By Dana Sternthal
Staff Writer
The Manhattan Beach City Council awarded four Manhattan Beach citizens the Mayor Wayne Powell’s I♥MB award at the city council meeting on Sept. 4.
The city council awarded one distinguished youth, one distinguished organization and one distinguished adult the Mayor’s I♥MB award. The recipients were Thomas Suarez, Ryan Small, representatives of the Joslyn Center and Oasis Center, and Nick Arquette.
“I initiated this award program to honor those Manhattan Beach citizens who are outstanding and contribute to the community,” Powell said.
The first recipient honored was Thomas Suarez, a thirteen-year-old app designer who started an app writing club at his middle school. He has already launched two of his own apps and is working on debuting his new company, CarrotCorp. He was recognized when his speech at a Technology Entertainment and Design conference received over two million views.
“He’s articulate beyond his years and an overnight sensation,” Powell said. “He’s done so much for the development of apps, and he’s such an inspiration.”
The next citizen honored was Police Lieutenant Ryan Small. Small was recently promoted from sergeant to lieutenant, and was honored for his many years of service to the city of Manhattan Beach.
“It’s such a great honor to be receiving this award,” Small said. “I love Manhattan Beach and I love being a part of the police force.”
The recipients of the Distinguished Older Adult Award included representatives from the Joslyn Community Center and the Oasis Center, Manhattan Beach organizations that provide activities and services for seniors. They offer their members the chance participate in bingo nights, ping-pong tournaments and many other activities.
“The Joslyn Center has been around for a long time,” vice chair of the Senior Advisory Committee Richard Zeif said. “We love serving older adult communities, we enjoy the activities we provide, and we hope to continue to contribute to Manhattan Beach life.”
The final recipient of the night was Nick Arquette, founder of the Walk with Sally organization, which works with kids whose parents have cancer.
“Nick founded Walk with Sally to mentor kids going through something terrible,” Powell said. “Every year they hold the White Light, White Night event, which is a great fundraiser that I personally go to every year. It’s a great way to raise awareness and money for this amazing organization.”
Walk with Sally was founded after Arquette lost his own mother, Sally Arquette, to cancer. Later in life, Arquette bonded with a boy who had also lost his mother to cancer and became his mentor. Arquette now helps kids with parents who have cancer through his organization.
“Cancer changes lives,” Arquette said. “Many people have friends or family who die of cancer. This city helped build our organization from the ground up, and it’s amazing how you can grow an organization from nothing. We help children, and bring hope to their lives, and we exist, in part, because of Manhattan Beach.”
Leave a Reply