CITY OF
RIVERSIDE City Council Memorandum
City of Arts & Innovation
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: APRIL 8, 2025 FROM: CITY CLERK WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: 2024 CITY SPIRIT AWARD NOMINEE SELECTION
ISSUE:
Select a community member that exemplifies community spirit, good citizenship, and dedication to enhancing the quality of life in the city for the 2024 City Spirit Award.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council select a community member for the 2024 City Spirit Award to honor their extraordinary deeds and community spirit, good citizenship, and dedication to enhancing the quality of life in the City.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
On March 11, 2025, the Mayor's Nominating and Screening Committee (MNSC), chaired by Lock Dawson and attended by Members Falcone, Perry, and Conder, reviewed nominees from the mayor and all wards except wards 6 and 7. The committee unanimously selected Lorna Jenkins and Senator Richard Roth (ret) for consideration by the City Council, recognizing their extraordinary deeds, community spirit, good citizenship, and dedication to enhancing the quality of life in the City.
The MNSC list of nominees were:
2024 CITY SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS
Nominated by: Nominee
Mayor Lock Dawson Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds
Councilmember Falcone, Ward 1 Senator Richard Roth (ret) Councilmember Cervantes, Ward 2 Carmen Roberts
Councilmember Robillard, Ward 3 Sue Johnson
Councilmember Conder, Ward 4 Lorna Jenkins
Councilmember Mill, Ward 5 Dr. Ronald L. Ellis
City Spirit Award - Page 2
BACKGROUND:
The Mayor and City Council have honored a community member with a City Spirit Award every year since its establishment in 1995. Previous award recipients are listed below.
CITY SPIRIT AWARD RECIPIENTS
1995 Dickey DeLoss 2005 Jim Erickson 2015 Anthony Rivera 1996 Rich Biber 2006 Natividad Fuentes 2016 Henry Coil, Jr. 1997 | Michael Goldware 2007 / Damon Castillo 2017 Ruben and Diana Ayala 1998 Rose Mayes 2008 San Huang 2018 Brian Jaramillo
1999 Rita Norton 2009 Cindy Roth 2019 Zack Earp
2000 Victor Miceli 2010 Kathy Allavie 2020 Ofelia Valdez-Yeager 2001 Daniel Hantman 2011 * Jane Block 2021 | Lynn Heatley 2002 William F. Gavitt 2012 Stan Morrison 2022 Francisca Beltran 2003 Dell Roberts 2013 Debbie Guthrie 2023 1 Beth Schwandt 2004 Stan Brown 2014 Gordon Bourns
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
The Mayor's Nominating and Screening Committee selection of a community member for consideration by the City Council for the 2024 City Spirit Award contributes to Strategic Plan Priority #5 - High Performing Government and Goal 5.3 - Enhance communication and collaboration with community members to improve transparency, build public trust, and encourage shared decision-making.
This item aligns with the 5. Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
1. Community Trust - The selection process for a City Spirit Award recipient is transparent and promotes civic engagement by recognizing community members whose activities and actions serve the public interest, benefit the City's diverse populations, and result in greater public good.
2. Equity - The City Spirit Award promotes equity as it is a citywide honor and nominees may be chosen from any and all Wards. The positive impact of the nominees' extraordinary deeds and community spirit, good citizenship, and dedication to enhancing the quality of life in the City benefit the entire community.
3. Fiscal Responsibility - This item is neutral toward this Cross-Cutting Thread.
4. Innovation - The City Spirit Award promotes recognition of community members whose contribution includes building collaborative partnerships and embracing adaptive processes to meet the community changing needs and preparing for the future.
5. Sustainability and Resiliency - The City Spirit Award promotes recognition of community members' contribution to the community's needs of the present without compromising the City Spirit Award - Page 3
needs of the future and ensuring the City's capacity to persevere, adapt and grow during good and difficult times alike.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
Prepared by: Donesia Gause, City Clerk
Concurs with:
atricia Sorklaus
PATRICIA LOCK DAWSON, Chair
Mayor's Nominating and Screening Committee
Attachment: Biographies of Nominees