B.W. COOK -- The Crowd

The 22nd annual Walter Knott Service Awards will be presented Feb. 23

by event sponsor Goodwill Industries of Orange County. The luncheon

tribute will unfold at The Hyatt Regency in Irvine to honor four

individuals who have made “significant contributions to improving the

quality of life for people withdisabilities,” said Joann Waldron, a

member of Goodwill’s board of directors.

“The luncheon is also a way to raise critically needed funds for

education, training and employment at Goodwill,” she said.

Walter Knott, founder of Knott’s Berry Farm, was the first recipient

of the Goodwill Service Award in 1978, and it was subsequently renamed in

his memory to continue the legacy of philanthropy and volunteerism

embraced by Knott during his lifetime.

Members of the Knott family are prominent Newport Beach residents.

Daughters Virginia Knott Bender, Marion Knott Montapert and Toni Knott

Oliphant will be joined by family members and friends such as Russell and

Mildred Knott, and Roger and Barbara Severson, along with corporate

support from Glenn Woody Financial, Insignia/ESG, DMK Inc. and Freedom

Newspapers in sponsoring the upcoming ceremony.

The 2001 honorees are Elizabeth Phillips, Katherine Sherwood, Gail

Williamson and Norma Yorde.

Phillips is being honored for her work as an international advocate

against child abuse. She lost her sight at the age of 6 months, when a

nanny shook her so violently that she was severely injured.

Sherwood, paralyzed from a massive stroke that affected the right side

of her body, is an artist who managed to teach herself to paint with her

left hand when she lost the use of her right one. Her work is nationally

known.

Williamson uses her formidable resources and talent in the

entertainment industry to influence producers and studios to hire people

with disabilities. She crusades with casting directors, studio executives

and anyone she can rally through her advertising campaigns and monthly

newsletter trumpeting the cause of fair and equal employment for people

with disabilities.

Yorde, a centenarian, and her husband, Paul, founded the Good Shepherd

Lutheran Home of the West to help people such as her son, Donnie, who was

born with Down syndrome, stay out of institutions. Eventually, their

dream and purpose turned into a network of 100 homes for people with

disabilities -- a network that serves some 5,00 people living in

residential homes providing dignity and care.

Goodwill Industries is dedicated to the values embodied in the work

and commitment of the honorees. For more than 75 years, Goodwill has

worked closely with this community to help those in need find a level of

self-sufficiency and personal independence through achievement.

Today, the program assists thousands of people, helping with language

skills, cultural adjustment and professional goals. Funding for the

social service programs in Orange County comes from revenue from donated

goods sold in 13 Goodwill stores around the county and from special gifts

and programs such as service awards presentation.

For more information, call Denise Higuchi at (714) 547-6308.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.