Agenda Item No.
CITY OF YUCAIPA
AGENDA REPORT
TOc Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Megan Wolfe, Director o£ Community Services "j-u.�l FOR: City Council Meeting of November 27, 2023
SUBJECT: Healthy Yucaipa Comrittee Appointment
RECOMMENDATION•
That the City Council appoint one of the three applicants to the one vacant At -Large Healthy Yucaipa Committee position.
DISCUSSION•
The Healthy Yucaipa Committee (EIYC) currently has one vacant At -Large appointed position due to the resignation o£ James Jetton. In response, the City advertised a notice of vacancy in accordance with Government Section Code §54974 for the vacant position and received three Citizen Service Applications for the HYC from; Gary Jacobs, Marla Miller and Matthew Underwood. All applicants were notified of the meeting.
Below is a chart identifying the current HYC members, their Council appointee, and the term of service.
Incumbents
Appointed By
Date Appointed
Term End Date
Distelberg, Jeff
Mayor Beaver
12/20/2022
1/1Y2025
Sherwin, Meredith
Mayor Pro Tem Duncan
12/20/2022
1/1 /2025
Lopez -Winter, Cynthia
Councihnember Venable
12YLOY2022
1/1 /2025
Heather O'Bier
Councihnember Thorp
12/20/2022
1/1/2025
Brandi Hiclonan
Councilmember Garner
OS/22/2023
1/1/2025
Hansen Wang
At -Large
2/13/2023
1/1/2025
At -Large
11/27/2023
1/1/2025
FISCAL IMPACT•
There is no fiscal impact as a result of this action.
Attachment: 1. Citizen Service Applications
Approved by-
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An explanation about why I didn't use the spaces on the form. 4yhen I typed on entries with multiple lines, the cursor would not go to the next line at the end of a line break. Instead, the font got smaller and smaller. Thus one would have to manually go Zine by Zine and attempt to resize all the typescript into similar sizes, which after a couple of trials, I gave up upon this. Also, rather than standard "bullet" entries, mine will be small essays.
Educational bacl�ground: It begins in the home with the greatest influence on children, the parents.
My mother went through junior high, my father, sixth grade. The key: Trips starting as very young people to the Waterloo, Iowa, Carnegie library. It opened the world to me. I graduated from East Waterloo (Iowa) High School in 1971 at which point I was already enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. I was an aircraft control and warning radar repairman. In t9�75 I attended and graduated from North Iowa Area CommuniTy College in t9�76 with an A.A. in liberal arts. I then transferred Yo the UniversiTy of Iowa where I graduated with a B.A. in i9�78, with a dual major of journalism and philosophy. If memory serves, I (at the time an Air Force public affairs officer), graduated with an M.A, in communications from Webster University in t9Sz. But back to reading —when it's said it's "fundamental," it is_ Most of the people I knew who struggled academically failed with reading comprehension. When years later at the San Bernardino Police Deparnnent, where I worked as a civilian, when doing children's programs L emphasized to kids and parents, everyone should have a library card, preferably from both City and County. Without dri5ting too much aH'topic, the more education you have, the less likely you are to be a victim of crime. The reverse is true as well, most prison residents read at grade 3 or 4 level, functional illiteracy. By the way, educate inmates and they tend to reoffend less. It appears that with health, the divide is the same, the more education one has, the more one chooses a healthier li£esTyle.
Why are you interested in this position? I tell people I have a super power. I can gain weight super easily. To keep the girth at bay, I attend thrice weekly "Aerobics to Go" classes at the Scherer Center, where I began in September scan. In so doing I dropped about 8o pounds of post-Covid flab. Easy? No. Essential? Yes, if one (I'm age �70) wants not only longevity but quality of life. Back to the reading part — I recall in high school reading Dr. Kenneth Cooper, who was an Air Force doctor and him coining the word "aerobics" to describe athen-new idea of conditioning involving stamina and oxygen use. One can read Jane Fonda's autobiography in which she describes how a friend began exercising and Jane picked up on the idea and using her celebrity, marketed it into a wildly successful exercise series. Going way back, one can read in a recent NY Times story about how Misses Jack LaLanne gave her husband (it was not attraction at first sight) the idea of a fitness television show. Communicating this idea of health and fitness to my mind is a core value of any municipaliTy —and may have broad application in a range of other issues.
What do you consider to be three (3 �) major assets that would qualify you for selection to this commission/committee? First, one of the tenants of Air Force leadership and management was leading by example. One should present an image of good mental and physical health —the two go hand in hand. I like many if not most people have had ups and downs in this regard, with the long term idea that solutions are at hand if one is open to them. Here, too, (and second) one is not only an advocate for the "senior" age group but the entireTy o£the communiTy as a whole. It's interesting to see the arc of American society. Years ago when Jimmy Stewart attempted to enlist in the World War II Army Air Corps, he was refused because he was underweight. When we showed years ago World War II uniforms at the Norton AFB Museum, we had to use child mannequins. People are bigger now.
