Pastor of New Life Church

The Rev. A. Brent Cobb, 43, has become director of New Life ministries and senior pastor at New Life Church of the Nazarene in Long Beach, a congregation of predominantly Cambodian refugees. Cobb has been pastor of Sacramento First Church of the Nazarene for four years. Before that, he pastored in Dallas and was a missionary 10 years in Korea. Cobb has written numerous religious magazine articles and two books, one about missionary work in Korea and the other about development of the New Life ministries in Long Beach which is scheduled for release early next year. Part of Cobb’s job will be to direct the Asian Nazarene Bible College extension housed at the church, 1800 Anaheim St. His wife, Marty, will be a teacher, registrar and assistant director of the college program, one of 11 such extensions training Asian ministerial students. Cobb succeeds the Rev. Steve Ratlief, who resigned in July for health reasons.

New to Civic Center Panel

Michael J. Long has been appointed to the City of Long Beach-Los Angeles County Civic Center Authority Commission. The Long Beach resident is a consultant with the Dolphin Group and is a former student body president at California State University, Long Beach, where he earned an undergraduate degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration. Long’s appointment was made by Supervisor Deane Dana and confirmed by the county Board of Supervisors.

69th President of Kiwanis

Jerome D. Stein, owner of an ocean claims adjustment company, has been installed as the 69th president of the Kiwanis Club of Long Beach. He succeeds Joseph F. Reed. Other new officers are Kirk Hankla, Dave Mull and Brent Green, vice presidents; Robert E. Wissmann, secretary; and Matthew J. Doyle, treasurer.

Whittier Youth Wins Grant

Raymond H. Lee of Whittier, a freshman in electrical engineering at UCLA, has won a four-year, $5,000 scholarship from the UCLA Alumni Assn. Lee is one of 20 recent high school graduates with outstanding academic records chosen in a statewide competition.

Advisory Board Appointee

Ralph Rodriguez has been appointed by the Pico Rivera City Council to the Community Advisory Board, a seven-member board which monitors the disbursement of federal Community Development Block Grant funds. Rodriguez is a 30-year resident of Pico Rivera and a former employee for 31 years at the General Motors plant in South Gate. He fills a board vacancy created by the resignation of Anna Marie Garcia, who recently moved from the city. Pico Rivera expects to receive more than $900,000 this year from the block grant program.

New to Public Health Panel

Mary Willis of Hacienda Heights has been appointed to the county Public Health Commission by the Board of Supervisors. She is on the administrative staff of Downey Community Hospital and on the board of directors of the Research Society for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Inc. at UCLA. She is a co-founder of Parkinson’s Support Groups of America and founder of a Parkinson’s Education Group serving the San Gabriel Valley, Ontario and Upland areas.