Chamber honors A.L. Van Houten as Temple City's Citizen of Year ...
Chamber honors A.L. Van Houten as Temple City's Citizen of Year ...
Chamber honors A.L. Van Houten as Temple City's Citizen of Year ...
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www.templecitychamber.org e-mail to: info@templecitychamber.org TEMPLE CITY LIFE • JULY 2009 • PAGE 17<br />
Remembering<br />
those who<br />
protect us<br />
24/7/365<br />
Photo by Jerry Jambazian<br />
Navy Chief Rogelio Hermosillo, left, welcomes speakers Marine Sgt. Greg Davis and Petty Officer 2nd<br />
Cl<strong>as</strong>s Valerie Floyd.<br />
Husband-Wife team address Blue Star gathering<br />
By Monique C. Weiland<br />
A husband and wife team<br />
were the main speakers at the<br />
annual Blue Star summer gathering,<br />
June 5, at the First Baptist<br />
Church.<br />
Following dinner, retired<br />
Petty Officer 2nd Cl<strong>as</strong>s Valerie<br />
Floyd spoke. Valerie joined the<br />
Navy in 1980 when she w<strong>as</strong> just<br />
17 years old and loved her career<br />
in the Navy. Only 5 days<br />
before 9/11 she had joined the<br />
USN Reserves and stayed on<br />
standby with the Fleet Industrial<br />
Supply Center out <strong>of</strong> San<br />
Diego until November <strong>of</strong> 2004.<br />
At 42 years <strong>of</strong> age <strong>as</strong> a wife<br />
and mother <strong>of</strong> two children,<br />
Kaitlyn and Kyle, she w<strong>as</strong> called<br />
back to active duty to serve in<br />
Kuwait <strong>as</strong> a Customs Border<br />
Clearance Agent for the 1st Na-<br />
By Monique C. Weiland<br />
On June 5, the <strong>Temple</strong> City Blue Star Banner<br />
Program celebrated its fifth year by hosting its<br />
annual summer dinner at the First Baptist Church<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Temple</strong> City. The room w<strong>as</strong> packed and the<br />
agenda w<strong>as</strong> full.<br />
The program exists to honor those Americans<br />
who serve the cause <strong>of</strong> freedom by living in harm’s<br />
way <strong>as</strong> members <strong>of</strong> the Armed Forces to preserve<br />
freedom for the rest <strong>of</strong> us.<br />
As usual, honored guests were members <strong>of</strong> the<br />
military and veterans.<br />
During dinner the regular feature <strong>of</strong> color<br />
slides showing military personnel in action w<strong>as</strong><br />
shown. It had been updated by Tony Hillbruner<br />
and, <strong>as</strong> always, stirred the patriotism in everyone’s<br />
heart.<br />
The dinner fare included expertly char-grilled<br />
hamburgers and hot dogs plus a variety <strong>of</strong> trimmings<br />
and side dishes.<br />
Dessert <strong>of</strong> banana splits followed the speakers<br />
which gave all the participants one more change<br />
to buy tickets to distribute their chances among<br />
the myriad <strong>of</strong> raffle <strong>of</strong>ferings.<br />
The Blue Star Banner Program would like to<br />
thank:<br />
The First Baptist Church <strong>of</strong> <strong>Temple</strong> City for<br />
opening their great hall for the event; The Honor<br />
Guard <strong>of</strong> Boy Scouts from Troop 161, who presented<br />
the colors for the Pledge <strong>of</strong> Allegiance; Bob<br />
val Customs Battalion until July<br />
2005. She w<strong>as</strong> stationed on the<br />
Iraqi border and responsible for<br />
inspecting tanks, equipment,<br />
and personnel coming out <strong>of</strong><br />
Iraq.<br />
Valerie shared a lot about the<br />
actual conditions she worked in<br />
regarding what she w<strong>as</strong> inspecting,<br />
how inspections were conducted,<br />
and time <strong>of</strong>f. Once she<br />
