Caroline Anderson – Individual
Caroline Que Anderson is a pillar of volunteerism in our city, demonstrating exceptional leadership and service that have strengthened the community. Her long-term, broad-based service spans education, youth activities, cultural pursuits and civic engagement. She has served on various school district committees before being elected to the LCUSD School Board of Education where she is now the President. She is highly visible and present at school functions, offering direct support to students and staff. She has held a variety of positions at Palm Crest PTA. At LCHS 7/8 and LCHS 9-12 levels, she also was on the PTA board and was VP of the La Cañada Council of PTA’s. She revitalized the Builders Club at LCHS 7/8 and the Key Club at LCHS, recruiting students and faculty advisors to restart these critical youth leadership initiatives after they went dormant during COVID-19.
Caroline has served on many community organizations such as LCF Educational Foundation. She is also very active in the Kiwanis Club of La Cañada serving on their board as director since 2021 and now as VP. As Membership Director of the Foothills Community Scholarship Foundation, she doubled its size in her first year and continues her 4th year on the Board. LCF Tournament of Roses Association has benefitted from her volunteerism. She is an Ambassador with the local Chamber which involves visiting businesses. She also assists with student volunteer coordination and event organization with the Fiesta Days Parade. Caroline is a board member and student chaperone for LCF Sister Cities, deepening cultural understanding and international exchange. She is actively involved in fostering cultural awareness and unity in the community with the local Chinese/American Club. La Cañada Junior Women’s Club welcomed her during the COVID-19 pandemic as she continues to support all their philanthropic endeavors. Caroline has made an undeniable impact on individuals in the community by consistently being hands-on, accessible and engaged in ways that go far beyond typical service expectations: She is known for personally mentoring students, supporting their extracurricular activities and helping them secure community service hours necessary for graduation and scholarships.
Caroline’s outstanding service has been formally recognized by multiple organizations, reflecting the breadth and depth of her impact. She exemplifies selfless, long-term and broad-based service directly strengthening our city. Through her relentless dedication, she has built bridges between schools, nonprofits and the broader community ensuring that La Cañada Flintridge thrives as a place of service, learning, and unity.
Brian Hummel – Individual
Brian Hummel is a modern day Renaissance man who is proficient in a wide range of fields, including his job, family, community and church. Starting with St. Bede. He joined their choir in the early 1990’s and has been an active member ever since. He was the cantor at mass for years and still cantors at funerals and weddings for family and friends. He was a member of the St. Bede Parish Council for 3 years.
Every Saturday morning, for the last 5 years, he delivers donated bread to Skidettes, one of the oldest outerach ministries at St. Bede. This group makes and delivers 600 lunches each week to those in need in downtown Los Angeles.
For 20 years, Brian has been a volunteer with Brothers Helpers, another ministry serving hot dinners in downtown to the homeless and poor. For many years he drove the meals to LA and served them. Currently, he packs the dinners every Monday night for delivery.
Since January, he has volunteered with the Neighbors of Altadena, an outreach program operating out of St. Bede, providing of a variety of services to people affected by the recent wildfires. He buys and delivers lunch for the volunteers and participants and helps as needed with the counseling group assisting people obtain lost documents, file insurance claims, apply for housing as well as financial assistance.
Brian previously served as a director on the LCF Coordinating Council for a number of years, helping with community forums set up and the Les Tupper Awards Ceremony, of which now he is a recipient. He was a volunteer coach for his children’s sports teams – specifically AYSO soccer and YMCA basketball. As a guest speaker at LCHS for many years, he would come to Mrs. Kristof’s history class and speak on the constitution, branches of government, legislative process and student rights and responsibilities
Last but certainly not least, Brian has been a member of the Kiwanis Club of La Cañada La Crescenta-AM since 1992 as well as their song director at their weekly meetings. He has been a long-time volunteer for the club’s signature project, day-old food distribution. EVERY Saturday he loads up his car with donated food from Ralphs in LCF and La Crescenta and delivers it to the Salvation Army Adult Center in Pasadena. He also has been the liaison for the club’s sponsored Builders Club (grades 7-8) at St. Bede for many years, which meets monthly at lunchtime during the school year, which he attends. Brian has been on the Kiwanis Board for 15 years as Director of Communications overseeing the members who are involved in publicity and the website. He assists at the annual Fiesta Day French Toast Breakfast cooking sausages the day of the event and helping with set up and take down of tables and chairs.
