COMMUNITY GAINS LAST LAUGH ALONG WITH HONOR.Byline: Rick Coca Special to the Daily News Residents and city officials gathered Thursday at the Madrid Theatre, where they celebrated the community's All-America City award The All-America City Award is given by the National Civic League annually to ten cities in the United States. The award is the oldest community recognition program in the nation and recognizes communities whose citizens work together to identify and tackle community-wide , saying the national honor for ``the little engine that could'' officially ends years of Canoga Park bashing. Winning the National Civic League award in June, Canoga Park became the only Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. community to ever win the contest in its 56-year history. It was also the first time Canoga Park entered the contest. ``It's nice to see all the hard work that's been done being recognized on a national level,'' said Betty Green, who, along with her husband, Bob, has spent 34 years in the community. ``Sometimes Canoga Park has received a bad rap, undeservedly un·de·served adj. Not merited; unjustifiable or unfair. un  de·serv so.
We're moving forward.''
The Greens were among a crowd of about 300 people led by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. , Councilman Dennis Zine and other civic leaders. City Controller Laura Chick, who formerly represented Canoga Park on the City Council, said leaving a community to form a new one - as West Hills residents did when they voted to leave Canoga Park in 1987 - doesn't solve all problems. ``It's poetic justice poetic justice n. The rewarding of virtue and the punishment of vice, often in an especially appropriate or ironic manner. poetic justice Noun an appropriate punishment or reward for previous actions , what Canoga Park has become,'' Chick said. In the competition, Canoga Park highlighted its cultural revitalization re·vi·tal·ize tr.v. re·vi·tal·ized, re·vi·tal·iz·ing, re·vi·tal·iz·es To impart new life or vigor to: plans to revitalize inner-city neighborhoods; tried to revitalize a flagging economy. and community beautification beau·ti·fy tr. & intr.v. beau·ti·fied, beau·ti·fy·ing, beau·ti·fies To make or become beautiful. beau programs, including the opening of the Madrid Theatre on the site of a former go-go bar and a campaign that resulted in 2.8 million pieces of trash being picked up in a year. Villaraigosa said it was the sincerity of Canoga Park residents that won over the selection committee. ``You won because you made a presentation from the heart. You shared with them the way you transformed a community.'' A delegation of 11 community residents and leaders, including Zine, went to Atlanta in June after Canoga Park was named one of 30 finalists from an original field of 500 cities. Competing against cities with hundreds of delegates, marching bands Noun 1. marching band - a band that marches (as in a parade) and plays music at the same time band - instrumentalists not including string players and one accompanied by a radio station that did a live-remote broadcast from Atlanta, Zine's ``rag-tag army'' impressed the selection committee with its simple but effective theme: ``Experience our Diversity.'' ``Look at the group that went to Atlanta,'' Zine said as he asked the group to stand. ``That's diversity.'' As hundreds of people representing the many faces of Los Angeles filed out of the Madrid, one man said it best: ``What a great day for Canoga Park.'' Rick Coca, (818) 713-3705 rick.coca(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Reina Scuderi, left, and Maurine Henry view artwork and photos at a celebration held Thursday for Canoga Park being named an All-America City. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
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