HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 3617
City of Palo Alto (ID # 3617)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Special Orders of the Day Meeting Date: 4/15/2013
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: Community Star Award - Environmental Volunteers
Title: Proclamations Expressing Appreciation to Terry Godfrey, Rachel
Samoff, Rob Steele, and Environmental Volunteers for Outstanding Public
Service
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Community Services
Attached are four proclamations expressing appreciation for outstanding public service.
Attachments:
Attachment A: Terry Godfrey (DOCX)
Attachment B: Rachel Samoff (DOCX)
Attachment C: Rob Steele (DOCX)
Attachment D: Environmental Volunteers (DOCX)
CITY OF PALO ALTO
PROCLAMATION
Expressing Appreciation to Terry Godfrey
for Outstanding Public Service
WHEREAS, Terry Godfrey, with her family, has been a resident of Palo Alto for 14 years; and
WHEREAS, Terry has shown great commitment and leadership for youth well-being in Palo Alto as
founder and a leader of Project Safety Net whose mission is to develop and implement an effective,
comprehensive, community-based mental health plan for overall youth well-being in Palo Alto; and
WHEREAS, Terry is the current Co-President and CEO of Partners in Education (PIE), an organization
committed to educational excellence for every student in the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD); and
WHEREAS, Terry as past Chair of the Palo Alto PTA, successfully promoted the 41 Developmental
Assets by building a common focus on social/emotional issues; and
WHEREAS, Terry is the Chair of the Palo Alto Developmental Assets Initiative whose goal is for 2/3 of
youth in Palo Alto to have at least 21 assets and none to have less than 10 assets by 2021; and, to use the
Developmental Assets to achieve transformation in Palo Alto through education, communication and
inspiration; and
WHEREAS, Terry Godfrey works closely with PAUSD to promote stress reduction, optimal school
nutrition, fitness, sustainable schools, emergency preparation and school commute safety; and
WHEREAS, Terry works tirelessly to improve communication and connectedness around inclusion of
students who receive special education or disability services within their school communities; and
WHEREAS, we thank Terry Godfrey for her passion for elevating the youth voice in the Palo Alto
community by building authentic relationships between adults and teens and for her consistent and
unwavering support of youth and teen programs, services and special events.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GREGORY SCHARFF, Mayor of the City of Palo Alto, on behalf of the City
Council do hereby proclaim Terry Godfrey as a Community Star Award recipient for providing outstanding
public service and records its appreciation of Terry Godfrey to the City of Palo Alto.
Presented: April 15, 2013
______________________________
H. Gregory Scharff
Mayor
CITY OF PALO ALTO
PROCLAMATION
Expressing Appreciation to Rachel Samoff
for Outstanding Public Service
WHEREAS, Rachel Samoff has dedicated her career to early childhood advocacy and public policy as
well as teaching children, educating teachers, designing curricula, and directing child care facilities in the
United States and several countries in Africa; and
WHEREAS, Rachel is the founder and executive director of The Children’s Pre-School, located at the
Cubberley Community Center, a center accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young
Children which indicates a national standard of excellence in early childhood education; and
WHEREAS, Rachel has served as a member of the City’s Advisory Committee on Early Care and
Education for over 20 years, and served as chair for several years; and
WHEREAS, Rachel Samoff is the unofficial historian of child care in Palo Alto; and
WHEREAS, Rachel served on the City’s Family Resources Program Implementation Team, Steering
Committee and Advisory Board; and
WHEREAS, Rachel has served since 2008 as a commissioner for First Five Santa Clara County, part of a
statewide organization to fund and support local health and education programs for young children ages 0-5;
and
WHEREAS, Rachel Samoff served on the Cubberley Community Advisory Committee in 2012-13 which
sought to advise the City and Palo Alto Unified School District on future plans for the Cubberley Campus;
and
WHEREAS, Rachel Samoff is being honored by the City during the Week of the Young Child, an annual
celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GREGORY SCHARFF, Mayor of the City of Palo Alto, on behalf of the City
Council do hereby proclaim Rachel Samoff as a Community Star Award recipient for providing outstanding
public service and records its appreciation of Rachel Samoff to the City of Palo Alto.
