AVC names 2015 Achievement Award recipients

LANCASTER – Antelope Valley College and the Antelope Valley College Foundation have announced the recipients of the 2015 Achievement Awards.

Established in 2004 in celebration of the college’s 75th anniversary, the Achievement Awards honor individuals who have established a tradition of excellence through their achievements and service to Antelope Valley College and the community.

The year’s honorees include AVC alumnus Lew Arnold, retired high school teacher and coach; Alan and Angela Hefter, founders of The Jacob Hefter Foundation; scholarship donor Maria D. Felix-Shumaker, business owner Sam Roman; Dan Massari, AVC team doctor for more than 25 years; Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich; Kevin Mickey, president of Scaled Composites; and Dennis Anderson, Antelope Valley Press editor.

The 2015 Achievement Award recipients will be honored at Antelope Valley College’s 85th Anniversary Gala, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at the A.V. Fairgrounds. For more information on the event, visit http://www.avc.edu/foundation/achievementaward15/.

More on the 2015 honorees

Distinguished Alumni Award: Lew Arnold (’54) – Antelope Valley native Lew Arnold has a long, impressive history of community involvement as an athlete, musician, coach, teacher and dancer. He also is a private pilot, trains dogs for movies and commercials, and owned a disc jockey business, a dance studio and Del Sur Gardens.

Community Service Award: Alan and Angela Hefter – Following the loss of their youngest son, Jacob, a 2008 Palmdale High School graduate, in the Chatsworth Metrolink train crash, the Hefters chose to turn tragedy into hope by establishing the Jacob Hefter Foundation. The purpose of the foundation is to bring awareness to young adults about the importance of making positive choices in life and to not text and drive.

College Service Award: Maria D. Felix-Shumaker – An employee in the Kern County District Attorney’s office, Felix-Shumaker supports AVC through a scholarship honoring her late husband, Sal Tavera, cofounder of the Antelope Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the organization’s first president.

College Service Award: Sam Roman – Among top local businessmen who founded the Antelope Valley Hispanic Chamber in 1997, Roman has been involved with various organizations, including the Latin American Club and the League of United Latin American Citizens. He is the current president of the Sal Tavera Foundation, providing scholarships to Antelope Valley College students.

College Service Award: Dan Massari – The owner of Athletic Injury Management in Lancaster, Massari has served as the Antelope Valley College team doctor for over 25 years, providing sports injury treatment and prevention services to all AVC athletic teams.

Public Service Award: Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich – A native of Los Angeles County, Supervisor Antonovich has served the more than two million residents of Los Angeles County’s Fifth Supervisorial District since 1980. The district includes all or part of the San Gabriel, Pomona, San Fernando, Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley.

Professional Achievement Award: Kevin Mickey – President of Scaled Composites LLC, Mickey serves as an officer and senior management committee member of Scaled, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Northrop Grumman Corporation. He is a 20+ year veteran of aerospace and has participated in or been responsible for more than 25 manned flight vehicles and held a senior leadership position during Scaled’s successful winning of the $10M Ansari X-prize for the first private manned spacecraft to exceed an altitude of 328,000 feet.

American Spirit Award: Dennis Anderson – Cold War veteran and paratrooper, Anderson joined the Antelope Valley Press as city editor in 1998, and became editor in 1999. During his 16 years as editor, the Valley Press has earned more than 12 General Excellence Citations from the National Newspaper Association and the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

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