Seven singled out for integrity Seven singled out for integrity (June 04, 2004)

Community of Character honors named
by Teresa C. Brown

Honoring the Community of Character trait integrity, the school district, the city and a coalition of community groups recognized five individuals, one program and a high school group last week at Foothill High School.

"We hope that acknowledging individuals or groups who embody the expected behavior traits will inspire others to follow these good examples of behavior," said Deborah McKeehan, Pleasanton City Manager, one of the certificate presenters. Defining integrity as being reliable, it also included "having the courage to do the right thing."

Those recognized included sixth-grade student Kevin Miller, school crossing guard Glenda Garcia, custodian Art Valencia, former City Council member Becky Dennis, the Foothill High School civics team, the Go Green Initiative and - a surprise recipient - McKeehan, herself.

Kevin Miller, a sixth-grade Hart Middle School student, was applauded for his actions two years ago. He was in a Saturday basketball game when the referee called the ball "out," saying it was Kevin's team's ball because the opposing team last touched it, McKeehan said. Walking up to the referee, Kevin interrupted him and said he had last touched the ball. Although Kevin and his family do not remember who won the game, everyone remembers Kevin's integrity, McKeehan said.

Glenda Garcia, a crossing guard for Lydiksen Elementary, was recognized for her work at the school. She is a guard at the intersection of Highland Oaks Drive and Drywood Street. She has missed very few days in the five years she has been a guard for Lydiksen, wrote Principal Colleen Henry about Garcia: "She shows up regularly, does her job well, smiles and waves at everyone, and keeps in touch with us. A very reliable person."

Called a "daily model" for the Amador Way, Art Valencia was honored for his integrity demonstrated through reliability. As one of eight custodians and one groundskeeper, Valencia helps maintain the high school's 48-acre campus of 25 buildings and more than 100 classrooms in a position he has held for 10 years.

Former City Councilwoman Becky Dennis left a legacy from her tenure that includes the preservation of the Pleasanton Ridgeland. She was elected to the City Council in 1993, serving two full terms. She was also the driving force behind an approved council ordinance banning what is known as "Saturday night special" guns.

As head-to-head high school civic team competitors, Foothill and Amador competed against each other this year in the statewide "We the People" competition. Although Foothill was defeated by Amador, the team rallied and presented its rival with its first donation, $250, enabling Amador to go to the national competition held in Washington, D.C.

For the first time, a program, the "Go Green" Initiative, was recognized for "doing the right thing." The initiative, the brainchild of local PTA council President Jill Buck, has been embraced by the Pleasanton Garbage Service and has been adopted by the local district PTA as well as in other states.

McKeehan was caught unaware when Dave Walden, former Chamber of Commerce board chairman, named her as a recipient of the integrity award. He recalled owning a cellular telephone store in Pleasanton and bringing McKeehan one of his coffee mugs several years ago. "I dropped by one of my new coffee mugs to her office, not as anything more than 'here is a coffee mug, enjoy' when she was gone one day," he said.

The following day, he was told she could not accept the mug because of a city policy prohibiting her from accepting gifts. "It was just a coffee mug," Walden said good-naturedly. After presenting McKeehan with a Community of Character certificate, Walden also gave her a mug.

Since last fall, the city, Pleasanton Unified School District and a coalition of community groups and organizations have recognized people for exemplifying one of six Community of Character traits. The other traits are self-discipline, respect, responsibility, compassion and honesty.

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