‘Job Walker’ Brings Crusade for Youth to Ventura County : Activism: Reginald Morris, a hero of L.A. riots, will visit Hueneme High School on trek to lobby in Sacramento.

Ignoring swollen feet and the constant buzz of speeding traffic on Pacific Coast Highway, Reginald Morris walked into Ventura County on Wednesday in the early stages of a 58-day journey from Los Angeles to Sacramento.

Hailed as a hero for saving the lives of two motorists at the corner of Florence and Normandie avenues during the Los Angeles riots last year, Morris launched a 641-mile “Job Walk” last Sunday to call attention to the need for youth employment in major California cities.

Morris, 25, is the executive director of the Youth Jobs Awareness Project, a nonprofit organization he founded with his wife after the riots. The South Los Angeles couple have placed 1,000 young people in jobs.

“We’ve got to bring back hope for youth cut off from the American dream,” Morris said Wednesday as he trekked north toward Oxnard.

Walking at a pace of 3 m.p.h., Morris literally stopped traffic in Malibu and Santa Monica earlier this week when motorists recognized him, he said. As he left the coast and began slicing inland, drivers honked and gave him the thumbs-up sign.

“The reaction has been phenomenal,” Morris said. “It’s been very exciting for me.”

Backed by corporate sponsorship, Morris has been joined by his personal trainer, Curt Gassoway, who is walking alongside him, and his bodyguard and cook, Stanley Combs, who is driving a motor home.

Adorned with banners and flags, the motor home creeps along the shoulder of the highway in advance of Morris and provides a nightly refuge.

Morris had never been in Ventura County until he scouted the route to Sacramento earlier this summer. His path will take him from the Pacific Coast Highway to the Ventura Freeway and U.S. 101, which he plans to follow until he gets to Salinas. He expects the toughest leg to be up the steep incline outside of Santa Maria.

Morris has scheduled visits with local politicians and youngsters during his trip.

At Hueneme High School this morning, Morris will speak to about 60 children and then lead them on a mile-long walk, accompanied by Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez, county Supervisor John Flynn, Francisco De Leon, executive director of the Job Training Policy Council of Ventura County, and track competitor Valerie Brisco, a three-time Olympic gold medalist.

Even though Morris went into training to cover 10 to 20 miles a day, his feet began swelling Tuesday night and he spent three hours soaking them in cold water. Wearing Nike air-cushioned shoes and supports for his ankles, knees and back, Morris takes a five-minute rest every three miles, reclining on a lawn chair next to the road.

“I’m not athletic,” Morris said. “But what I wanted to get across to young people was that if you have determination, drive and a goal, there’s nothing you can’t do.”

But isn’t Morris intimidated by the long journey ahead? “I try not to think about it,” he said, “but it does scare me at times.”

When he arrives in Sacramento--on Labor Day, Sept. 6, if all goes as planned--Morris will appeal to Gov. Pete Wilson to convene a job summit next winter. And what happens if the governor won’t meet with him?

“Oh, I’ll see him,” Morris said, showing the confidence of a man who doesn’t let a few hundred miles stand between him and his objective.