The internationally-acclaimed Harlem Ambassadors will be visiting Antioch/Pittsburg for a game at Los Medanos College Gym on May 7 at 7 p.m. The Harlem Ambassadors offer a unique brand of Harlem-style basketball, featuring high-flying slam- dunks, dazzling ball-handling tricks and hilarious comedy routines.

The Ambassadors feature non-stop laughs and deliver a positive message for kids wherever the Ambassadors play.  “At our shows, we want the kids to know that they’re part of our team too,” Coach Lade Majic said.  “We invite as many kids as we can to come sit on the bench, have a front row seat during the show, and get involved in all of the fun stuff we do.”

The Ambassadors set themselves apart from other “Harlem style” basketball teams by working with local not-for-profit and service organizations and holding Harlem Ambassadors shows as community fundraising events.  For the Antioch/Pittsburg event the Ambassadors have partnered with Antioch Rivertown Jamboree to help raise funds for People Helping People, and Antioch Rivertown Jamboree projects.

The Ambassadors have worked extensively with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Boys & Girls Clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters and American Red Cross as well as Rotary, Lions and Kiwanis clubs in communities throughout the U.S., and perform more than 200 shows a year.  Those shows have helped raise millions of dollars – an accomplishment of which Ambassadors President Dale Moss is very proud.

“It feels good to be able to provide quality entertainment and create memories that the fans will take with them,” Moss explained.  “We’re able to give even more when we can help provide funding for a Habitat for Humanity house or new computers for the school library, and that feels great.”

ADVANCE TICKETS: Adults $10, Students & Seniors $8. Call 925-757-0972 or ORDER BY MAIL: 301 West 10th Street, Suite 5, Antioch, CA 94509. Please make check payable to Antioch Rivertown Jamboree. At the door tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.

You can also purchase tickets at East County Insurance Agency, Delta 2000, Pittsburg Yacht Club, Martin Memorials, Antioch Rivertown Jamboree Office. The event is sponsored in part by Keller Canyon Trust Funds, Cornwell Tools, Delta 2000, Supervisor Federal Glover, Los Medanos College, Comfort Suites Inn. Rivertown Jamboree is a non-profit organization dedicated to family fun.

Our Delta Contra Costa Branch’s annual celebration of the leading scholars at local high schools will be held Thurs., April 14 at the Antioch Senior Center, 415 W. 2^nd Street at 7-8:30 pm. Members may come to set-up starting at 5:30 pm.

Each year ten outstanding senior scholars are selected from Antioch, Deer Valley, and Pittsburg High Schools. A list of students with a 3.5 GPA and above is given to the teaching staff, who choose the students. In addition to their GPA, they  consider school and extra-curricular activities. Jane Wilkins and Sally Massey co-ordinate for Antioch and Jan Kuhl worked with Pittsburg.

This event has been a favorite tradition in our branch.  We will be presenting certificates to the top 30 students in front of their families and friends. Susan Ten Eyck, a principal in the Antioch Unified School District will be the guest speaker.

Tickets are on sale now for the Antioch Chamber of Commerce Inaugural Gala and Recognition Dinner on Friday, April 22nd at the Lone Tree Golf Course & Event Center. The evening includes the installation of the 2011 Antioch Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors as well as awarding Antioch Citizen, Small and Large/Corporate Businesses and Youth of the Year for 2010.

The nominees for the Lifetime Achievement Award are Carmen Aguilar-Ochoa, William “Bill” Chapman, Krist Jensen, Larry Osorio and Walter Ruehlig.

Ochoa is Executive Director of Give Always to Others & Company, a nonprofit dedicated to volunteerism and education in health, environment, arts, culture and media.

Chapman is Chairman of the Antioch Committee on Aging, Antioch Youth Sports Complex Treasurer and the Secretary for An Elderly Wish Foundation, in addition to other numerous organizations.

Jensen is Community Service Director and Member of the Antioch Rotary Club, leads Dow Wetlands Volunteer Team, and volunteer teacher for the Financial Peace University.

Osorio is a Mello Roos Board Member and Boy Scout Troop 247 Scout Master.

