Page 6 February 8, 2018 TORRANCE TRIBUNE
TerriAnn in Torrance from front page
Check presented to the City of Torrance by the Torrance Kiwanis (photo courtesy of Curtis Jones).
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Exceptional Athletes of Torrance ready for bocce ball.
Davis & DeRosa Physical Therapy, Inc.
Davis & DeRosa Physical Therapy, established in 2003,
provides a quaint boutique practice located in El Segundo,
California. The 4,000 square foot facility is a well known
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Foot and Ankle Disorders (including orthotics)
Osteoporosis and other Age Related Disorders
Balance and Vestibular Disorders
Injury Prevention
Troy Davis Owner, PT, DPT • Chris DeRosa Owner, PT, OCS
Leo Valenzuela, PT, DPT • Lianne Nakazaki, PT, DPT
Garret Wong, PT, DPT, OCS • Tami Chang, PT • Kim Klein, PT
William Quibell, PT, DPT • Richelle Mae Milina, PT, DPT, OCS
325 Main Street El Segundo, CA 90245 310.648.3167
www.davisandderosa.com
for a long time and we would help with their
bocce tournaments and things like that, and
then we were following the progress on these
courts ‘cuz we knew they would be great
for them and then the other people that play
bocce in Torrance – we heard there was a
need for places to sit…” One Exceptional
Athlete, John Kalinski, told me he plays
bocce ball often. “I love it,” he said.
Excitement was building that evening
as more and more people gathered for the
event. Former Councilman Tom Brewer
told me, “One of the things that is special
about our city is that all the people that get
involved. Between the Kiwanis, the Rotary
and everybody else…this is what makes
our city so special -- we have people that
get involved and want to donate things. The
bocce courts…we have been working on
these since when I was on the city council,
so I am happy to see these here. They are
great. You look around and can see how
many people are enjoying these. It is a great
community we live in.”
Kiwanis member Rick Rice commented,
“I think it is fantastic. I have never seen the
courts until right now. They are beautiful
and the benches are beautiful!” I learned
Councilman Milton S. Herring (when he was
president of the Kiwanis Club) approached
Community Services Director John Jones and
asked him what was needed -- and learned
that benches would be a great addition to
the bocce ball courts. The Kiwanis took that
idea and made it a reality.
Kiwanis members Steve Makshanoff and
his wife Gladys, who are co-advisors for
the Torrance Kiwanis Action Club (that is
supervised by Phil Duthrie), told me, “This
is a club for adults with special needs out of
the Torrance Easter Seals. They do fundraising,
they recycle bottles, they donate to the
Boys and Girls clubs, they help charities,
they donate to Children’s Hospital…they do
everything like a regular service club would
do. And they play bocce ball.” Steve told me
he was excited having a plaque dedicated
and donated by the Kiwanis Club.
The festivities began with John Jones,
who welcomed everyone to the celebration:
He commented, “These bocce courts were
opened a year ago December and they have
had terrific attendance and a lot of this is
due to the Southern California Bocce Club.
I want to make sure they get recognized
– Bob and Joel. We call them the ‘Bocce
Boys.’ Because of their energy and time,
devotion and volunteerism, these courts are
getting used and they are my caretakers for
the facility too.”
Then Mayor Furey added, “This is really
special, as John laid out. The bocce ball
courts are a legacy of the ‘Bocce Boys’
and they advocated for several years to get
these here and we worked together and we
put in ‘class-1’ bocce courts. But they were
lacking one thing. Perhaps it was just getting
the involvement of Kiwanis. You see the
connection. We have a Parks and Rec chair,
we have a councilman who is a member,
and a past president of the Kiwanis -- and
lo and behold, our service came together
and donated the beautiful benches we have
here. It is a great facility made much better
by these benches…Thank you Milton; thank
you, Guy; thank you, Kiwanis of Torrance;
and thank you, Bob and Joel. ” How true.
I was impressed with the beautiful green
benches lining the north side of the bocce
ball courts. Then, right before the sign was
unveiled, John Jones presented a certificate
to the Kiwanis Club in appreciation for their
generous donation of the beautiful benches.
After the festivities, but before the big
bocce game, pizza was served -- donated by
the Kiwanis -- along with cookies with the
Kiwanis logo donated by Kirk Rossberg’s
Torrance Bakery that is located in downtown
Torrance. It was a special evening with
smiles all around…plus a friendly game of
bocce ball.
So the next time you pass by Columbia
Park on 190th Street, be sure and check
out the bocce courts and the gleaming new
benches. Who knows? Bocce ball might just
become the new “in” game! •
Councilman (and Kiwanis member and Past President) Milton S. Herring, I, and his wife, Cinda, also a Kiwanis member.
Mayor Patrick Furey and Past Lieutenant Governor of Kiwanis Tony Molino.