Presented: April 15, 2013
______________________________
H. Gregory Scharff
Mayor
CITY OF PALO ALTO
PROCLAMATION
Expressing Appreciation to the Robert Steele
for Outstanding Public Service
WHEREAS, Robert Steele has been an employee of the City of Palo Alto since April 28, 1985; and
WHEREAS, Robert Steele has volunteered to head the Palo Alto Holiday Toy Drive since 1999; and
WHEREAS, in this duty Robert Steele collected and distributing annually some 2,200 toys and other items
each year to organizations serving the needy for a total of 28,600 items over 13 years; and
WHEREAS the toy drive every year served needy organizations through San Mateo and Santa Clara
Counties including the following organizations and its constituents:
o St Justin Parish Community - serves 850 families and 1900 children
o St Vincent de Paul - serves 4000 people
o Palo Alto Housing - has 3 sites and serves approximately 75 - 80 children
o Boys and Girls Club - serves approximately 300 children
o Inn-vision Shelter Network - serves 300 children
o Mayview Clinic - serves 150 children
o EPA Teen Home - serves 12 young adults & 10 children
o Ravenswood Child Development Center - serves 180 children
o EPA Police Department - collects toys to distribute throughout East Palo Alto
WHEREAS, many of the organizations above depend on the Palo Alto Toy Drive to supply items to the
kids whom they serve, while others (St Vincent de Paul, St Justin, Inn-vision, EPA Police Department)
receive toys from different collecting agencies besides the Palo Alto Toy Drive.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GREGORY SCHARFF, Mayor of the City of Palo Alto, on behalf of the City
Council do hereby proclaim Robert Steele as a Community Star Award recipient for providing outstanding
public service and records its appreciation of Robert Steele to the City of Palo Alto.
Presented: April 15, 2013
______________________________
H. Gregory Scharff
Mayor
CITY OF PALO ALTO
PROCLAMATION
Expressing Appreciation to the Environmental Volunteers
for Outstanding Public Service
WHEREAS, the Environmental Volunteers, which were founded in 1972, have provided hands-on
programs in environmental stewardship and explorations in natural science to over 11,000 local children in
San Mateo and Santa Clara counties each year; and
WHEREAS, the Environmental Volunteers renovated the historic boat-shaped Sea Scout building, now
called the Eco Center, which opened on July 22, 2012, and is located in the Palo Alto Baylands Nature
Preserve to serve as an office and be a gathering place for environmental education; and
WHEREAS, the Eco Center serves as a hub on the peninsula for community connections, a hands-on
science center for the next generation of schoolchildren, a starting-off point for Baylands hikers, and a
resource for marshland ecology education and the advancement of environmental stewardship in the Bay
Area; and
WHEREAS, the Environmental Volunteers launched two new educational opportunities; a marsh cam that
streams live images to the EV website where visitors to the site can see the marsh at any time, and on the
webpage they can explore educational resources about marsh flora and fauna; and
WHEREAS, the Environmental Volunteers developed a smart-phone application for a self-guided
walking tour of the Baylands Preserve; and
WHEREAS, in October 2012, the Environmental Volunteers installed twelve new interpretive signs in the
Eco Center’s Native Plant Garden along the Bay Trail. These educational signs provide unique and interesting
facts about the flora found in the Palo Alto Baylands; and
WHEREAS, in 2012, the Environmental Volunteers was named one of the Top Ten Best Volunteer
Opportunities in the Bay Area by GreatNonprofits.org.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GREGORY SCHARFF, Mayor of the City of Palo Alto, on behalf of the City
Council do hereby proclaim the Environmental Volunteers as Community Star Award recipients for providing
outstanding public service and records its appreciation of the Environmental Volunteers to the City of Palo
Alto.
Presented: April 15, 2013
______________________________
H. Gregory Scharff
Mayor