Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "community activist"

Advocate for Memorial Auditorium dies

2010-04-09T03:05:43Z

A community activist who was at the center of a campaign to maintain Sacramento’s historic Memorial Auditorium has died.

Richard LaVoie of Sacramento died April 2 from heart failure. He was 48.

LaVoie was the organizer of a campaign in the early 1990s to renovate Memorial Auditorium while staying true to its original design, said Bob Rakela, a member of the nonprofit group Friends of Sacramento Memorial Auditorium.

Today, the interior of the building looks impressive, Rakela said. And that’s largely because of LaVoie’s efforts and his fight to “keep it in its original configuration,” he added.

LaVoie pushed for passage of Measure H, the 1992 ballot initiative that successfully prevented the city from carrying out a plan to remake the auditorium into a fixed-seat theater, said Richard Clowdus, a member of the nonprofit group.

LaVoie was committed to preserving the auditorium as a “historic treasure,” Clowdus said.

Noelle Young is also a member of the nonprofit organization that LaVoie founded. “He was a very unique individual, and his loss was huge,” Young said. “He was a wonderful person -- very inspiring in a quiet way.”

Joanne LaVoie, Richard LaVoie’s mother, said phone calls have been pouring in from people who knew him. “I had so many people calling; I don’t believe it,” she said. “It’s just fantastic.”

The graveside service will be held at Sierra Hills Memorial Park and East Lawn Mortuary in Citrus Heights at 2 p.m. April 20, said Joanne LaVoie. After the service, a catered reception will be held at the Sierra Hills Reception Hall, she said. Sierra Hills Memorial Park is located at 5757 Greenback Lane. The public is invited to attend the services.

Photo: Richard LaVoie received a California Historic Preservation Award in 1998.

Photos courtesy of Joanne LaVoie.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Memorial honors Mary Brill

2009-11-22T00:15:41Z

More than 125 people gathered Saturday to honor community activist Mary Brill.

Brill died Oct. 24 from breast cancer. She was 59.

Friends, family, politicians and others active in the community met at Florence T. Clunie Memorial Auditorium to pay tribute to Brill, who co-founded and led the Sacramento County Alliance of Neighborhoods. She led work on issues that included affordable housing, living conditions, transportation and smart growth.

State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento and former Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo were two of the speakers at the memorial.

“She was the bravest person I ever met in my life. She was the strongest person I ever met in my life. And she was the most humble person I ever met in my life,” Steinberg said.

Even as she fought breast cancer, an inoperable brain tumor and multiple sclerosis, she continued to give to the community and to be concerned about the welfare of others, he said.

Inside the hall, guests said they were surprised to see a table full of awards including a Human Rights award from the Human Rights/Fair Housing Commission of the city and county of Sacramento and a Citizen of the Year Award from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments in 2005. She was recognized as Woman of the Year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005.

However, Brill had many more — at least 100 awards in all — that she kept hidden away and never mentioned to close friends until recently.

“The thing about these — we didn’t even know she had these. She was just so modest,” said Leslie Palmer, who became close friends with Brill after they met while Brill was working on issues involving South Sacramento’s Meadowview neighborhood.

“The other thing about Mary: There’s nobody like her in terms of community organization,” Palmer said. “That I know.”