The Burbank Council PTA honored 66 people at the 73rd annual Honorary Service Awards event held Sunday, April 30, at the Burbank Elks Lodge with a fiesta-themed dinner for the Burbank community to recognize the volunteers’ contributions.
After being canceled during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, and returning for an outdoor celebration in 2022, the 2023 ceremony marked a return to the traditional indoor evening format highlighting the efforts of volunteers in Burbank public schools.
“It’s been a rough couple of years. If we learned anything from the pandemic, we learned that we need one another. We need to be in person,” commented Burbank Council PTA President Lori Little. “We need our kids to be together and we as adults need to be together.”
“The past few years were not an easy time for anyone. The ability for PTAs to serve their schools took a hit during distance learning, and transitioning back to in person school has been challenging, yet the resiliency of our leaders and teams at every unit was evident,” she continued. “PTA helped hold our community together.”
“My predecessor as Council President Wendi Harvel and I have seen our sixteen Unit PTAs go through an extremely difficult and painful time, yet it has also been a time of incredible strength and creativity,” Little also said. “I couldn’t be prouder of our units, and all our volunteers.”
The city-wide Council event was put together by the 2023 HSA committee of Maria Barba, Cathy Biermann, Diane Franco, Tracy Jackson, Traci Lalicata and Dipali Patel.
Each of the 16 PTA units in Burbank had its own HSA chair or committee who collected nominations and selected their unit’s 2023 recipients. Unit HSA chairs presented awards at their local PTA meetings in March and early April.
Representatives from Scout Troop 209 led the flag salute to begin the event. Burbank High School’s Jazz Band and John Burroughs High School Vocal Music Association’s a capella group Muses also performed.
In addition to this year’s recipients, family and friends, the dinner was attended by past HSA recipients, Burbank Council PTA Executive Committee and Executive Board members, school site principals, Unit PTA presidents, BUSD Superintendent Matt Hill, Board of Education members, as well as Senator Anthony Portantino.
The California State PTA has developed the Honorary Service Awards program as a way for PTA Units, Council and Districts to publicly acknowledge an individual (or organization) for outstanding service to children and youth in their community, going above and beyond what is asked of them.
There are seven distinctive types of awards:
Very Special Person Award (VSP) – This award is given to recognize an individual or organization for their service to PTA.
Honorary Service Award (HSA) – This award is given to recognize an individual or organization for outstanding service to children and youth in your community, going above and beyond what is asked of them.
Continuing Service Award (CSA) – This award is given to recognize an individual or organization for ongoing or long-time service to children and youth, providing support year after year.
Outstanding Teacher Award (OTA) – This award may be given to recognize a teacher for outstanding service to children and youth through PTA, school, or community.
Outstanding Administrator Award (OAA) – This award may be given to recognize an administrator for outstanding service to children and youth through PTA, school, or the community.
Elected Official Honorary Service Award (EOHSA) – This award may be given to recognize an elected official for outstanding policy work and/or legislation that positively impacts the lives of children. This award may be given at the local, state or federal level. This award is not to be used as an endorsement of any elected official, but to celebrate the work of the elected official.
Golden Oak Service Award (GOSA) – This award is given to recognize, as the most prestigious of the Honorary Service Awards, an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the welfare of children and youth in a school or community.
The 2023 Honorary Service Award Recipients are:
Bret Harte PTA: Wendy Alvarado 2023 HSA
Michael Jones 2023 VSP
Frankie Knight 2023 HSA
Heather Powell 2023 CSA
Martha Walter 2023 OAA
Disney PTA: TeAnne Chennault 2023 HSA
Candace Malta 2023 HSA
Myra Stephenson 2023 HSA
Edison PTA: Rebekah Burcham 2023 HSA
Anne Lindgren 2023 HSA
Marichelle Matic 2023 OTA
Jillian McMenamin 2023 HSA
Trisha Padilla 2023 HSA
Emerson PTA: Jackie Hackbarth 2023 HSA
Ellen Sedrakyan 2023 HSA
Joel Taylor 2023 HSA
Patricia Valenciano 2023 HSA
Jefferson PTA: Tiffany Chang 2023 HSA
Kelly Froelich 2023 HSA
Jessica O’Keefe 2023 HSA
McKinley PTA: Sarah Brown 2023 GOSA
Leila Forouzan 2023 HSA
Sarah Gourian 2023 HSA
Heather Plourde 2023 HSA
Miller PTA: Mollye de Armendi 2023 HSA
Alyssa Lopez York 2023 HSA
Melissa Pamperin 2023 HSA
Marsha Papagiannopulos 2023 HSA
Providencia PTA: Emilie Coyne 2023 OTA
Jennifer Johnson 2023 HSA
Stephanie Prince-Ling 2023 HSA
Kelly Watson 2023 HSA
Roosevelt PTA: Amanda Conti 2023 CSA
Kristina Hauser 2023 CSA
Magali Huerta 2023 HSA
Joseph Krueger 2023 HSA
Angie Pop-Sorokin 2023 HSA
Jacqueline Wilson 2023 CSA
Stevenson PTA: Akshatha Boloor 2023 HSA
Tim Kartiala 2023 HSA
Marilyn Loyd 2023 HSA
Andrew Welker 2023 HSA
Washington PTA: Blanca Arteaga 2023 HSA
Maricar Oliveros 2023 CSA
Huerta PTSA: Lara Black Sage 2023 HSA
Dory Foster 2023 HSA
Kenneth Knoop 2023 OAA
Luther PTSA: Jessica Cramer 2023 HSA
Ara Movsessian 2023 OTA
Tony Redman 2023 OTA
Sarah Redmond 2023 GOSA
Muir PTSA: Heather Beltran 2023 HSA
Melania Gordzholadze 2023 HSA
Amanda Rotunno 2023 HSA
BHS PTSA: Lara Ausubel 2023 HSA
Cathy Biermann 2023 CSA
Stacy Eaton 2023 CSA
Jon Larsen 2023 HSA
JBHS PTSA: Julie Grene 2023 HSA
Tracy Jackson 2023 GOSA
Brendan Jennings 2023 OTA
BURBANK COUNCIL PTA: Kristina Balos 2023 CSA
Diane Franco 2023 CSA
Amy Kamm 2023 G0SA
Lori Little 2023 GOSA
Kirsten Morris 2023 CSA