Ruehlig is Antioch Unified School District Trustee, Mello Roos President, Co-founder of the Antioch Music Foundation and Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus.

The Most Impact for 2010 nominees are Jim Lanter, Josie Monaghan and Kirkland Smith.

Lanter is a Delta Advocacy Board Member, Past President of Rotary of the Delta, Co-chair of An Elderly Wish, and Founder of “Born to Dance” a 25-year effort sponsoring dances for special needs children.

Monaghan is Founder of Wingz to Fly, Inc.,  founder/director of East County Military Families & Friends and East County Veterans OIF OEF Peer to Peer; three nonprofits supporting veterans and their families.

Smith is Founder and Pastor of Grace Bible Fellowship and organizer of Holy Eve Community Carnival, Community Picnic and the Christian Comedy Show.

Three students nominated for the Youth Category are Maureen Gil, Matthew Satyadi and Teron Schaeffer. 

The Small Business nominees are Paradise Skate, FastSigns and Dow Great Western Credit Union. The Large Business/Corporate nominess are Travis Credit Union and Sutter Delta Medical Center.

Tickets are $70 per person; reserved tables for 8 are $575.  Silent Auction and the famous Balloon Pop are part of this not-to-be-missed evening.  More information can be found on the Antioch Chamber of Commerce website: www.AntiochChamber.com or by calling 925/757-1800.

Assuming the persona of General Douglas MacArthur, Walter Ruehlig (standing left) congratulates Death March survivors Manuel Gavino (standing right) and Edward Abinsay during the 69th anniversary celebration of the Fall of Bataan. Photo by Cynthia Ruehlig

After a three-month battle to defend the last bastion of Philippine democracy at the Bataan Peninsula, General MacArthur escaped by boat during WWII promising “I Shall Return” to liberate the Philippines.

Bataan was captured by the Japanese Imperialists on April 9, 1942, in the largest surrender in American and Filipino military history. Many died when the 72,000 starving and disease-ridden POWs were forcibly transfered from Bataan/Corrigidor to Capas, Tarlac, in what is now known as the Bataan Death March.

After two years of fighting in the Pacific, General MacArthur fulfilled his promise. MacArthur accepted the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945. There are 9 known Death March survivors living in East Contra Costa County. The Fall of Bataan celebration, sponsored by the Filipino-American Association, Inc. of Pittsburg, was held April 9, 2011 at Humphrey’s Restaurant, Antioch.

Antioch has a Japanese sister city called Chichibu. We have had this beautiful relationship for 45 years and hopefully you’ve had a chance to visit Chichibu Park off of Longview Road in Antioch right next to Sutter Elementary School. Chichibu has an “Antioch” park. While it is a relief that Chichibu was not in the flood zone, earthquakes were felt and there is there is a collective desire to funnel aid towards relief efforts in the affected region.

An alliance has been formed with Antioch-Chichibu Sister City Organization, the City of Chichibu, the City of Antioch, the Antioch Chamber of Commerce, ECO Business Centers, the Antioch Historical Society, the Arts and Cultural Foundation, the Antioch Lions, and the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce to jointly raise funds for tsunami victims.

Please visit the Japanese display set up at ECO Business Centers, 505 West Second Street, Antioch to learn more about the Japanese culture and purchase one of the items there or bring monetary donations. Checks can be made out to the Antioch Chamber Foundation, please note “Japan” on the memo line. Money will be sent by the Antioch-Chichibu Sister City Organization board of directors to the honorable Mayor Kuki of Chichibu Japan for disbursement of money for disaster relief efforts in Japan.

Please join us May 7th at the Antioch Historical Society for a fundraising Social networking event at 5 PM and dinner Gala at 6:30 PM. $20 per plate. Tickets can be purchased through ECO Business Centers, Posh Salon, the Antioch-Chichibu Sister City Organization, Antioch Historical Society, Antioch Chamber of Commerce, Lynn Gallery, or the Lions. Thank you for your support!

Questions? Contact ECO Business Centers Co-Founder and CEO Glen Laughton at 925 303-4520. For more information, visit ECO Business Centers www.ecobusinesscenters.com. “Bridging Business Success.”

