The North Orange County Job Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, April 6 at Saddleback High School in Santa Ana.
Saddleback Church is partnering with the Santa Ana Unified School District, the city of Santa Ana and the Santa Ana Task Force.
The same job fair last year hosted 85 local employers offering more than 5,000 positions from entry-level to highly skilled.
Organizers said the job fair is open to anyone looking for work in Orange County.
Address: 2802 S Flower St, Santa Ana, CA 29707.
Ingrid Valenzuela has been sworn in as the postmaster of the Anaheim U.S. Post Office. (Courtesy of the US Postal Service)
Anaheim welcomes new USPS postmaster
Ingrid Valenzuela has been sworn in as the postmaster of the Anaheim U.S. Post Office.
The tradition dates back 162 years to 1861 when John Fischer became the location’s first postmaster.
Valenzuela took the oath of office at 701 N. Loara on Friday, March 24.
She has been with the USPS for 17 years, beginning as a carrier in Huntington Beach in 2006.
“I aspire to uplift my city and make it shine and make people wish they work here too,” Valenzuela said in a statement.
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley stands with the nominees and awardees of her Second Annual Women Making A Difference Awards. (Courtesy of Katrina Foley’s office)
Women honored for their stories, contribution
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley hosted her second annual Women Making A Difference Awards, honoring National Women’s History Month and female storytellers. Honorees and their categories are:
Arts: Erin Angelo of Ladera Ranch is a professional ballroom dancer, educator and founder/executive director of Rx Ballroom Dance, a nonprofit that provides free ballroom dance instruction for people with degenerative neurological conditions.
Blogs: Jeanette Knutti of Irvine is the CEO and founder of Moxie Marketing Agency. She runs a blog that focuses on inspiration and themes of kindness, love and self-care.
Books & Publications: Allison Deming of Laguna Beach is the vice president of Conservation Medicine and Science at Pacific Marine Mammal Center. She will publish a book this spring on marine mammal research and her findings.
Radio: Patti Compton of Laguna Beach is the host of “Play Something Sweet” on KXFM, a music history show that puts songs in a historical context.
Stage: Jocelyn Brown of Ladera Ranch has directed plays primarily at Chance Theater and Chapman University, helping develop new material by women playwrights while serving as Chance Theater’s associate artistic director.
Podcasts: Mary-Christine Sungaila of Newport Beach works as a full-time appellate lawyer and is the creator and host of The Portia Project podcast, which aims to inspire women to join the legal sector.
Social Media: Esther Park and Mijin Park of Laguna Hills are the co-founders of Fully Health Clinic and create content promoting mental health.
Film: Mauren “Mo” Langley of San Clemente for five years has managed the San Clemente Women’s Surf Film Festival.
Public Information: Roxi Fyad of Costa Mesa serves as public affairs manager for the Costa Mesa Police Department. The first civilian public affairs manager in the department’s history, she works with the media and oversees crime prevention, community programs and events and the volunteer program.
News – Print: Lana Johnson of Newport Beach is the editor of Stu News Newport and Stu News Laguna, writing, processing and editing stories for both cities.
News – Television: Michele Gile of Corona Del Mar works at KCAL-CBS LA News and has been in the news business for 30 years.
O’Connor Mortuary in Laguna Hills is commemorating 125 years in business. At left is Patrick O’Connor with the mortuary’s first company hearse, and at right are the current owners, Jeff, Joseph and Charles. The business is one of the oldest family-owned mortuaries in California. (Courtesy of O’Connor Mortuary)
Mortuary honors its 125th anniversary
O’Connor Mortuary in Laguna Hills is commemorating 125 years in business as one of the oldest, continually family-owned mortuaries in California.
The company will host an open house from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, April 19 at 25301 Alicia Pkwy.
Patrick Joseph O’Connor, the founder, partnered with Thomas Cunningham, opening the first Cunningham & O’Connor Mortuary in 1898 on Fifth and Main Streets in downtown Los Angeles. Patrick’s son, Joseph Alan O’Connor Sr., expanded the business to Hollywood in 1950. His son, Joseph O’Connor Jr., then expanded it to the San Gabriel Valley in 1965.
O’Connor Jr. would go on to open his own location, O’Connor Mortuary, in Orange County in 1976. The business was constructed on land where cattle and sheep once grazed. The family called it “the little house on the prairie” on Alicia Parkway near Paseo de Valencia.
The mortuary continues to operate from that very spot today with Joseph O’Connor Jr.’s sons-in-law, Joe Fitzgerald and Chuck Ricciardi at the helm.
On the move
The nonprofit Radiant Futures, formerly Women’s Transitional Living Center, has made two key hires in recent weeks. Adriana De La Torre is the new housing services manager, overseeing the organization’s emergency shelter, transitional housing program and key housing program. Tatiana Restrepo is the new contracts and compliance manager. She has worked in the nonprofit sector for five years in various administrative roles.
Working Wardrobes recently received a donation from Women Helping Women, which is dissolving its chapter. WHW opted to give its last donation of $100,000 to Working Wardrobes. (Courtesy of Working Wardrobes)
Women Helping Women offers one last gift
Working Wardrobes recently received a donation from Women Helping Women, which is dissolving its chapter.
After years of helping the local community, WHW opted to give its last donation of $100,000 to Working Wardrobes in Irvine.
WHW Board members presented the donation of their remaining funds to help Working Wardrobes provide job seekers with workforce preparedness services.
Grants
Unlimited Possibilities, a Santa Ana-based nonprofit that helps children and families with disabilities, received a $25,000 grant from the S. Mark Taper Foundation. This money will greatly help the organization with its critical “Access to Care” program, providing early intervention and pediatric therapy to 450 underinsured, low-income children and families in the county.
Status Update is compiled from press releases by contributing writer Karen Levin and edited by Business Editor Samantha Gowen. Submit items and high-resolution photos to sgowen@scng.com. Allow at least one week for publication. Items are edited for length and clarity.