Suzanne Jensen – Focus
Suzanne Jensen received the FOCUS SERVICE AWARD for volunteerism concentrated in 1 or 2 areas. She and her husband moved to La Cañada to raise their 3 children and be closer to her parents and the family business in Altadena. Before she became a local business owner, she served as Board President of the Community Center of LCF in 2013-2014.
When the opportunity rose to purchase a local retail business on Foothill, Suzanne jumped at the chance to keep the shop open. Retail businesses in the area were few and far between, and she thought it important not to let this one disappear. The business name was changed to Everson Clare Boutique and the little store on the boulevard became a popular destination for local shoppers, as well as those from neighboring communities. Besides providing fashions for all ages, Suzanne has given generously to La Cañada Flintridge, as well as the surrounding communities. She has volunteered her boutique to support various education and community fundraising events such as LCE’s Party Book Fundraiser, Fremont Foundation Fundraiser, Miss LCF Royal Court Fundraiser where 20% of all purchases went to their scholarship fund.
In addition, she supplied fashions for the Thursday Club’s annual Spring Benefit which funds their foundation’s scholarship program; sponsored the DJ at LCE’s annual Halloween Haunt fundraiser, and donated dresses and jewelry to the Miss LCF Royal Court. Most recently, she provided support for the fire victims of Altadena. Suzanne contacted her vendors relaying the devastation occurring in our neighboring city. Her vendors were more than generous and supplied her with clothing. She in turn gave any fire victim who came into the shop one complete outfit: clothing as well as accessories. Two of the Altadena city council members received outfits for their first Council meeting where they gave monetary aid to local citizens of Altadena affected by the fire.
Suzanne has made her boutique a destination for shoppers. Customers have become friends. In addition, she hires local high school students, giving them the opportunity to learn valuable skills as part of her sales team.
Lauren Kim – Student
Lauren Kim, a senior at LCHS, has been actively involved in ASB for 4 years, held various leadership positions, plays varsity tennis all while maintaining a 5.0 GPA. She has remarkable resilience and maturity in the face of personal adversity. After her father was diagnosed with stomach cancer 3 years ago, she demonstrated commitment to cancer advocacy and became actively involved with the organization, Hope for Stomach Cancer. She attended informational sessions, received their newsletters and ultimately was invited to Washington D.C. to advocate alongside other patients and caregivers at the White House and on Capitol Hill. In addition, she and was invited to present at the Stanford Medicine Gastric Cancer Disparities Initiative and the National Cancer Summit.
This impactful experience sparked Lauren’s passion for raising cancer awareness by creating a club at LCHS, Sending Out Love, which provides encouragement and resources to cancer patients. She works with Dr. Yanghee Woo at City of Hope and is currently working on publishing an informational brochure about stomach cancer in a variety of languages to help educate other young people facing similar challenges. She was recognized by Kiwanis’ California-Nevada-Hawaii District with their Student Service Award for her philanthropic activities.
Another of Lauren’s most impressive accomplishments is her title as “Miss La Cañada” in 2024. This prestigious honor is a testament to her poise, grace, and ability to connect with people from all walks of life. When asked why she wanted to be on the Court she said, “I have come to appreciate and enjoy being a part of a bigger cause that positively impacts the lives of many people in a community. There is nothing more fulfilling than doing something that has purpose and meaning.” She took her reign seriously and attended over 40 events. In this role, she demonstrated her exceptional public speaking skills and her dedication to serving the community as its Mistress of Ceremonies for the Memorial Day Commemoration at our local park where she had the opportunity to honor veterans, including her own grandfather who served in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Lauren also demonstrated her entrepreneurial spirit and creativity. In the midst of the pandemic, she recognized the discomfort that traditional masks were causing and decided to take action. She launched a mask business, creating large and extra-large masks to accommodate a wider range of individuals. She also branched out into making skin-toned masks, showcasing her attention to detail and aesthetic sensibilities. Lauren’s unwavering dedication, intellectual curiosity and compassionate spirit make her an exceptional candidate for this honor.
