Around The Valleys

For nearly 10 years, Studio City Hand Car Wash has hosted community events based around St. Patrick’s Day, dogs, and Los Angeles sports teams. Now add Inauguration Day to that list. On Jan. 17, the car wash hosts a free public event to celebrate the swearing in of Barack Obama as president and Joe Biden as vice president with R & B; music, performances by students from area schools, and food and drinks. The inauguration is a once in a lifetime event that celebrates a new beginning, said Ben Forat, who has owned the car wash for more than 15 years. “This is history in the making and we are glad to be a part of it,” Forat said. Jack McGrath, a publicist who works with Forat to organize and promote the events, likens the car wash as the place where area residents can gather for special events and spend time with their neighbors. Chances are that if customers come in for that free car wash, they will choose Forat’s business recognizable by its giant hand statue for their other car care needs. “When they need a detail they aren’t going down the street. They come back,” McGrath said. “We do things that nobody else does.” The car wash’s role as a community gathering place started with school fundraisers and then branched out into free car washes for people who wore green on St. Patrick’s Day, free washes on Father’s Day and Mother’s Day. One event staged by McGrath was “Dog Day Afternoon” where buying a car wash came with a free wash for their pooch. “We try to get everyone involved and put a smile on their face,” Forat said For Lakers Day, a backboard was set up for half-court basketball games. Another time McGrath decided that the captive audience of customers waiting for their cars shouldn’t go to waste. So he brought in comedienne Patricia Canale to do a half hour of standup comedy. “We have fun with what we do there,” McGrath said. Studio City Hand Carwash is located at 11514 Ventura Blvd. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY Calabasas McCord: The City of Los Angeles honored the late Bob McCord at a dedication ceremony Dec.18 in Old Town Calabasas in which El Canon Street was renamed “Bob McCord Way.” L.A. Council Member Dennis Zine presided over the ceremony honoring Bob McCord. Founder of the Sagebrush Cantina, McCord was not only a successful restaurateur but active in the community. Joining in the ceremony were, from left,: Calabasas Councilman Dennis Washburn, Calabasas Chamber President and CEO Carol Washburn, Sagebrush Cantina Operating Principal Don Genaro, Zine, Leonis Adobe Museum President Emeritus Ray Phillips, Leonis Adobe Museum Treasurer Ruth Abel and Calabasas Historical Society Board Member Arlene Bernholtz. Glendale Run: The Glendale Merchant’s Association will host its second annual Downtown Dash March 8. The dash is a 5K run/walk to benefit Glendale Adventist Medical Center’s Stroke Services for the community. The race will start in front of the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., and will end at the Americana at Brand. Registration and the Dash Healthy Living Expo will open at 7 a.m. the day of the event, and opening ceremonies will start at 8 a.m. and will include an aerobic warm-up. More than 1,000 people attended Downtown Dash last year. Online registration is encouraged. The individual registration fee for the 5K run/walk is $25. Since the 2008 Downtown Dash, Glendale Adventist became certified as the first Primary Stroke Center in the San Fernando Valley. Stroke is the nation’s third leading cause of death and the leading cause of long-term disability. Information: http://www.glendaleDown- townDash.org Award: Arecont Vision of Glendale was named winner of the 2008 European Megapixel Camera Product Line Strategy of the Year Award by Frost & Sullivan. The award is presented annually to a company “that has demonstrated the most insight into the needs and product demands of its customers and that has optimized its line of products to offer various price, performance and feature points as required by one or more market segments.” To select the recipient, a team of analysts tracks end-user requirements and market dynamics and interviews suppliers, end-users and industry experts. Mission Hills Mural: On Dec. 23, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center dedicated “Healing Angels,” a mural by artist Frank Rock, to the late Jean Seratti, a community hero and friend of the hospital. In honor of Seratti, her friends and fellow members of the foundation board of the defunct Granada Hills Community Hospital will donate $235,000 still in its treasury to Providence Holy Cross. Seratti died of cancer in 2008. She was active in community organizations, including many dedicated to needy children and developmentally disabled individuals. Near to her heart, according to Holy Cross, was the Granada Hills Community Hospital Foundation, which is distributing funds to other organizations since that hospital closed its doors in 2003. The “Healing Angels” mural is in the main hallway leading to the front desk at Providence Holy Cross and depicts angels, cherubs and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Studio City Parking: