Outgoing board members of the Las Palmas Senior Club were honored by the San Fernando City Council last Tuesday, with the club’s chairperson heaping praise onto her colleagues.
At the Feb. 21 meeting, 12 board members of the club were given certificates of appreciation by the City Council. One of the honorees, Maritza Duarte, is the chairperson of the Las Palmas Senior Club. After the certificates were handed out, she took to the podium to thank previous San Fernando councilmembers, including Hector Pacheco, for their donations to the club.
The club offers a variety of activities to its senior members, including exercise classes, breakfast and lunch programs, monthly dances and trips year round. In the past, members have traveled to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, casinos and local festivals.
In a lengthy speech, Duarte thanked the other board members for their hard work and acknowledged their contribution to the club. One of the first people she noted was secretary and Vice Chair Valeria Galvan.
“Besides having her own job, she’s very active in the community,” Duarte said. “She is the treasurer of the VFW Post 2323, she is a member of the Marine Corp League of Simi Valley … all of these duties that I’m listing here are her doing them as a volunteer.”
She also thanked Galvan’s husband, Fausto, the sergeant-at-arms for the club. He is a Vietnam War veteran who also volunteers at the Sepulveda hospital.
“I’m very honored that they were able to accompany [me] during one of these four years that I’ve been doing this,” Duarte said. “They have done a lot besides the work that they’re already doing in the community.”
Duarte continued to express her appreciation for the other board members and spoke highly of their contributions. She also thanked all of the volunteers who have dedicated their time to the club for the last 10 years.