Muller, Wolfberg and Blumel Honored

The Palisadian-Post and the Community Council joined to honor three special volunteers at the 58th Annual Citizen of the Year celebration last Thursday evening at the Riviera Country Club. Lifelong resident and community activist Stuart Muller was saluted as Citizen of the Year for his six-year effort to bring about completion of the historic Clearwater Mural on two walls of the Sav-on building along Swarthmore. The mural, painted by Palisadian Terri Bromberg, was named for Clifford Clearwater, the early owner and publisher of The Palisadian, and his wife Zola. ‘Last year,’ said Post Publisher Roberta Donohue, ‘Stuart also extended his creative energies to solving some of the noise and visual pollution problems at Palisades Gas and Wash. This noise has been a nuisance in that part of our business community for years, but Stuart finally managed to get it reduced below the allowable limit.’ Community Council chairman Norman Kulla presented the Golden Sparkplug Award to Jim Blumel, the owner of Sunset Landscaping, who donated the plants, design and labor for a much-appreciated re-landscaping of Palisades Elementary School early this year. ‘Everyone said it was Jim’s initiative,’ Kulla said, ‘and that he did it with good cheer and a positive attitude,’ while helping to beautify that important stretch of Via de la Paz. Blumel, who has lived in the Palisades for three years with his wife Jill, said earlier: ‘I have two kids at the school and one more who will be attending. I just decided that new landscaping would look nice’for the community, the kids and the school. The architecture is nice, it’s a beautiful school, but the landscaping was old and terrible.’ The evening’s third honoree was George Wolfberg, who received a special Civic Leadership Award for ‘exemplifying the prototype of a community activist, the type of individual it takes to bring lasting contributions to our community to fruition,’ Donohue said. She noted that Wolfberg had been chairman of the Community Council for two years (2002-2004) while also serving as president of the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association’and remaining active as a premier AYSO soccer referee. This spring, ‘because of his effective leadership abilities,’ Donohue said, he was named chairman of the important Potrero Canyon Citizens Advisory Committee. ‘I’m surprised and humbled; this is a great honor,’ Wolfberg told the audience. He said he had always heard the warning, ‘Never volunteer!’ but it was in his blood. ‘My mother was active in the PTA and she had a mimeograph machine in the alcove at home. I remember all the purple fingers when I was growing up.’ Shortly after moving with his wife Diane to Santa Monica Canyon in 1972, Wolfberg said he went door-to-door in the canyon collecting petition signatures for the voter initiative that created the Coastal Commission, and he became involved in the 20-year No Oil! campaign along the Pacific Palisades coastline. ‘George is the real deal’he practices what he preaches,’ said County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who made his usual personal appearance to present framed commendations to all three honorees. ‘I first got to know him after I was elected to the City Council and I became a member of the finance committee. In that capacity I worked with the the City Administrative Office,’ where Wolfberg worked as a budget analyst. ‘George was an unflappable man of unimpeachable integrity and professionalism. He always thought before he spoke and his analysis was based on careful research.’ ‘I’ve never had an opportunity commend George in this way,’ Yaroslavsky continued. ‘He has indeed been a civic leader, as a city employee who had a life outside City Hall, and as a private citizen.’ Fourteen past Citizens enjoyed the festivities, including Phyllis Genovese (1952), Dottie Larson (1959), Dr. Mike Martini (1967), Bob McMillin (1975), Gloria Stout Nedell (1978), Wally Miller (1979), Joan Graves (1987), Roger Diamond (1988), Randy Young (1991 and 2000), Bobbie Farberow (1995), Hal Maninger (1996), Kurt Toppel (1998), Carol Leacock (1999), and Mitzi Blahd (2001). Genovese, 90, is still working parttime at The Letter Shop, the store she founded in 1947. Larson, who has lived in her home on Alma Real since 1950, said she celebrated her 80th birthday last year by taking her four children and six grandchildren to Vail. McMillan, 87, owned the Medford furniture store on Swarthmore from 1971 to 1987 and now lives in Rancho Bernardo. Representatives from State Senator Sheila Kuehl, Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, and City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski handed out the traditional commendations to all three honorees. (Editor’s note: Stuart Muller’s acceptance speech will appear in next week’s issue.)