Los Alamitos About Us


	Los Alamitos California

ARNIE FINE

Arnie has been a member of the Youth Center Board for over 14 years. His involvement with the organization stems form his own experiences in a similar agency as a youth growing up in New York. It was such an important and formative experience that he continues to support youth programs in order to provide similar experiences for the children served by the Youth Center.
Arnie and his family have lived in the community for over 20 years. His two college-age sons also benefited from the Youth Center and often volunteer when home. Arnie owns a business in Los Angeles and his wife, Lynda, is a teacher in the Los Alamitos Unified School District. In his spare time he is an avid sports fan who enjoys golf, tennis and baseball.

BARBARA WRIGHT

Barbara retired from the Los Alamitos Unified School District after teaching Special Education for almost 30 years at Zoeter, Hopkinson and McGaugh Elementary Schools. She has been actively involved in Seal Beach community affairs as a Seaside Lion and a member of the Woman's Club of Seal Beach.

BETH PIBURN

Beth has been a Los Alamitos resident for over 30 years and a member of the Youth Center board for 23 years. As a member of the Youth Center board Beth has served as President, Secretary, and Vice President of Community Activities. She is also active with Grad Night. Beth is a Registered Nurse, works at Los Alamitos Medical Center and teaches nursing at Cypress College where she is involved with faculty leadership through the Academic Senate.

DAVE APPLING

Dave has served on the Youth Center's board for over 20 years and twice held the position of President. He and his wife Diane have lived in the community for 35 years, have 3 sons and 5 grandchildren. Dave is a founder of the Los Alamitos High School Football Foundation and is President of the Los Alamitos Education Foundation. He has been named Man of the Year by the Los Alamitos Area Chamber of Commerce and Cypress College's Americana Citizen of the Year.

DEAN GROSE

Dean has been a resident and business owner in Los Alamitos since 1988 and active in community and civic affairs since 2000. His involvement with the Youth Center stems from his belief in its focus of "keeping good kids good" and desires that the organization grow and prosper.
Dean is a member of the Los Alamitos/Seal Beach Rotary Club and serves as President of the Delta Los Alamitos Business Association. His business, Event Medical Services, developed programs for on-site first aid and medical services that have become a model throughout California. Today the business focuses on the sale of first aid supplies and equipment.
Dean and his wife Wendy together have 6 children and 6 grandchildren.

DEBBIE KENT

Debbie has been a teacher at McAuliffe Middle School for 17 years and has lived in Los Alamitos for 28 years. She has been honored with the PTA Honorary Service Award and is a member of the American Legion. Debbie has been a volleyball, basketball and softball player and coach.

DIXIE FRIED

Dixie has lived and worked in the community for 30 years. Along with her husband Jeff, they have raised two daughters and have 4 grandchildren. She is a member of the Los Alamitos/Seal Beach Rotary Club and feels that it is important to give back to the community in the form of financial support and active involvement.

KAREN RUSSELL

Karen is a retired teacher who has lived in Seal Beach for 40 years. She has been married to her husband Don for 37 years. During her 37-year tenure as a teacher she taught at both the elementary and middle school levels.
She has served on the boards of the California Teachers Association, the National Education Association and the California Teachers Retirement Board.
She was recognized as Teacher of the Year in 1982 for the Westminster School District, received the state CTA Human Rights Award, the CTA state We Honor Our Award and appears in the Women's Historical Biography of the National Education Association.
Within her community she is a member of the Seal Beach Seaside Lions. In 2004 her club honored her with the Melvin Jones Fellowship, the highest award a Lion can receive. In 2005 she was named Lion of the Year for her club. She is also a member of the Seal Beach Woman's Club. Since December 2004 she has been a member of the Los Alamitos Unified School District Board of Trustees.
Karen enjoys travel with her husband Don in their motor home and has traveled extensively throughout the world in 40 countries and 42 US states.

MARILYNN POE

Marilynn has lived in the community since she was 2 years old and has been married to her husband Bill for 48 years. They have 3 children, two grandchildren and one step-grandson. Marilynn has been a member of the Youth Center's board since 1985 and has served as President, Vice President and Treasurer. Her other board position include the Los Alamitos Museum, Comite Del Amor, Partnership4Solutions, Mayflower Preschool and Pack 4 the Future. Since 1994 she has been a member of the Los Alamitos City Council.
Marilynn continues her service to the Youth Center because she believes very strongly in the principles that were used to form the organization over 50 years ago: providing a safe and nurturing place for the youth of the community.

PATRICIA ESKENAZI

Patricia and her husband Rey own Servpro of Seal Beach/Los Alamitos/Cypress.
They have been in business for 14 years and are very active in the community. Over the years she has watched the Youth Center grow in service to the young people of the community and serves on the board to help sustain its programs.

TOM CURRAN
Having grown up in the community, he has been active with his family in various fund raising activities as well as coaching various sports teams for his 2 sons. Tom and his wife Nancy have been a supporter of the Youth Center for over 15 years.

KEYANUS PRICE

Before joining Trend Offset Printing in 2002, Keyanus spent 10 years working for the President and CEO of a Fortune 500 marketing company. At Trend, Keyanus is responsible for corporate functions inside and outside of Trend, including company community service and administrative duties for the Corporate Executive Team. Keyanus believes strongly in investing in the future of our youth - she joined the Youth Center Board of Directors to make a difference in the development and success of the community's children.

SHEILA OTTONE

Sheila has lived in the community for over 25 years and has been a member of the Youth Center Board of Directors since 1996. She and her husband, Phil, have 2 adult children who attended local schools and currently act as volunteers for Youth Center projects. They both feel that being a part of an organization that makes a difference in the lives of so many young people is a worthy investment of their time and resources.

TOM BARCLAY

Bio to follow

NEWT HART

Newton (Newt) Hart was born in Hawaii of Polynesian and Portuguese ancestry, and moved to Los Angeles when he was 9. Following high school he served in the Navy, then went to Santa Monica CC and UC Berkeley for his undergraduate degree. He then earned degrees and credentials at San Jose State, San Francisco Law School, and Azusa Pacific University in education and law. After 32 years as a teacher, coach and administrator in public education in he retired in 2005.

Newt has been married for 38 years to Carol, a former principal and superintendent in Los Alamitos. His children, Brandon and Allison, each graduated from Los Alamitos USD schools.

As a teen-ager and young adult, newt was a referee/umpire in youth sports at a city park, and worked as a program director at a Boys Club during college; most of his life has involved supervising and supporting young people. Helping the Youth Center is now part of that mission.