Rich Wilken to Receive Post’s ‘Community Defender’ Award

Lifelong Palisadian Rich Wilken fought hard and successfully to save last year’s Fourth of July fireworks show after the Los Angeles Fire Department refused to issue the necessary permit. In recognition of his tireless, never-give-up determination to save this treasured tradition in Pacific Palisades, Wilken has been selected to receive the Palisadian-Post’s Community Defender Award at this year’s Citizen of the Year dinner on April 23. Originally, the Palisades Americanism Parade Association (PAPA) had obtained permission to shoot fireworks from the Palisades High School quad next to Bowdoin Street, a change of venue necessitated by the installation of a synthetic turf field at the football stadium.   However, when Wilken (as PAPA’s fireworks show coordinator for many years) went to pick up the permit in June, it was denied for safety reasons. He met with a hierarchy of officials in the Fire Department and was told that the only viable option was for fireworks to be shot off from a barge along Will Rogers State Beach. This was not a viable option, so Wilken went into overdrive trying to resolve the issue. He contacted City Councilman Bill Rosendahl and his senior counsel Norm Kulla (a Palisades resident), asking them to intercede. He also arranged a meeting between James Souza, head of the Pyro Spectacular Fireworks Company, and assistant fire marshal Craig Fry. Wilken ran into a bit of luck when he invited Fire Captain Randy Souza, James’ cousin, to join the meeting. Ultimately, through sheer perseverance and the willingness to meet all of the Fire Department’s requirements, Wilken was given permission to proceed. The requirements included putting plywood on the second-story windows facing the quad, supplying water hoses long enough to reach the roofs, and providing ladders for the roofs. The night of the fireworks show, Pyro technicians were stationed on four of the roofs to monitor fall-out, as was Fire Captain Scott Miller, who was in charge of public safety for the area. Fire Captain Souza fired the shells. ‘Rich spent probably 14 hours a day, seven days a week in the weeks leading up to July 4 to make sure the fireworks could happen,’ said Wilken’s wife, Deann. His daughter, Heather, added: ‘He put his heart and soul into keeping the Fourth of July show in place.’ ‘I believe it was entirely due to his dedicated and tireless efforts that the Palisades was able to continue the tradition of the Fourth of July fireworks when many others had given up hope,’ Debbie Breech wrote in an e-mail to the Post. In addition to arranging for the $20,000 fireworks show, Wilken volunteers tirelessly on the Fourth, clearing the 5/10K route in the early, working as a parade announcer in the afternoon, then returning to the PaliHi campus to make sure various traffic barricades are in place. He finally ends his day as the fireworks show announcer.   As a 10-year-old, Wilken marched in the Fourth of July parade with his Boy Scout troop. When he was 14, he drove his baseball team along the route when the coach, who was supposed to drive the convertible, failed to show up. ‘I didn’t kill anyone, but I did got into trouble,’ he told the Post in 2006. During his 31 years of volunteering for PAPA (the parade’s organizing committee), Wilken has served as president twice. He was a PPBA baseball coach for many years, and continues to serve Boy Scout Troop 223 as an assistant scoutmaster, even though his son Matthew earned his Eagle Scout rank more than 13 years ago. In addition, he has been an active member of the Palisades Optimist Club and the Palisades Lutheran Church, where he is president of the congregation. After graduating from PaliHi, Wilken founded the well-known Wilken Surfboards Company, and later became an architect. His projects include Mort’s Deli, the Lutheran Church sanctuary, and the remodel of the St. Matthew’s Parish Center.