former Superintendent of the Newport Mesa Unified
School District. Norm is 86 years young and will be
touted June 11th by the Newport Chamber of Commerce
at a location to be determined. Norm Loats 2009
Citizen of the Year!
The Daily Plot was kind enough to add the entire list
of recipients stemming back from Bob Murphy the very
first Citizen of the Year...back in 1949! We took a
quick pass over the list and couldn't be more surprised
when the list included people...that we even had known
at one time or the other. Oh sure, they had all the
usual suspects with familiar names like: Irvine, Beek,
Robins, Gardener, Hoag, Lusk and Ficker. Add to those
names some that actually did something along the way:
Heather, Shelton, Hart and O'Neil. Then you have they
usual array of restaurateurs: Prager, Hamilton, and
Dale! Mix in the eclectics: Gronsky, Salata and even
crooner Harry Babbit....and you are talking a diverse
group of recipients.
OK, what about Doreen Marshall, Dora Hill and Lucille
Kuehn....nice ladies all. Then you have to mention
the strictly political appointments: Wynn, Turner,
Ring, Petit, Edwards, Hill, Watson and Tozer. But
hey, even a broken clock can be right twice a day and
within this huge list of ego driven, self aggrandizing
Citizens of Meaning.....stands out one name:
Arvo Haapa! Now, what kind of name is that and why
in the world do we think that this one recipient is the
one deserving most recognition and thusly the title of
Citizen of the Century?
Arvo Haapa and lovely wife worked tirelessly, day in
and day out as the Publisher, Editor and Writer of the
Newport - Corona Del Mar Ensign Newspaper! As we can
recall, his little newspaper worked out of a small
location behind the Port Theatre. Arvo was named the
1977 Newport Beach Citizen of the Year, probably because
he got some great people started in the newspaper business
and really did ask much. Arvo was a dyed in wool Newport
Beach conservative. He supported Ronald Reagan for the
Governor spot in 1964 and helped Paul Hummel and other very
conservative Newport Beach City Council members both with
his Editorials and his small back pocket.
Arvo was a lovable, tough minded character. He made
choices based on ethics, caring and wanting to do the
right thing first. Sadly, Arvo passed away along with
the Ensign and Newport Beach was left "less than" when
he had participated in the process.
Awards always leave people wanting. There is never an
award that truly respects the efforts of great deeds and
self sacrifice that they are supposed to represent. Many
times good awards are made. Sadly, many times those good
choices are followed by those that are not quite to the
level of excellence we expect. What happens is that the
entire Award process becomes demeaned. The Miss America
Contest is a great example. Maybe society needs to add
new Awards rather than just continue tradition when the
meaning or value of the award has been diminished over
the years by the selection process.
Miss Universe and Miss World used to be a big deal: In
1960, Sigradur Geirsdottir was from Iceland and she was a
beautiful blond babe...but didn't make the cut. Our point
is that there are lots of very deserving Citizens in
Newport Beach that never get the recognition or gain the
appreciation they deserve for making our community better
in every respect. When they do, we all must be are grateful.
As we started: Congratulations to Norm Loats the latest
Newport Beach Citizen of the Year 2009!
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