Celebrating Excellence

On Tuesday evening November 5^th, the LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce bestowed its annual City of Angels Awards. Five high profile companies and individuals were honored; each in their own right is a “brand name.” In today’s world no one has to explain what You Tube, Coca Cola, Boeing, the Marriott hotels or the LA City Council are. Granted more of us may know who Javier Cano is than Mitch Englander, but all of those names mentioned are well known entities. Playa Vista / Brookfield Residential has established the Spirit Award recognizing local humanitarians who have given to our community though, time, talent and treasure. This year’s awardee was our own Gail Goldstein. Was this award well deserved? A hint of an answer is that she was the only awardee that was brought to the stage with a standing ovation! Like most worthy, yet humble accomplished people, Gail thanked others for her ability to make a difference. She properly identified her “better half” Rob Bird and her company, Equity Office as being major forces in her mission to create positive change. Thanks to the untiring efforts of Gwen Vuchsas and the desire of fellow Rotarians to be on hand to support Gail, our Club was very well represented. At this point in her remarks Gail also credited Playa Venice, her family of Rotary, as a vehicle that allowed her to impart her good works and she asked her fellow members present to stand up. The powerful image of a great number of Rotarians, not “just” at one table but scattered throughout the assembly, rising to be acknowledged, was not only a true “Rotary Moment,” but also a tremendous source of pride. Yes, we are the family of Playa Venice Rotary. Our own brand name, Gail Goldstein, allowed the spotlight to shine on us in her moment of honor, another sign of how gracious she is. Let’s follow her lead and be less modest about who we are and what we do. Let’s celebrate excellence, because as Muhammad Ali said, “it aint bragging if you can do it.”