SIERRA MADRE EDITION

 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2018 

VOLUME 12 NO. 49

SIERRA MADRE HONORS:

MLS CHAMPIONS TACKLE MT. WILSON; 

LOCAL TRAINER LEADS THE WAY By Kevin McGuire

On Thursday evening, the 
City of Sierra Madre and the 
Sierra Madre Chamber of 
Commerce paid tribute to 
the Men and Women, Organizations 
and Businesses 
who have made extraordinary 
efforts to preserve the 
pride of the foothills, Sierra 
Madre. Honorees included: 
Public Service Award: 

 Laura Aguilar, Asst. City 
Clerk; Employee of the Year 
SMPD Sgt. Henry Amos; 
Exemplary Employees Timmy 
Liang, Sr. Accountant 
and Ruby Valasquez; Wistaria 
Award Sierra Madre 
Kiwanis Club; Mayor’s Special 
Award Sierra Madre 
Rose Float Association (see 
related story below); George 
Maurer Lifetime Achievement 
Award Bud Switzer, 
2018 Business of the Year: GEM Plumbing and the 2018 Citizen 
of the Year: Michelle Keith. 

 More than 150 neighbors, friends and family came out for 
the event that was catered by Corfu. Dessert was provided 
by Poppy Cakes Bakery and Fred Thomas kept the evening 
festive with music of the 80's. Mayor Denise Delmar was the 
Mistress of Ceremonies and guests were welcomed by Chamber 
President Luther Tsinoglou. Above, Mayor Denise Delmar, 
COTY Recipient Michelle Keith, Judy Webb Martin, Kiwanis President; Below, Chamber 
President Luther Tsinoglou. S, Henderson/MVNews Photos courtesy City of Sierra Madre. 


From left to right: (Back) Nick Theslof (Assistant Coach), Jim Liston (Director of Sports Science), Jed Reitman 
(Owner of Sierra Juice Shop), Jay Chapman (Midfielder), Tom Williams (Head of Strength and Conditioning), Aiden 
Daniels (Midfielder), Alex Bono (Goalkeeper), Liam Fraser (Midfielder) (Front) Jon Bakero (Forward), Auro Junior 
(Defender), Marky Delgado (Midfielder)

Kersting Court, the charming center of Sierra Madre, is 
known for its niche shops, eateries and as the gathering 
spot to meet up with friends for coffee and conversation. 
If you live in this town, you can be sure you’ll run into 
someone you know at Kersting Court. On Saturdays, this 
quaint, nestled area is usually filled with cyclists taking a 
rest, grabbing water or some caffeine before heading out 
in droves to finish their ride. 

 Bright and early, this past Tuesday morning, Kersting 
Court regulars, having their first cup of joe and maybe 
a tasty croissant, were met with something different. A 
lively bunch of good-looking, young, athletic gentlemen 
were enjoying their Starbucks drinks in the park, 
chatting about their earlier trek up Mt. Wilson trail, and 
discussing the next venture ahead of them. 

 Curious locals observed from a far as the polite 
assembly told stories, kidded around and laughed across 
the way. In a town where everyone knows everybody, it 
was obvious these guys were from out of town. Well, 
most of them anyway. Turns out, this was a gathering of 
teammates, professionals and champions from Canada, 
though each of them are from various parts of the 
globe. This was the Toronto FC (Football Club) Major 
League Soccer team, or at least a handful of the squad 
(7) who were getting ready to compete in the 2019 
Concacaf Champions League. Though, their presence 
might not have sat well with diehard fans of the L.A. 
Galaxy, the Reds, as they’re called due to their bright, 
red uniforms, were happy to be in here—especially Jim 
Liston, Director of Sports Science and resident of Sierra 
Madre since 1999. 