Joe Radabaugh – Individual
Joe Radabaugh and his wife moved to La Cañada in 2007, in search of amazing schools for their two children. The family quickly fell in love with the community and shortly thereafter, Joe to start his selfless journey of serving our community.
In service to our schools, Joe has been on the School Board since 2017, twice serving as Board President, leading our school district through some very trying years with the pandemic, school site improvements and the recent fires. Prior to that, he was a Director of the Educational Foundation, as well as a committee member on both the 2020 Measure LCF Parcel Tax Campaign and 2017 Measure LCF Bond campaign.
In service to our greater community, Joe has been a La Cañada Kiwanis Club board member since 2020, and was last year’s La Cañada Kiwanis Club President, where he championed efforts to expand service partnerships with groups like Ascencia and introduced innovative fundraising efforts such as their helicopter golf ball drop raffle. Kiwanis also recognized him with their District Distinguished Service Award in 2022. .
Joe has also been involved with the LCF Chamber of Commerce as resident member, LCUSD Board Liaison, and 2020 winner of the Chamber’s Community Service Award. Joe also served as a director on the LCF Coordinating Council in 2023 and serves on the Personnel Committee at La Cañada Presbyterian Church since 2022.
In service to our youth, Joe was president of La Cañada Baseball Softball Association from 2019-2021, in addition to being a long-term board member and baseball coach. Joe worked tirelessly for our youth during Covid, ensuring the leagues kept playing during the shut down. He has been involved with boy scouting for 12 years, as an Assistant Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 501 and an Assistant Den Leader for Cub Scout Pack 513.
Joe also was a Board Ambassador for First Tee of Pasadena in 2018, a successful junior golf program at Brookside Golf Course teaching children valuable life skills. Their mission is to impact the lives of young people of the greater Pasadena area by providing a safe learning environment as well as educational programs building character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf.
Joe is selfless and is always doing for the good of others. He listens, guides and is a wonderful leader.
Arianna Shamo – Student
Arianna Shamo’s involvement in school and the City of LCF spans multiple organizations where she has taken on leadership roles, committed extensive hours to service, and positively impacted students.
A Girl Scouts since kindergarten, she underwent 2 years of training to become a camp counselor where she will planned, lead and supervised a variety of outdoor activities for the campers. She is working on her Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouts, and has completed over 300 service hours.
While attending St. Bede, she was a member of the Kiwanis Builders Club, sang in choir masses, performed altar service and read at mass. She continues as a confirmation leader and is a member of the Campus Ministry Leadership team.
At FSHA, she dedicates many hours to being an ambassador, is a peer tutor for Biology and Math, and the captain of the school’s cross-country team, She also established a Sports Medicine Club to educate athletes on injury prevention and recovery and collaborates with the school’s athletic department to promote wellness. The club did a community outreach project where an injury prevention pamphlet was created and delivered all to local physical therapists.
Arianna participates FSHA musical theater and founded and leads of the school’s acapella group. She has dedicated over 100 hours to building a musical community fostering teamwork, confidence and artistic expression. This club was born to provide a creative outlet for student-athletes whose schedules would not otherwise allow them to explore their musical talents. As a board member of Latinas United in Action, Arianna has spent many hours working on initiatives that empower Latina students, providing mentorship, promoting cultural awareness and activism, both at school and within the LCF community. She’s a board member of the National Honor Society and Steminist and a member of Mu Alpha Theta-a math honor society.
In addition to academics, she is a member of the National Charity League, where she received the Yellow Rosebud award yearly for 50 hours of community service as well as the mother/daughter award for 25 hours of service. She has volunteered for many organizations outside our city such as the YWCA, Union Station, Operation Gratitude, Twelve Oaks Senior Living, Door of Hope and Ascencia.
This past year, she had the honor to be a princess on the LCF Royal Court and represented our city at various community events as well as the upcoming Memorial Day weekend activities. She enjoys speaking at public engagements and serving as an ambassador for LCF. Arianna’s work has provided lasting benefits to her school and the City of LCF.
Charlie Simonian – Student
Charlie Simonian, a 12th grade student at Flintridge Prep, is an extraordinary leader: an idea guy who executes compassion and eagerness to contribute to the betterment of society as well as his school community. As Editor-in-Chief of the Flintridge Press school newspaper, he oversees a team of over 100 writers. In addition, he is the captain for both his high school and club water polo teams, co-captain on mock trial and President of the Armenian Ed Club.
