A friendly reminder that the East Bay Leadership Council’s Contra Costa/Tri-Valley Philanthropy Awards nomination deadline is next Friday, September 5th – only 1 week away! 

Their fourth annual celebration, this is the opportunity to recognize the key individuals and funders who have made a difference to your organization and to our community. This event’s success depends on nominations from the local non-profit community and they need your help to make it a success!

They need your help! All nominations need to come from a non-profit or have a letter of support from a non-profit, so your involvement in nominating deserving companies, organizations and individuals is crucial. Award categories include Outstanding Corporate Philanthropist (3 awards based on the size of company), Outstanding Philanthropist, Outstanding Foundation or Community Grant Maker, Outstanding Collaborative Project, Volunteer of the Year, Next Generation Philanthropist, and Lifetime Achievement.

Award recipients will be honored at a special breakfast event on Thursday, November 6, at the Blackhawk Automotive Museum, from 7:30 to 10 a.m. All nominations need to come from a non-profit or have a letter of support from a non-profit, so your involvement in nominating deserving organizations and individuals is crucial. A non-profit organization can make multiple nominations. To access the nomination form and eligibility details, visit Philanthropy Award Nomination Form.  

For more information, contact Amy Maggiore, East Bay Leadership Council Philanthropy Awards Committee Member at (925) 957-7567 or amym@shelterincofccc.org.

Program Description:

Meals on Wheels provides nutritious meals and daily contact from a dedicated staff and volunteers. The program supports independence while promoting the social, physical, and emotional well-being of seniors.

Position Description

The East County Outreach Worker (ECOW) is primarily responsible for ensuring that meals are delivered to clients. The ECOW directly interacts with clients both in-person and over the phone.

This person will report directly to the Meals on Wheels Program Manager. This is a part-time position, with work time spent in the Walnut Creek office and in the field (Bay Point, Pittsburg and Antioch). 20 hours per week, Monday through Friday from 9 am to 1 pm.

To view the entire job posting click here

All interested persons please send via email only a current resume in Word  document or a pdf
of resume and a cover letter to Sharon Fitzgerald, Meals on Wheels Program Manager. Email: sfitzgerald@mowsos.org. Resumes without cover letters will not be accepted. Please no phone calls.

By Barbara Zivica

Regrettably Antioch has still not adopted a policy in regard to filling a City Council vacancy since the situation arose in 2000 when Donald Freitas was sworn in as Mayor, leaving a vacant council seat. Shortly thereafter, the council, consisting of then Mayor Mary Rocha (having just lost her bid for county supervisor), Arne Simonsen and Brian Kalinowski voted to appoint council candidate Jim Conley, third-place finisher in the previous month’s election and the only candidate council members could agree on.

Previously, a vacancy had occurred in the Mayor’s seat, in 1994 when Joel Keller was elected to the BART Board mid-way through his term as Mayor. None of the then Council Members, including Mayor Pro Tem Allen Payton, and Council Members Mary Rocha, Elizabeth Rimbault and Ralph Hernandez, could get the necessary three votes for the appointment. So, the council majority chose to appoint former Police Chief Len Herendeen to fill the position for the remaining two years.

A vacancy occurred again in 2008 when Jim Davis was sworn in as Mayor, leaving his prior council seat with two years remaining on his term. Unfortunately, the council did not appoint the third place finisher, Arne Simonsen who was one of 14 applicants to fill the vacant seat. They decided instead to appoint Martha Parsons, the union-backed Democrat fundraising consultant for Torlakson and DeSaulnier.

The options for addressing a vacancy on council remain the same now as they did then:

1) Call a special election to fill the vacant seat.

2) Invite applications for appointment to fill the city council vacancy and establish dates and rules for the application process, or

3) Appoint a person to fill the Council vacancy until the election results in November are certified and the elected council member seated.

According to the city attorney, not appointing someone and waiting for the November election would incur no additional staff time or costs and involve some savings as to the salary and benefits provided council members. The option of appointing someone directly would have the opposite effect.

Thankfully the council agreed unanimously to fill Gary Agopians’s vacant seat through the election process.

The city received fourteen applications but only ten filed their nomination papers by the filing deadline. Eight qualified for the ballot. The city clerk is awaiting verification of signature count for another candidate and one did not qualify due to insufficient number of valid signatures of registered Antioch voters.

Councilman Tony Tiscareno is one of the qualified applicants. He was appointed by the council to complete Wade Harper’s term when Harper was elected mayor in 2012, midway through his first term on the council. Tiscareno must run for election this November in order to retain his council seat.

Collections to Help Hungry Families Throughout California

America’s Tire Company is partnering with The Salvation Army to host its first-ever “Summertime Fill the Barrel Food Drive,” which runs through July 31.

The employee driven “Summertime Fill The Barrel Food Drive” encourages America’s Tire Company customers to donate non-perishable food items to help feed hungry families in local communities with the help of The Salvation Army.

Collection bins are set-up at more than 40 participating America’s Tire Company locations in Northern and Central California. This includes:

2402 San Jose Drive, Antioch

5551 Lone Tree Way, Brentwood

Non-perishable food in greatest need this summer include canned meats, canned soup, canned vegetables or fruit, chili, peanut butter, pasta, beans, rice, or cereal.

Year round, The Salvation Army works to serve those in need, providing food boxes, hosting food pantries, and serving meals in communities around Northern and Central California. It relies on the generosity of the local community to help meet the needs of the less fortunate. Last year, The Salvation Army served nearly 6.4 million meals and helped more than two million individuals in California alone.

 

 

Melody’s Dancers perform for the crowd.