OUR LAGUNA: A hall of famer for Laguna

Bill Wood has a special place in his heart for OCC and in return, the college has reserved a special place for him.

The Laguna Beach resident was recently inducted into the college’s Alumni Hall of Fame. His image will hang in a special gallery in the college’s new $33 million library, which opened in January.

“Many institutions have touched my heart,” Wood said. “There are a few that have touched my soul. I know I would not be standing here without Orange Coast College.”

And he probably wouldn’t have gotten that far up the educational ladder, Wood said, without his years at Laguna Beach High School.

Wood was 3 years old when his parents came to Laguna Beach. The Woods worked here even after they bought a home in Santa Ana when their young son was in the second grade.

The summer between junior and senior high school, Wood returned to Laguna to work with his older brother, Dorsey, a chef at Andre’s.

Wood fell in love with surfing and decided to attend high school here — and found he knew many of the students from his years at the elementary school, then across the street from the high school campus.

The fact that he was black did not color his years at the high school, Wood said.

“I was treated well by my peers. I was water-oriented and doing the same things they were,” Wood said.

Councilman Kelly Boyd was among Wood’s peers at the high school.

“We surfed together and went to the same parties,” Boyd said. “When a school district is as small as Laguna’s was back then, you pretty much know everybody.”

Wood was the first black student to graduate from the high school, where he lettered in basketball and baseball.

“All the kids I was going to school with talked about going to college, so I just assumed I was supposed to go, too,” Wood said.

“If I had not come back to Laguna Beach, most likely I would not be where I am today,” Wood said.

Wood graduated from LBHS in 1961 and attended OCC “off and on” until 1969.

He praised OCC for providing him with the tools to explore the world and talents he didn’t even know he had.

Wood went on to graduate from Cal State Long Beach in 1969. He earned a master’s degree at CSULB in public administration in 1978 and was recognized as the 2002 Alumnus of the Year.

He said his 20 years of employment at PacifiCare Health Systems, where he was vice president of the company human resources and also president of the PacifiCare Foundation, also contributed to his success by encouraging and supporting his involvement in worthy causes.

“Being a black American, fewer opportunities would have happened for me if people hadn’t given with their hearts,” Wood said. “So I knew I wanted to give back, especially to the black community. I grew from there.”

Wood was honored in 1997 as the Orange County Volunteer of the Year.

He serves on the Orange County Human Relations Commission, the national board of Goodwill Industries and the board of the Laguna Beach Boys and Girls Club, of which he was a member as a youth and later an employee from 1961 to 1968. All three of his children also were members.

Wood chairs the Orange County/San Bernardino chapter of Planned Parenthood. Mayor Jane Egly was chairwoman when Wood first joined the board.

Most recently Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson Schneider drafted Wood for the South Coast Medical Center Board.

“The more success I’ve gained, the more I realize how much others have supported my getting to the next level,” Wood said. “I have placed a high importance on being active in the community where we live and work and a high value on the support of my wife and children.”

He is married to Sharon McManus, a second marriage for both. They have three children Van, 41, of Oceanside; Krista, 38, a 1987 Laguna Beach High School graduate, of San Clemente; Rachel, 33, who lives in upstate New York; and six grandchildren: Roma, Luke, Ava, Ella, London and Teá.

COLOR IT PURPLE

Purple is the color of royalty, the color of grapes, the color of the ribbons tied onto the microphones on the City Council dais, and on May 1, the color of hope.

“On this day, towns up and down California will decorate their cities with purple banners, balloons, ribbons and bows,” said Tori Degen, marketing chairwoman of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. “Purple is the official color of the relay. Citizens of all ages are encouraged to wear purple this day, as well.”

Relay for Life is a 24-hour fundraising event that will take place at El Morro Elementary School on Aug. 22.

It is an event to celebrate and remember those who have battled cancer and fight back against cancer by raising money and honoring past and present patients.”

Degen, a college sophomore who graduated two years ago from Laguna Beach High School, is a two-time survivor of cancer, stricken in her teens.

“I was lucky,” she said.

The second cancer was discovered only when tests were done for the first cancer.

“I strongly believe that May 1 will serve as a day not only to inform the public about the relay event in August, but to raise awareness about the disease that has impacted the lives of so many within our community,” Degen said.

The City Council promised its support for the May Day “Paint Our Town Purple.”

“I can’t wait to see purple ribbons all over Laguna,” Relay spokeswoman Ellen Dever said.

Relay for Life began in 1985 in Washington D.C. More than $2.5 billion has been raised since then. The 2008 event is expected to raise $36.5 million in California alone.

For more information, visit events.cancer.org/rlllaguna beachca.

OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach, 92652; hand-deliver to Suite 22 in the Lumberyard, 384 Forest Ave.; call (949) 494-4321 or fax (949) 494-8979.