Community Leaders Awarded by ABLE International

(Awardees Sheriff Lee Baca and Marcine Shaw with the President of ABLE International, Rena Weinberg (far left).

ABLE International honored two prominent Los Angeles community leaders with its annual “Spirit of the Community” awards event. This year's presentations were given to Lee Baca, the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, and to Marcine Shaw, a long time political activist and community leader from Compton, California.

Award Given to Sheriff Lee Baca

Sheriff Baca heads the largest Sheriff's department in the world, with more than 8,000 sworn personnel and more than 4,300 civilian employees. He is responsible for an area of more than 3,000 square miles, containing close to 6 million citizens.

The responsibilities of the Sheriff's Department extend to specific policing areas within the City of Los Angeles. ABLE International and the Sheriff's Department (and also the Los Angeles Police Department) have worked together in community projects to help reduce drug abuse and crime in the Hollywood area.

Sheriff Baca received the award from the President of ABLE International, Rena Weinberg. Rena commended the Sheriff for his humanitarian efforts to reduce crime in the County and to develop and support programs to reform offenders rather than just lock them up.

In accepting the award, Sheriff Baca stressed the productive relationship he has had with ABLE International. He, especially, validated ABLE's programs and their contribution in creating a better community. He explained his own beliefs in the innate goodness of man, regardless of whether the person is a criminal or addict and that this view is reflected throughout ABLE's humanitarian programs.

Award given to Community Leader, Marcine Shaw

Marcine Shaw was honored for her lifetime of dedicated community service, ranging from nearly 18 years of service with the County of Los Angeles include extensive work as the Senior Deputy to the late Honorable Los Angeles County Supervisor, Kenneth Hahn. She has been responsible for implementing many vital community outreach projects, including the Foodnet Program which distributed surplus commodities throughout the County, and which became a prototype program for the entire country. Marcine has also served as a long term City Council member for the City of Compton, California.

She has also been instrumental in developing and forwarding programs for handicapped youth as well as the vital, inner city learning program – the World Literacy Crusade.

In accepting the Spirit of the Community Award, from ABLE International President, Rena Weinberg , Marcine told the audience about some adventures over her years of community work. For example, she described working with a The Way to Happiness group to address the gang problem – including, at one point, taking 30 gang members on a trip to Hawaii.

ABLE International Working with the Community

The annual “Spirit of the Community” awards are reflections of ABLE International's commitment and dedication to improving communities around the world and creating better futures for young people in all walks of life.

ABLE welcomes your support – both of your direct time and energy as a volunteer and also financially. We have a world in tremendous need of social improvement programs that utilize the workable technologies of L. Ron Hubbard.

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