Dent expert helps Hollywood

Huntington Beach auto body specialist Jeff Magill recently spent a

day on the set of “Bewitched,” the soon-to-be-released Hollywood

remake of the 1960s television show.

Magill, who owns Beach City Paintless Dent Removal on Beach

Boulevard in Huntington Beach, was hired to remove dents from two

2005 Porsche Coopers used in the film.

“It was a pretty neat experience,” he said. “While I was working

on the car, Harrison Ford and Dwight Yoakum came up to me and asked

me what I was working on.”

Film production teams would rotate the cars between Magill and the

movie set, filming one car while Magill worked to remove dents from

the other car. The dents were caused by a camera system mounted to

the front of the car, as well as what Magill said were several crash

sequences.

Magill specializes in a “massage-based” dent removal system where

he is able to slowly reshape dents and digs out of metal without

scratching the paint. He has been in business for nine years and has

two other employees.

This wasn’t Magill’s first time working in the entertainment

industry. Magill has also appeared on a television show on The

Learning Channel called “Overhaulin” that restores classic cars.

Businesses honored for recognizing disabled

The Huntington Beach Rotary Club honored four local businesses on

May 12 for providing career opportunities to developmentally disabled

employees during the club’s weekly luncheon at the Rotary Club.

Gibas Golf Products, the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort, Chuck E.

Cheese’s and Albertsons were all honored for working with Fountain

Valley nonprofit agency Elwyn to place disability clients with jobs

in local businesses.

City Councilman Don Hansen led the award ceremony, applauding the

businesses for “empowering [disabled people] with a job that they can

feel good about.”

Gibas Golf President Don Gibas said he is thinking about hiring

more disabled employees when his company expands.

“They are very dedicated individuals,” he said. “They show up on

time, don’t give anyone any problems and are always willing to work.

We could use more people like them.”

Elywn provides employment opportunity for about 90 disabled people

throughout Orange County. According to statistics provided by Elwyn,

about 40% of disabled people in Orange County who are willing to work

can’t find employment.

For more information about hiring an Elwyn client, call (714)

557-6313.

Citizen boards looking

for a few volunteers

The Human Relations Task Force and the library board of trustees

will have new vacancies this year. All the positions on these boards

are on a volunteer basis and serve the community.

The Human Relations Task Force promotes and celebrates diversity

in the community through education and understanding. The task force

works toward achieving its mission by sponsoring annual community

events, dialogues, and educational field trips for middle school

students.

Applicants must be residents of Huntington Beach and be available

to attend meetings the first Tuesday evening of every month. The

current vacancy is for a term ending December 31.

For more information on the Human Relations Task Force, call

Elaine Kuhnke, community services, at (714) 374-5307. The application

due date is June 17.

Also, the library board of trustees will have three vacancies at

the end of June. The board makes recommendations to City Council on

matters relating to the city’s libraries and library services. meets

on the third Tuesday of every month; the term for board members is

four years. For more information on the library board of trustees,

call Linda Boucher at (714) 960-8836.

Applications can be downloaded from the city’s website at

www.surfcity-hb.org. To find the application for each board, click on

Government and then on Boards and Commissions.

New tourism resources to be made available

The Huntington Beach Conference and Visitor’s Bureau has announced

its new Meeting Planners Guide is in the final stages of editing and

production. The tourism resource will be marketed to destination

management companies, meeting planners and anyone wishing to host

events, meetings and conferences in Huntington Beach.

The guide, which was originally planned as a 36-page booklet, has

grown to become a 60-page photography-rich and comprehensive

publication with detailed information on accommodations with meeting

space, group dining and nightlife options, off-site venues,

transportation, activities, comparison grids, maps and more. The

guide will be distributed to hotels, destination management companies

and the Huntington Beach Economic Development office. Additionally,

the Meeting Planners Guide will be available in the bureau office or

can be mailed upon request.

Travel writers and editors, as well as local and national

newspaper and magazine professionals, will have their own pages on

the bureau’s website www.surfcityusa.com. The new media pages are

devoted to providing information on what’s new in Huntington Beach, a

list of the bureau’s weekly news releases, press kits, public

relations contacts, media visit assistance, story ideas and upcoming

event information.

Plans for the new media module also include password-assigned

downloadable video footage and full-color, publication-quality

photographs. Travel writers and editors, local and national

newspapers and magazines professionals and other media can use the

free resources for non-advertising purposes.

Photos from the online photo gallery will be available free to the

general public. These free public photos will be formatted for web

viewing and a select number will be made available in high-resolution

format for a fee. Building the photo database will be an ongoing

process, and the number of available photographs is expected to

greatly expand over time.