Around Town: 1,800 packages for veterans assembled at food bank
More than 800 mothers and daughters gathered at Second Harvest Food Bank in Irvine to assemble 1,800 care packages for local military veterans.
The 13th annual Operation Valentine on Sunday featured participants from 13 southern Orange County chapters of the National Charity League, a mother-daughter organization that provides volunteer support for local philanthropies.
The packages made at the Irvine event included 500 Valentine’s goodie bags for Marines at the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton and 500 gift bags for Operation Healing Heroes.
*
Irvine mayor to deliver State of the City address Tuesday
The public is invited to hear Irvine Mayor Steven Choi deliver his State of the City address Tuesday in the council chamber at the Irvine Civic Center.
The address will focus on the city’s accomplishments in the past year and what community members may look forward to in 2016, according to a news release.
Admission is free.
A reception for guests will be held at 5 p.m., and the mayor’s address will begin at 6.
*
Symposium on veterans housing to be held in Irvine
An Orange County Veterans Housing Symposium will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday at USC’s Irvine campus.
Speakers will address the challenges veterans face in Orange County, such as housing availability, homeownership, delivery of veterans’ support services and public and private financing.
The event is presented by the Kennedy Commission in partnership with the Housing Working Group of the Orange County Veterans and Military Families Collaboration.
The USC Irvine campus is at 2300 Michelson Drive. Continental breakfast will be served and parking is free.
For more information, call Linda Tang at (949) 250-0909.
*
Mesa Water receives recognition
For a fifth year, the Mesa Water District has received reaccreditation as a District of Distinction from the Special District Leadership Foundation for its “sound fiscal management policies and practices,” district officials said in a news release.
The district’s operations were independently audited and its website reviewed, the release stated.
“We’re pleased to present this District of Distinction accreditation to Mesa Water,” the foundation’s public affairs field coordinator, Chris Palmer, said in a statement. “It means [the] district has an understanding and respects the responsibilities inherent in providing essential public services, has clean audits, operates in a fiscally responsible and transparent manner, places an emphasis on continuing education and focuses on having sound policies in the areas of governance, board conduct, district finances, transparency and reserves.”
*
OC Fair & Event Center hires new vice president of operations
The Orange County Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa has hired Ken Karns as its new vice president of operations.
Karns comes to the fairgrounds administration from the Western Fair District in Ontario, Canada, where he worked for 25 years, according to a fairgrounds news release. In Orange County, he will be in charge of implementing the fair’s master plan, “along with capital expenditures, facility operations, maintenance, parking, security, technology, production and entertainment,” fair officials said in a statement.
Karns has a degree in business/facility management and technical education from Fanshawe College in Canada.