Three award recipients will be honored at 4pm on Tuesday, January 12, at the Long Beach City Council meeting, 333 West Ocean Blvd.
The candidates have been selected for their history of volunteer or community work in areas of peacemaking, nonviolence, and/or community building. “The Peace Maker Award acknowledges the spirit in which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. demonstrated compassionate, non-violent strategies toward peace and community building, ideals we value in the city of Long Beach,” said Andrews. This year, recipients include: Walter Neil of British Petroleum; Pastor Wayne Chaney Jr. of Antioch Church Long Beach; and the PeaceBuilders Program founded by Michelle Molina.
Neil is the Public and Government Affairs Director for British Petroleum. He has more than 30 years of experience in the industry, having begun his career as an operator on a drilling rig in 1978. Moving to BP with the ARCO acquisition, he brought a wide range of experience to the table, having held positions in operations, safety, training, human resources, and government and community affairs. Neil and British Petroleum have sponsored numerous peace and community building events throughout Long Beach for many years.
Chaney is the pastor of Antioch Church of Long Beach and his commitment and involvement in ministry reach far beyond Antioch and the local community. Throughout the country, he has ministered to various congregations, denominations, and organizations and has extended his ministry worldwide, touching the lives of individuals in countries such as Indonesia, New Zealand, England, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore and Mexico. He formerly served as president of the California National African-American Network, SBC and was a board member of the National African-American Network, SBC, being the youngest person to serve in both capacities. He currently serves on the executive board of the California Southern Baptist Convention. Chaney also serves on the executive board of Global Tribe International, whose mission is to rescue those in physical and spiritual poverty, reach communities with the gospel, and recruit and empower young leaders. He has recently been elected president of the Long Beach Ministerial Alliance, where he provides leadership to pastors, community organizations, and local governmental agencies.
The PeaceBuilders program is a research-validated violence-prevention youth program approved for the federally funded Safe and Drug-Free Schools Act. It is a comprehensive program launched in organizations that shifts the entire climate to a peaceful, productive and safe place for children, parents, staff and faculty. Created for the young child, pre-teen and teen, PeaceBuilders addresses risk factors which predict violence, bullying and drug and tobacco use. PeaceBuilders strives to reduce aggression, promote language development, teach pro-social skills, increase parenting skills, create inclusion for special-needs children and foster safer communities. PeaceBuilders is managed by PeacePartners, Inc., owned and operated by John and Michelle Molina, based in Long Beach. With more than a decade of experience working with at-risk youth in public education and administration, Michelle has been a PeaceBuilder who knows the intricacies of this research-validated program.
Last year’s recipients included Victor Otiniano of Union Bank, Tracy Colunga, and the Boys & Girls Club of Long Beach.
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