Commercials promoting a city-owned parking garage at 12243 Ventura Boulevard aired on Time Warner Cable during the month of November. The 30-second spots were the brainchild of publicist Jack McGrath and paid for with donations from Studio City business owners and the Studio City Improvement Association. Frustrated that the city itself was not doing much to tell shoppers about the garage, McGrath took it upon himself to get the commercials produced and airing on CNN, TNT, and several specialty cable stations. “It was done quickly and there have been a lot of positive comments,” McGrath said. The cost to park in the garage, located between Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Whitsett Avenue, is less than the $1.50 per hour for metered spaces. CONEJO VALLEY Westlake Village Fitness: Kinesis Fitness Center, located at 2900 Townsgate Road, has developed executive fitness packages for companies and management teams. Kinesis also offers a golf-specific program to help golf professionals and their clients improve their game through increased strength, stability, flexibility, balance and a better core. “We’re debuting both of these programs to companies and executives after the New Year,a time when many consumers resolve to improve their health and fitness,” Kinesis owner David Cohen said. “Research tells us one of the reasons that executives drop their fitness resolutions is due to the time required to achieve a meaningful benefit. We think we have a great solution for them to maintain their programs because it’s much easier and takes less time.” Kinesis is offering complimentary orientation sessions with a reservation. There are no initiation or membership fees. Information: (805) 777-8474 or www.kinesisfitnesscenter.com. MLK: California Lutheran University will celebrate the life and legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. during a special service Jan. 21 at 10:10 a.m. The public is invited to attend the free service in Samuelson Chapel, located near the corner of Olsen Road and Campus Drive. This year marks the 80th anniversary of King’s birth, who came into the world Jan. 15, 1929. For more information, call the Multicultural Programs Office at (805) 493-3323. Norris: “A Conversation with Kathleen Norris” will be held Jan. 25, 2 p.m., in California Lutheran University’s Samuelson Chapel, located near the corner of Olsen Road and Campus Drive. Norris has written four New York Times best-sellers. The autobiographical “The Virgin of Bennington” is a narrative of her early life trying to find a place for herself during the 1960s and 1970s. “Dakota: A Spiritual Geography” was inspired by her life on the Plains after she and her husband moved from New York to South Dakota. “The Cloister Walk” is a diary of her experience at a Benedictine monastery interspersed with meditations on celibacy, loneliness and Emily Dickinson. Her book “Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith” continues her theme that the spiritual world is rooted in the chaos of daily life. Her most recent book, “Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer’s Life,” was published in September. Information: (805) 493-3228. SANTA CLARITA VALLEY Fair: The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce has announced that it will host its first Health & Wellness Fair Jan. 31, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event, which is free to the community, will be held at College of the Canyons. More than 30 healthcare professionals and businesses have joined the Chamber’s Health Care Committee to plan the event. Its purpose is to heighten community awareness of healthcare resources and education available in the Santa Clarita Valley. The Health & Wellness Fair will feature free health screenings, health and fitness vendors with information and giveaways, chiropractic screenings and more. Healthcare professionals will also be on hand to answer questions and provide mini health education lectures. Vendor tables are available for $150 to SCV Chamber members and $250 to non-members. Information: (661) 702-6977 ext. 424 or [email protected]. Advertising: The Advertising Professionals Association (ADPROS) of the tri-valley areas of the Santa Clarita, San Fernando and Antelope valley markets are accepting nominations for their annual ADDY Awards. Creative excellence in all types of media — including print, web, broadcast, and public service advertising will be honored at an awards dinner at the Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills. Nomination entries must be received by Jan. 30, and work submitted must have been published or aired between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2008. Winners of the ADPROS ADDY Awards will be eligible to compete at the District 15 level in the second level of the three-tiered ADDY Awards Competition. District winners are then eligible for the ultimate competition, the national ADDY Awards, presented in June every year by the American Advertising Federation. For more information or to download an ADDY Awards entry packet, visit www.adprosla.com or phone Will Sherwood, The Sherwood Group, at (661) 287-0017. ~Compiled by Nadra Kareem