returned home she w<strong>as</strong> stationed<br />
in Coronado, California<br />
with the Naval Co<strong>as</strong>tal Warfare<br />
Group I, Inshore Boat Unit M.<br />
She w<strong>as</strong> rele<strong>as</strong>ed from active<br />
duty in September, 2007 and<br />
received an Army Commendation<br />
for 7,000 tank and equipment<br />
inspections during her<br />
Iraqi Freedom tour <strong>of</strong> duty.<br />
The next speaker w<strong>as</strong><br />
Valerie’s husband, Marine Sgt.<br />
Greg Davis. It w<strong>as</strong> tanks that<br />
brought them together! He<br />
spoke about his military career<br />
which spanned six years b<strong>as</strong>ed<br />
out <strong>of</strong> Camp Twenty-Nine<br />
Palms. Davis w<strong>as</strong> a Tow Gunner<br />
(anti-tank) <strong>of</strong>ficer serving<br />
in Iraq, Desert Storm from August<br />
1990 until May 1991. He<br />
went into Kuwait City under<br />
special orders because <strong>of</strong> his<br />
unique skill, which earned him<br />
a Navy Commendation with a<br />
combat V.<br />
Both Valerie and Greg were<br />
riveting speakers, bringing<br />
home to us the stories <strong>of</strong> warfare,<br />
skirmishes, difficult living<br />
conditions and cultural disparities.<br />
The Blue Star Committee<br />
thanks them for sharing their<br />
comments and for serving the<br />
nation.<br />
<strong>Temple</strong> City salutes military, vets<br />
Marston, m<strong>as</strong>ter <strong>of</strong> ceremonies; Danielle Balcazer,<br />
who sang the National Anthem, beautifully; Host<br />
P<strong>as</strong>tor Glenn Layne who delivered the invocation;<br />
The Baptist Church Bell Ringers, a cadre <strong>of</strong> nine<br />
hand bell and chime players, directed by Barbara<br />
Locke. The Bell Ringers: Christy and Maggie<br />
Ferntheil, Katy and Becky French, Betty and Bob<br />
Marston, Sandy Higgs, Fran Hill and Matt Cooper;<br />
The <strong>Temple</strong> City Council Members and<br />
<strong>Chamber</strong> <strong>of</strong> Commerce for their support <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Banner Program; <strong>Temple</strong> City employee Rob<br />
Cruse and his crew for managing the banners on<br />
the streets; Tony Hillbruner for his patriotic slide<br />
program; Don Hendrix and John for all their grilling<br />
toil; Wanda and Jim Chatman for their fifth<br />
annual trip from Hemet with their p<strong>as</strong>ta salad;<br />
Jerry Jambazian for photography; Sandy Keelin<br />
for the Fifth Anniversary Banner; Franca Scorsone<br />
for putting together the door prize raffles; thanks<br />
to many businesses and individuals that donated<br />
items, and thanks to all the Blue Star Volunteers.<br />
On Wednesday, June 24, the <strong>Temple</strong> City Concerts<br />
in the Park began. The Blue Star Banner Program<br />
will have their annual booth serving ice<br />
cream, root beer floats, cheese nachos with or<br />
without chili, and other delectable goodies. If you<br />
can volunteer to help serve while enjoying the<br />
great music, ple<strong>as</strong>e contact Sharon Johnson at<br />
626-285-5852.<br />
In Harm’s Way<br />
TEMPLE CITY RESIDENTS, FAMILY MEMBERS SERVING THE U.S.A.<br />
Air Force<br />
Co<strong>as</strong>t Guard<br />
Nathan Alfano<br />
Eric Conway<br />
Mark Andrews<br />
David & Dee S<strong>as</strong>se<br />
Susie Andrews<br />
Kevin Bateman<br />
Nichol<strong>as</strong> Breniser<br />
Philip Bridge<br />
Anthony Cambonga<br />
Steven Chicca<br />
Brenda Comstock<br />
Marines<br />
Francisco Acevedo<br />
Steven D. Acevedo<br />
John Andress<br />
Arthur R. Baker III<br />
J<strong>as</strong>on Bestpitch<br />
Milton Cabrera<br />
Edward Lee Connors<br />