 Galaxy fans might remember Liston, who previously 
served as their strength and conditioning coach, but now 
is excited to be in training with this club—the MLS Cup 
Champions of 2017. “This morning I picked them up 
at 6:00 a.m. and drove to the trailhead and watched the 
sunrise,” said Liston, a Massachusetts native who left to 
the warmer climate of Pasadena in 1992. “We ran to the 
yucca plant, just about 0.7 miles just past First Water,” 
Liston added, describing the team’s early run up Mt. 
Wilson Trail. Liston was accompanied 
by Assistant Coach, Nick Theslof (USA), Head of 
Strength and Conditioning Tom Williams (Wales) 
and players: Goalkeeper Alex Bono (USA), Midfielder 
Marky Delgado (USA), (Continued on page 2)

ST. RITA TO HOST HOLIDAY CONCERT

MAYOR'S SPECIAL AWARD GOES TO:

SIERRA MADRE ROSE FLOAT ASSOCIATION 

 
The Community Chorus of Redlands, a choral 
ensemble of 70 voices directed by Jeffrey H. 
Rickard – will present A Concert of Anthems, 
Readings, and Carols for the Christmas season at 
First Congregational Church, corner of Cajon and 
Olive, Redlands, on Friday, December 7 beginning 
at 8:00 p.m. 

 This program will be repeated at St. Rita Catholic 
Church, 318 North Baldwin, Sierra Madre on 
Sunday, December 9 at 4:00 p.m..

 A wide variety of sacred Christmas anthems 
and carols will be offered including works by 
Johann Sebastian Bach, Ernest Bloch, Andrew 
Carter, John David, Dan Forrest, Kyle Haugen, 
Elaine Hagenberg, John Rutter, Michael W. Smith, 
and Z. Randall Stroope. As in the past several 
traditional carols will be sung by audience and 
choir, accompanied by a Chamber Ensemble of 
Strings, Winds, Harp, Piano and Organ.\Readings 
from several sacred and secular sources will again 
be read by Patrick Anderson and Mary Beth 
Richardson.

 Ensemble XXI, an ensemble of 30 voices, will join 
this presentation and offer unaccompanied carols 
by English, Canadian and American composers. 
This presensation – 90 minutes in length - is free 
of charge, although a free-will offering will be 
received in support of the participating ensembles.


Pictured Above: Members of the Sierra Madre Rose 
Float Association as they receive the Mayor's Special 
Award 

 The Sierra Madre Rose Float Association is a non-profit, 
all volunteer organization dedicated to entering a float 
in the annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on 
behalf of the City. The 2019 entry will be their 87th entry 
in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses. 

 SMRFA is one of only 6 all-volunteer self-built floats in 
the 2019 parade. I has won awards for 12 of the last 13 
years and has represented the City of Sierra Madre with 
pride and honor. 

 A Chat with Dave Karp, SMRFA: (R.Wright/MVNews0

 Dave Karp is one on the newer SMRFA Board 
members. He is currently in his second year on the 
board of directors-though he is not an officer and 
has one year left before he is up for reelection. When 
asked about why he ran in the first place, he said that 
he was asked to run and was more than happy to do 
so because the people involved are, “Nice people…
always really wonderful to work with and for.” He 
went on to add that they all work very hard but are 
humble about it. He also loves his community, he 
lived in Sierra Madre 20 years ago, moved away, and 
came back to the area about 6 years ago. 

 Dave has put a lot of work into Rose Floats over the 
years. He has a nickname around the float, “Doc”. This 
came about because at one point in time there were six 
different Dave’s volunteering and he happened to be 
wearing a shirt that said “Doc”. Even though there are 
no longer six different Dave’s working on the float, the 
nickname has stuck. 

 One of the most important weeks of float decorating 
is the aptly named “Deco Week”. Because the flowers 
on the float need to be fresh, most of them must be 
put on at almost the last minute to ensure that they 
are ready for the parade and the camera. Despite how 
busy and hectic it can be, Dave loves Deco Week. 

 There are several different skills in high demand 
during Deco Week, and Dave enjoys learning one, and 
then teaching it to the crew of volunteers that have 
been assigned to him. Regarding Deco Week, Dave 
says that people, “need to be in shape,” and that the 
whole process, “is like chess, one move cannot happen 
without the next,”. He also says that, “Deco Week is 
fun but very crowed; lots of children,”. The added 
help is much appreciated, especially because working 
on a Rose Parade Float is a “special opportunity that 
not many people get a chance to have,”. People from 
all over come to help out during Deco Week, the vast 
majority are not even from Sierra Madre, but they love 
the float and want to help. 

 In addition to serving as a Board Member for the 
Sierra Madre Rose Float, Dave does roller derby and 
works a lot in the Sierra Madre Community Garden. 
The garden is where Dave meets a lot of new people, 
so he has ended up with a lot of connections. Stop by 
sometime soon and ask him how you can help out 
with the Sierra Madre Rose Float. 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com