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Jim Shinn gives a brief speech as he accepts his award Friday morning at the breakfast held by the Ballington Academy in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. (ERIC MILLER PHOTO / January 18, 2013) |
As he held his “I Have a Dream” Community Builder Award in hand, Son-Shine Counseling Center Director Jim Shinn cited the influence his parents played in his upbringing.
His father was a “boundary breaker” who ran a business on El Centro’s east side at a time when the city was highly segregated. His mother also was a “service-oriented” individual who went out of her way to help people in need.
“She wasn’t about power, but people,” he said.
A community leader, Shinn said, is the product of a lot of influential people. Such individuals, including icons such as the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., have typically been able to reach their prominent positions through the encouragement and nurturing of others.
Nor are such community leaders a rarity.
“They’re already here,” Shinn said, referring to the Imperial Valley.
Indeed, the first thing Shinn did upon receiving the award was acknowledge the three other award finalists present at the “I Have a Dream” Community Breakfast on Friday at the Old Eucalyptus Schoolhouse.
The breakfast was hosted by Ballington Academy for the Arts & Sciences, a program run by Volunteers of America.
Alex Cardenas, Gaylla Finnell and Arnold T. Brown were the other award finalists.
Shinn had been nominated for the award for having provided free counseling for people and families, hosted free grief and parenting groups, volunteered committee members for the Family Justice Center, funded the Mary Shinn Scholarship for pregnant or parenting students attending Imperial Valley College, facilitated a Spanish-speaking support group for single parents and volunteered to supervise graduate counseling interns at six universities.
The award ceremony was “a community celebration” in honor of “an American icon and hero and Valley citizens that truly reflect the characteristics and body of work that Martin Luther King exemplified,” said Volunteers of America Southwest California President/CEO Gerald McFadden.
King’s message embodied faith, hope and justice, and is a message that resonates to all segments of society, he said.
The award ceremony featured numerous speeches by many prominent community members as well as a few presentations by Ballington Academy students.
Several students quoted snippets of various King speeches and texts as they slowly made their way from their seats in the crowd to the podium.
Ten-year-old Ballington Academy fifth-grade student Hannah Cartee sang and read aloud during her presentation.
She said she admires King for his commitment to equality. Her mother also inspires her in a similar vein for her insistence that Hannah treat people by their “character and not skin color.”
The pint-sized flash mob closed by stating in unison that they too were “walking in Dr. King’s dream.”
Imperial Irrigation District board President Matt Dessert spoke about the need to stay focused on the “human factor” and be mindful that disparities still exist across the nation and the Valley as well.
A rousing speech by keynote speaker and Rabobank Vice President Randy Taylor took the hundreds of attendees on a brief journey through King’s life, ending it with snippets of King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech a day prior to being assassinated on April 4, 1968.
At times visibly shaken while recounting King’s exploits, Taylor noted that King had been jailed 29 times in the course of his life.
Taylor, quoting King, also warned against the “tranquilizing drug of gradualism” that restricts many from becoming fully engaged in the urgent fight for social justice.
The speech brought everyone to their feet afterward.
Although familiar with the philosophies and activities of the Black Panthers and Malcolm X, 46-year-old Jerrod Sweet was more impressed by King’s commitment to enacting social change through non-violent acts.
“That’s what captivated me about him,” Sweet said.
Staff Writer, Copy Editor Julio Morales can be reached at 760-335-4665 or at jmorales@ivpressonline.com
His father was a “boundary breaker” who ran a business on El Centro’s east side at a time when the city was highly segregated. His mother also was a “service-oriented” individual who went out of her way to help people in need.
“She wasn’t about power, but people,” he said.
A community leader, Shinn said, is the product of a lot of influential people. Such individuals, including icons such as the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., have typically been able to reach their prominent positions through the encouragement and nurturing of others.
Nor are such community leaders a rarity.
“They’re already here,” Shinn said, referring to the Imperial Valley.
Indeed, the first thing Shinn did upon receiving the award was acknowledge the three other award finalists present at the “I Have a Dream” Community Breakfast on Friday at the Old Eucalyptus Schoolhouse.
The breakfast was hosted by Ballington Academy for the Arts & Sciences, a program run by Volunteers of America.
Alex Cardenas, Gaylla Finnell and Arnold T. Brown were the other award finalists.
Shinn had been nominated for the award for having provided free counseling for people and families, hosted free grief and parenting groups, volunteered committee members for the Family Justice Center, funded the Mary Shinn Scholarship for pregnant or parenting students attending Imperial Valley College, facilitated a Spanish-speaking support group for single parents and volunteered to supervise graduate counseling interns at six universities.
The award ceremony was “a community celebration” in honor of “an American icon and hero and Valley citizens that truly reflect the characteristics and body of work that Martin Luther King exemplified,” said Volunteers of America Southwest California President/CEO Gerald McFadden.
King’s message embodied faith, hope and justice, and is a message that resonates to all segments of society, he said.
The award ceremony featured numerous speeches by many prominent community members as well as a few presentations by Ballington Academy students.
Several students quoted snippets of various King speeches and texts as they slowly made their way from their seats in the crowd to the podium.
Ten-year-old Ballington Academy fifth-grade student Hannah Cartee sang and read aloud during her presentation.
She said she admires King for his commitment to equality. Her mother also inspires her in a similar vein for her insistence that Hannah treat people by their “character and not skin color.”
The pint-sized flash mob closed by stating in unison that they too were “walking in Dr. King’s dream.”
Imperial Irrigation District board President Matt Dessert spoke about the need to stay focused on the “human factor” and be mindful that disparities still exist across the nation and the Valley as well.
A rousing speech by keynote speaker and Rabobank Vice President Randy Taylor took the hundreds of attendees on a brief journey through King’s life, ending it with snippets of King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech a day prior to being assassinated on April 4, 1968.
At times visibly shaken while recounting King’s exploits, Taylor noted that King had been jailed 29 times in the course of his life.
Taylor, quoting King, also warned against the “tranquilizing drug of gradualism” that restricts many from becoming fully engaged in the urgent fight for social justice.
The speech brought everyone to their feet afterward.
Although familiar with the philosophies and activities of the Black Panthers and Malcolm X, 46-year-old Jerrod Sweet was more impressed by King’s commitment to enacting social change through non-violent acts.
“That’s what captivated me about him,” Sweet said.
Staff Writer, Copy Editor Julio Morales can be reached at 760-335-4665 or at jmorales@ivpressonline.com
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