Armand Arabian Awards Given to Six Valley Leaders

The 20th annual Justice Armand Arabian Leaders in Public Service Awards luncheon on Thursday saw six local leaders feted for their civic engagement. About 300 business, political and nonprofit chiefs attended the event at the Hilton Woodland Hills hotel. The recipients: Frankie Avalon, the singer and actor popular in the 1950s and ’60s and who now oversees Avalon Products; Charles Crumpley, the publisher of the Business Journal; Fred Gaines, a lawyer who is a Calabasas City Councilmember and former mayor; Kris Pitcher, a deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department; Trevor Richmond, deputy chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department; and Kim Goldberg-Roth, an advocate for those affected by child mistreatment, domestic abuse and sexual assault and the executive director of Strength United at California State University – Northridge. Armand Arabian, an associate justice on the California Supreme Court, was known for his civic work, particularly on behalf of sexual assault victims. Along with other civic leaders, he came up with the award to honor those who perform some kind of community service but who are not always recognized. He died last year. The award event is produced by Rickey Gelb of the Gelb Group real estate firm, Karl Boeckmann of Galpin Motors, Gloria Pollack of the Gelb Group and Diana Dueñas, executive director of the Encino Chamber of Commerce. Wink Martindale, the former television game show host, has been the longtime master of ceremonies of the event. He is moving out of the area, and Thursday was his last stint as host.