Hawthorne Press Tribune
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 61, No. 13 - March 28, 2019
Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............3
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................4
Classifieds............................3
Entertainment......................2
Food.......................................2
Hawthorne Happenings....3
Lawndale..............................4
Legals.................................6,7
Pets........................................5
Weekend
Forecast
Longtime Resident Robert Smith
Honored as Veteran of the Quarter
By Derrick Deane
As a special prelude to its regular biweekly
meeting, the Hawthorne City Council heard
updates from the Veteran Affairs Commission
that included the presentation of the latest Veteran
of the Quarter. Chairperson Kyle Orlemann
presented Robert Smith with the Veteran of
the Quarter recognition for his service in the
United States Air Force from 1955 until his
discharge as a tech sergeant in 1969.
“During his 14-year career, he served in a
variety of position and duty stations including
assignments in Texas, Oklahoma, Japan
and Korea, retiring from Edwards Air Force
Base in California,” Orlemann read from the
official proclamation.
Smith was a jet air craft mechanic and
then a crew chief on the renowned T-33 pilot
training aircraft before moving to a planning
and scheduling maintenance position. He was
recognized for his service and bestowed with
the Air Force Longevity Award, Good Conduct
Medal and National Defense Service Medal.
Smith has also been a resident of Hawthorne
for more than 80 years and was a member of
the Hawthorne High School’s first graduating
class is 1954. After his 1969 discharge, he
began his business career in the savings and
loan industry and after 22 years began his
own company as a provider of management
and business services that is celebrating its
29th anniversary.
“His leadership roles include the Westchester
Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club…and for
the past 17 years, he has served as a planning
commissioner for the City of Hawthorne and
is currently the Planning Commission Chair,”
Orlemann said.
Mayor Pro Tem Olivia Valentine, who stated
she has collaborated with Smith and the Planning
Commission in the past, offered some
congratulatory remarks for Smith. “Thank you
for all your service to the City of Hawthorne
and your service in the U.S. Air Force. It was
always a pleasure working with you. I found
you to be fair, thorough, always dedicated to
what you were doing and even-tempered and
just a great planning commissioner,” Valentine
said. “You are very deserving of this award
and we are very proud of you as a Hawthorne
citizen.”
Councilman Alex Monteiro added that
he would love for Smith to pass along his
knowledge of Hawthorne given his 80-plus
years as a resident. “We should be getting a
lot of lessons from you,” Monteiro said. “I
hope that you could have a book or a memoir
about Hawthorne, because I think you have a
lot of things to tell us.”
Councilman Mike Talleda, who served with
Smith on the Planning Commission as the
chairperson, added his thoughts as well. “It
was one of the most enjoyable times I spent
here in the city and I’m glad to see that you
took over my job,” he said.
Councilman Hadir Awad offered his congratulations
and joked, “It’s wonderful to see
you still here strong and leading our Planning
Commission and you’ll lead it well after Mike
left and do a better job.” Awad added “I’ve
seen you work on the Planning Commission.
I’ve seen how you interact with the other commissioners
-- especially with Mike -- and you
guys always had a wonderful relationship, so
I would love to see that continue and thank
you for your service.”
Mayor Alex Vargas rounded out the congratulatory
remarks for Smith, whom he had
known since joining the City Council. “I think
I was on the Civil Service Commission when
we bumped into each other. When we finished
meetings, we would swap and you guys would
come on board,” Vargas said. “You’ve lived in
the same area, the same apartment complex
for a long time and you are very committed
to the City of Hawthorne -- so much so that
you frequent our local businesses.”
Vargas added, “You live in Hawthorne, you
buy in Hawthorne, you eat in Hawthorne and it
looks like you’re going to stay in Hawthorne.
Congratulations on your service.”
After the Veteran of the Quarter honors were
addressed, Orlemann presented an update on the
state of the Veterans’ Commission. Orlemann
has led the commission as its chairperson for
the past year.“It has been quite a ride,” he
said. “Filling Colonel Gaffney’s shoes has
been quite a large order, but I have a terrific
commission working with me.”
In addition to the ongoing Veteran of the
Quarter presentation, Orlemann highlighted the
commission’s trip up to Sacramento to visit
the Vietnam War Memorial that includes the
names of 19 Hawthorne residents who were
killed in action during the conflict.
“This past October, there was a 30th anniversary
celebration of that memorial and we
were able to go up there and represent the City
at that dedication,” Orlemann said. “Since the
City’s colors are yellow and blue, we came as
close to that as we could. We took a basket
of yellow flowers in a blue bag and we added
19 red roses, one for each of our veterans.”
The Veterans Affairs Commission offers
numerous resources at the City’s website which
may be accessed at http://www.cityofhawthorne.
org/veterans-charter. •
Friday
Mostly
Sunny
66˚/53˚
Saturday
Sunny
71˚/57˚
Sunday
Mostly
Sunny
76˚/58˚
The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne
Hawthorne Kids Attend Chevron
Soccer Academy at Cal State LA
Last weekend, about 300 Hawthorne students from ages 9-18 attended the Chevron Soccer Academy clinic at Cal State Los Angeles. The program combined high-level soccer training along with STEM
learning sensibilities. Photo: Prairie Vista Middle School