Michael Pritchard, a nationally acclaimed speaker and comedian, will be the keynote speaker at Supervisor Federal Glover’s annual Youth Summit this April 16 at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, California.

“We’re thrilled that Mr. Pritchard has agreed to speak to our young people,” says Supervisor Glover. “His inspirational message will reinforce the summit’s theme: We Got Your Back!”

Pritchard began his career on both the comedy stage and as a juvenile counselor in San Francisco’s Youth Guidance Center. In 1980, Michael Pritchard won first place in the San Francisco International Stand Up Comedy Competition as well as winning the prestigious California Probation Officer of the Year.

He began making appearances with some of the big names of comedy including Robin Williams, Jerry Seinfeld, Dana Carvey and Whoopi Goldberg. Offers from Hollywood came pouring in. But Pritchard rejected offers from Hollywood to focus on using his comic talents for inspiring youth and adults.

His seven educational series for PBS and distribution has been seen by millions and focuses on youth guidance in the areas of violence prevention.

Forming Heartland Media, Pritchard continued with other projects including “Red Ribbon Week” and “PeaceTalks” teaching students to make positive choices. “SOS: Saving Our Schools from Hate and Violence,” featured in both Time magazine and on CNN, filmed after the tragic Columbine disaster. His new series: “Lifesteps” builds the social and emotional intelligence in youth and has already received the Parents Choice Award.

As an extension of Heartland Media, he established Heartland Media Foundation building character and emotional intelligence, violence prevention, inciting motivation and leadership in both youth and adults to improve schools and communities. The foundation provides youth guidance programs, including video, print curriculum, and live presentations by Michael Pritchard to aid in schools and communities where the funding is limited.

“Michael Pritchard uses humor to address some of the serious issues facing youth today,” says Glover. “His audience may be laughing on the outside, but inside, they’re also thinking about the points he makes about life’s choices.”

Empowered Parents help to make Empowered Kids!

PASSA, which stands for Promoting African-American Student Success and Achievement, is a program that was piloted at Lone Tree Elementary school in Antioch It will now be presented at Grace Bible Fellowship in Antioch, this Friday night and Saturday morning.

Parents and students are invited to attend and hear from school administrators and personnel.

The workshop, presented by both Grace Bible Fellowship and the NAACP East County Branch, “strives to educate and guide parents to become empowered to work as partners with the school system,” according to the promotional flyer.

In addition, it states “In turn, our parents will help promote their African American students to display success and achievement academically, socially, behaviorally and emotionally.

The two-day “mini series” will be held at 7:00 p.m., Friday, April 8 and 9:00 a.m., Saturday, April 9 at Grace Bible Fellowship, 913 Sunset Drive, Antioch, in Suite L.

For more information about the PASSA workshop, call Cheryl White, (925) 522-8186. For more information about Grace Bible Fellowship, visit www.gbfofantioch.org and for the NAACP East County Branch, visit www.naacpeastcounty.org.

The Antioch Police Department is excited to announce the 23rd installment of the Neighborhood Cleanup Program. This is a collaborative community effort which involves active participation from United Citizens for Better Neighborhoods (UCBN), community volunteers, and the Antioch Police Department Crime Prevention Commission; Neighborhood Watch Program, and the Public Works Department.

Collectively, “We”, everyone who works and lives in the City Antioch, can make a difference and improve the quality of life. It’s our community and it’s our chance to make a difference.

The City of Antioch Neighborhood Cleanup program is not just for residential neighborhoods. It is a program that will change venues on a monthly basis and it will include business and commercial areas as well. Neighborhoods that are free of trash and refuse are inviting, and a clean community instills a sense of community pride.

The 23rd Neighborhood Cleanup event will occur on Saturday, May 7th from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Volunteers should report to the Williamson Ranch Park located at 5000 Lone Tree Way. The parking lot is accessible off of Williamson Ranch Drive. Volunteers will receive instructions and the equipment necessary to accomplish the goal. The targeted area is within walking distance. Excluding inclement weather, future Neighborhood Cleanup events are scheduled for the first Saturday of every month and the locations will be announced in advance.

Remember, cleaning up your neighborhood can make life better for your family, your neighbors and your community!