Described as a change-maker, he founded Send me Supplies, a non-profit organization dedicated to distributing essential medical supplies to underserved communities. This initiative grossed over $220,000 in sales and has donated $15,000 to various causes. It exemplifies his ability to merge entrepreneurial skills with a deep-seated sense of social responsibility.
Recognizing the severity of the opioid crisis, Charlie expanded his organization’s mission to include free distribution of the lifesaving medication, Narcan, by securing grants that enabled him to provide over 5,400 doses to those in need. His efforts brought Narcan distribution to various locations and schools in the La Cañada area. He spearheaded the placement of a Narcan vending machine at the 711 on Foothill Blvd, ensuring that Narcan is available 24/7 at a central location. He has taken a proactive step in harm reduction and community safety. Charlie has worked to educate others by organizing speaker events at his school and bringing in experts to share their knowledge and first-hand experiences about opioid misuse and harm reduction. He played a key role in assisting with a health fair at LCHS, furthering his mission to spread awareness and equip the community with essential knowledge and tools to combat the crisis. His efforts have directly contributed to saving lives and increasing public awareness of the dangers of fentanyl. One of the nominators for Charlie was a bereaved mother who lost her 17 year-old son to fentanyl. She served as the Outreach Coordinator for “Song for Charlie,” a family run non-profit in California (not related to this Charlie), focused on educating students and parents to the dangers of fentanyl and counterfeit pills. Charlie reached out to that organization 2 years ago to inquire about bringing a fentanyl awareness assembly to his school. He organized and led the assembly on fentanyl education for students; however, many faculty said it was the most impactful presentation they’d ever seen. Additionally, his literature review on the opioid epidemic was selected for publication at the Johns Hopkins Global Health Leaders Conference.
Lastly, he spearheaded a mental health study in Guatemala with USC, conducting 134 surveys to analyze the correlation between socio-economic factors and mental health outcomes. His commitments are diverse and require a myriad of talents. He is organized, caring, diligent, clear and mature in his leadership. Charlie epitomizes service to others. His heart for service continues to grow. His kindness, humility and genuine desire to uplift others make him an exceptional candidate and so deserving of the Les Tupper Student Community Service Award.
UniteLCF! – Focus
UniteLCF!’s successful effort to strength the fabric and cohesiveness of our community by creating a single united school district will have everlasting effects. In the 1880’s, a boundary line was drawn demarcating the territories of the La Cañada Unified School District and its neighbor, the Glendale Unified School District. This boundary line delineated what is now the northwestern part of LCF, which as a result became part of GUSD’s territory. Very sparsely populated at the time, this area eventually became known as the Sagebrush. As the population of Southern California grew, so did the residential development of the Sagebrush area, especially after World War II.
Beginning in the 1960’s, several serious attempts were made to consolidate a single school district within what are now the city limits of LCF. The purpose was to create stronger community cohesiveness, especially among the city’s youth. For decades, GUSD successfully fought this, claiming it would suffer negative financial effects.
In 2014, a new resident-driven effort to transfer the Sagebrush school territory to LCUSD was launched. Dubbed UniteLCF!, this drive was led by Sagebrush residents Tom Smith; Nick Karapetian; Nalini Lasiewicz and former LCUSD governing board member Scott Tracy. Its motto was “One City – One School District”. Countless volunteer hours were invested over an 11-year period. UniteLCF! worked collaboratively with the LCUSD board and its superintendent and the LCF City Council. After years of delay, LA County authorities finally approved the territory transfer. GUSD appealed that decision. Several individuals representing UniteLCF! testified at the resultant hearing in Sacramento. In a major victory for LCF, the Board denied GUSD’s appeal in January 2024, clearing the way for the territory transfer question to be put on the November 2024 ballot. UniteLCF! was instrumental in campaigning for this measure labeled Measure X. It passed overwhelming. Final approval of the Sagebrush territory transfer was at last achieved.
The UniteLCF! team relentlessly pursued what many considered a pipe dream. Others might have given up but through determination, commitment and strong leadership, UniteLCF! produced a great result for our community, 60 years in the making. This achievement was truly a team effort. Scores volunteered their time and energy, and all deserve credit and gratitude.
This service to our community clearly warrants this recognition.