Fast forward to present day. The swimming records of Johnny Weismuller, the one-time movie
Tarzan, are now the province of high school girls_ That said, we have an obesity problem, which and also be said to be an education and income problem. History is now turned on its head as rich people are now thin and poor people are fat. The reasons for this are too numerous for here, but I will mention a good book in this regard, "The Omnivore's Dilemma," by Michael Poll¢n. I would think education and "walking the walk" would be condition three.
How long have you lived in YucaipaP I came to Norton AFB from Misawa, Japan, in i985. It was like Bangor, Maine, Japan —with 222 inches of snow the winter I was there. One time in May I looked out my office window to a snowstorm. Southern California was a great contrast. I leR the military in i989 and moved to Calimesa, then later Yucaipa. I was a rent¢r at 35015 Vickey Way, Yucaipa for something like r6 years. Later I moved to my current address, where I've lived about seven years.
A word about citizen involvement and volunteers: I retired in 202o after 26 years at the San Bernardino Police Department, much of it in community affairs and crime prevention. As a member of this committee, I would expect that one represents the City and its tenants. One does not go off on tangents or areas beyond expertise. Believe me, both as an AF public affairs ofFicer and a PD employee I have seen the very good (the IRC terrorist incident happened in my time there) and the bad. Think before engaging the mouth. And remember very oRen nothing is a very good thing to say and do. That said, anyone who becomes a public employee or takes up a mantle of public office wisely and well — these people deserve our gratitud¢.
References:
Ask the staff at the Scherer Center about my attendance at the Monday, Wednesday and Friday "Aerobics 2 Go" classes, with the instructor being Elizabeth, who prefers not to use her surname and which I will respect_ I read about the class in one of the catalog -type mailers the City sends out. I walk about ahalf--mile to these classes, which at first requir¢d stopping now and then to catch breath. Now it's a straight jaunt with usually a pause at th¢ busy Boulevard. I began classes having to stop, and now I use 8-pound weights, carried with me in a backpack. On off days I can be found for a time at the local Fitness r9 riding the stationary bike to nowhere while listening to a podcast.
Second, I attend the weekly Weight Watcher's (now rebranded "W W ') at the Staybridge Suites under the tutelage of Eve Clayton. These aze held weekly in San Bernardino at the Staybridge Suites Hotel. I have dropped something like So pounds. The program is not a `diet" but more a lifestyle change. One thing to note here: In capacity as a City board member, one is not a shill for any organization, W W or any other. I maintain a strict dividing line in this, and would preface any such query thusly, "Not speaking for the City here, but my own opinion is ..." That said, at all times, one remembers time, occasion, and what's being communicated. I don't see this being a big problem, but it's worth addressing up front. Basically the way to lose weight is simple: Mov¢ more, eat less. But then add in the ingenious American marketing of food and portions. When I was a boy, "soda pop" came in 6 ounc¢ bottles. Now it's a t6 ounce can or 20 ounce plastic bottle. One could easily wipe out the Aerobics 2 Go classroom calorie burn with two Krispy ICreme donuts.
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Healthy Yucaipa Committee
1 am interested in this committee because 1 believe health and wellness is a lifelong commitment composed of countless conscious and unconscious chofcas made daily.
The reality and foundation of my career as an emergency physician has been to treat the consequences of poor lifestyle choices with primary and secondary victims. We have an epidemic on all fronts including: an opioid and drug crisis, rampant alcoholism and irresponsible drinking, mental health crisis and loneliness, obesity and sedentary I ifastyle. I have bean involved in youth sports for a couple decades and it saddens ma to sae the devastating impact of these issues beginning at such young ages.
Government and authority can't maKa people healthy, but they can have influan ca through education, promotion, and creating an environment conducive for the opportunity of wellness. 1 moved to Vucaipa 24 years ago to ba close to outdoor activity for my own mental, physical, and spiritual health. i want to preserve, improve, and promote what Yucaipa has to offer in this regard.
Major Assets
Board Certified Emergency Physician
- Vice Chairman /Assistant Medical Director Riverside Community Hospital - Associate Clinical Professor University California Riverside (UCR) - Volunteer UCR street medicine clinics
- daily witness to the ravage of lifestyle disease that 1 wish to prevent Youth Sports Coach
- I have Volunteered nearly 20 years as a boys and girls youth sports coach beginning first with Yucaipa Youth BasKetball at grade 7 and up through the high school level. - I Started a middle school cross country program at Mesa Grande Academy and actively continua to volunteer coach middle school and high school cross country.
Ta1K the ta1K and wa1K the wa1K
- 1 am an avid runner, triathlete, mountain biker, hiKar, and dog walker engaging in these activities daily throughout and around Yucaipa.
- I compete in many of these activities frequently at a high level throughout Southern California and the Nation and am one of the top masters age -group runners in the country.
Captain USAF (1989-'1999)