Montrose Verdugo Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Melinda Clarke announces:

The Crescenta Valley Drug and Alcohol Prevention Coalition is our Organization of the Year. Their mission is to create awareness and maintain a safe and healthy drug-free community by providing our youth a secure, caring and supportive environment. The Coalition provides Parent Resource Sessions to the community through the YMCA, they have monthly meetings to talk about the latest information on how to keep our community drug free and have collaborated with the DEA to provide locations to drop off unwanted prescription medication.

Finally, we are bestowing our highest award on CV Weekly journalist Mary O’Keefe. It is the Frank Roberts Award. This award symbolizes a historic tradition of the Roberts Family, whose patronage and support of the Montrose-Verdugo City area has resulted in the highest expression of community involvement. Mary O’Keefe works tirelessly in the area not only reporting for the CV Weekly newspaper, but in various service organizations that she helped spearhead. She is a board member of Prom Plus, an organization that started in 1993 after a CVHS was murdered at an unsupervised after prom party. Prom Plus is an after prom party that serves as an alternative to unchaperoned parties that is held at the Crescenta-Cañada YMCA. This organization gives kids a safe place to go and keeps them away from the dangers of drugs and alcohol and other unsafe activities that many kids participate in after the prom. She also works with the Crescenta Valley Drug and Alcohol Prevention Coalition, which I spoke about above, and was able to create a youth center called the Firehouse with their help. The Firehouse, which is located at St. Luke’s of the Mountains Episcopal Church, is a youth center located on the campus of St. Luke’s.

The Fire House is open on Tuesday evenings from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. as a drop- in center for high school age youth in the community.  Dinner is served and kids can study, play in the game room or just “hang out” in the main room. On Thursday mornings from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. the Fire House is open for students from Rosemont Middle School who need a place to go on Thursday mornings because school starts late. The kids can hang out, eat breakfast, play pool, or finish homework before walking up to school. What a great service to the community and youth in the area. I know Frank Roberts would be proud!