approved is the SBA building on Sylvan Road. It looks really, really nice; it doesn't intrude on the neighborhood; it doesn't create noise or traffic or pollution; it brings jobs to Citrus Heights (and people who shop before, during and after work).
  
• Neighborhood Accountability Board (NAB) (2000-2007)
  I worked to get this program into Citrus Heights in 2000 and volunteered on this Board until 2006. The Citrus Heights NAB is a volunteer group of residents who believe that the community's most valuable asset is its youth.  The purpose of the program, operated by the Sacramento County Probation Department, is to hold juveniles accountable for their behavior. If a first-time offender commits a non-violent crime – most often shoplifting -- the juvenile may choose to appear before the CH-NAB instead of a judge. The NAB panel interviews the offender and his/her parents and offers the juvenile a legally binding contract with the community. The contract typically requires financial restitution to the victim(s), letters of apology to the victims (store, parents), and attendance at a shoplifters' workshop offered through the probation department. The contract may also include 20-80 hours of community service, skill-building classes, counseling and any other task that the hearing panel feels will help the youthful offender establish a sense of personal responsibility for their actions, help them learn or adhere to community values and help restore the victims and the community.

Currently, the CHPD offers a similar program directed toward “at-risk” youth and youth who commit petty crimes other than shoplifting.

Other Community Memberships

• Highland Avenue Neighborhood Watch
•  Pet Owners Organization of Citrus Heights (POOCH)
  Check out our website at http://www.poochdogpark.com
• Northern California Donkey and Mule Association
  (Ted and I own two wonderful donkeys, Birdie and Stormy, adopted from the Bureau of Land Management; actually, we adopted Birdie --Stormy was born in Citrus Heights 8 months later)
• Z-Gourd Miners (a gourd-crafting Group)
• C.E.R.T. training completed (Community Emergency Response Team).  I encourage every resident in the city to take this free training offered by the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department.  The training center is located in Citrus Heights at the fire station on Greenback & Mariposa. For more info, see www.smfd.ca.gov/cert.htm
• FBI Citizen’s Academy Alumni
• Republicans in Citrus Heights 
• River City Republicans
• Placer County Republican Women

Other Past Community Involvement

General Plan Advisory Committee

I served as one of two community representatives in the preliminary drafting of the City's General Plan.

Community Center Advisory Committee, 2002-2003

Recognizing the unmet needs of the community, this Committee met for nearly one year. We offered input for programs, facilities and building design. We completed our task and the proposed plan was presented to the City Council.

Community Partnership for Safety Forum, April 2000

This forum was sponsored by Sacramento County Alliance of Neighborhoods in conjunction with local law enforcement and public agencies. In 1999, I was an attendee. In 2000, I was a workshop speaker on the topic of "Building Partnerships -- How to Become Involved in your Community through Partnerships with Schools, Law Enforcement and Local Government."

Sacramento Mediation Center, volunteer mediator (2003-2004)

Community Oriented Policing Institute

An all-day Seminar -- on the principles of community policing

Rapid Bus Transit

An all day seminar on this fascinating mode of transportation. The county has developed a 25-year plan of its "Mobility Strategies."

Traffic Management

Numerous Other Citizen Focus Groups

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