H. Joseph Camerano, Jr.<br />
Jacqueline Crider<br />
Aaron Carden<strong>as</strong><br />
Mark D. Curry<br />
James Carden<strong>as</strong><br />
Kimberly Diehl<br />
Stacey Cortez<br />
Jose Flores<br />
Steven Groesz<br />
James M. Haller<br />
James Herndon<br />
Catherine Hight (Reserve)<br />
Brett Hommerson<br />
Andrew Katz<br />
Ge<strong>of</strong>frey C. Lewis<br />
Steven X. Li<br />
George Lopez<br />
David Lucero<br />
J<strong>as</strong>on Macy<br />
Joseph Maier<br />
Jeremiah J. Polk<br />
Nichol<strong>as</strong> Richards<br />
Amos Deines<br />
James Earhart<br />
Steven Ferrara<br />
John Paul Flores<br />
Nichol<strong>as</strong> Gary<br />
Derek W. Goodwin<br />
Evan Guyant<br />
Joshua N. Harris<br />
Stacey J. Harris<br />
Brett Alan H<strong>as</strong>call<br />
Noah Hillbruner<br />
Delbert Kelley<br />
Ben Kirby<br />
Tracy Kirby<br />
Jonathan Kline<br />
Jesse L. Klotz<br />
Christine A. <strong>Van</strong> Der Paul Clint W. Kuhn<br />
Army<br />
Jeremy Albright<br />
Jesse Aldana<br />
Kyle Aspaturian<br />
Erine Beck<br />
Noah J. Beltran<br />
Leon T. Butler<br />
Brenden Byrnes<br />
Jose Caoili IV<br />
Colin D. Care<br />
Mark Y. Ching<br />
Matt Deurmeier<br />
Neil LaSala<br />
Richard Landeros<br />
Charles Liu<br />
Brian Lo<br />
James M. Loiacano Jr.<br />
Joey L. Luna<br />
Kevin C. Manning<br />
Brent Marston<br />
John Martorana<br />
Nicole L. McCartney<br />
Steven G. McMurray<br />
Wesley Pack<br />
Stephen Paletta<br />
Nathanael Gonzalez<br />
Thom<strong>as</strong> Paletta<br />
Louie Guan<br />
Wyatt A. Reneer<br />
Dan Hart<br />
Glen Reukema<br />
Jose Herrera<br />
J<strong>as</strong>on Reukema<br />
D. Jeff Hudson<br />
Tom Iarossi<br />
Cherrie Kean<br />
Sung Min Kim<br />
Christopher Kline<br />
James A. Konoske<br />
Bryan Law<br />
Philip Lee<br />
Denise Lloyd<br />
Abraham Lopez<br />
Kareem Meleika<br />
Larry P. Mullaly<br />
Greg Neaderbaomer<br />
Jonathan Rush<br />
Alfonso Salazar<br />
Stephen Sanderson<br />
Jerad Speral<br />
Elizabeth R. Stauffer<br />
Leo Tjoakro<br />
Michael Turrell<br />
Cheri Wood-Anciaux<br />
Ryan Ynunza<br />
Robert Zuniga<br />
National Guard<br />
Christopher B. Parson<br />
Kelly Porter<br />
Andrew E. Nervo<br />
Navy<br />
Nam Hoang Nguyen<br />
Thom<strong>as</strong> H. Allen<br />
Matthew Oberlander<br />
Brett Alt<br />
Dominic Oro<br />
Darren Brown<br />
Alex Kuzma Perenishko Daniel Chavez<br />
Robert E. Percy<br />
Eric Coker<br />
James Pritchet<br />
Robert Aaron Pugh<br />
David Riv<strong>as</strong><br />
Martin J. Rodela<br />
Christopher Schulze<br />
Scott Shepro<br />
Debra Sinnott<br />
Michael Sinnott<br />
Danny Stacey<br />
Matthew Steyart * KIA<br />
Clayton Taylor<br />
Mark Tsunokai<br />
S. Brian Ulmer<br />
Henry Valenzuela<br />
Atan<strong>as</strong>io Viera<br />
Christopher Waller<br />
Jeremy Collett<br />
Justin Downer<br />
Cynthia N<strong>as</strong>h Gantt<br />
Lisa M. Gunn<br />
Kevin Haynes<br />
Rogelio Hermosillo<br />
Shanee Hermosillo<br />
Tori James<br />
Brett Johnson<br />
Dustin N. Klotz<br />
Adrien Yi Qian Li<br />
Juan Gabriel Magni<br />
David Martinez<br />
Jennifer Northcutt<br />
Eugene Parra<br />
Guy Rauterkranz<br />
Jennifer Rautenkranz<br />
Bradley E. Welsster II<br />
Robb Rudluff<br />
Robert M. Winovitch<br />
Stuart Saxon<br />
Jacque Wood-Kornel<strong>as</strong> Andrew Strople<br />
Christopher Sweet<br />
To update information about a Michael Terrenal<br />
member <strong>of</strong> the military in your Kevin White<br />
family, add a name to this list or<br />
to order a color magnetic ribbon<br />
<strong>as</strong> shown, ple<strong>as</strong>e contact Sharon<br />
Johnson at 626-285-5852.<br />
Leo E. Wright II
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