Recommendation to receive and file a presentation on Mr. Randy Bowden in commemoration of his impact on our community and benefit to generations of students as a teacher at Wilson High School for 46 years.
Okay. Thank you. Motion is carried. Next up is we are doing we've had a couple. We've had a couple of requests to move some items up. So let me start with item 25. Communication from Councilwoman Pryce recommendation to receive and file a presentation on Mr. Randy Bowden in commemoration of his impact on our community and benefit to generations of students as a teacher at Wilson High School for 46 years. Gave. So I know that there are a lot of people here to honor and show appreciation for Mr. Bowden. And I'm just going to say a few words, and if anyone wants to come up and say anything after I speak regarding his service and what he's done for our children, our youth and our community, please feel free to do so. Of course, all teachers have the unique ability to shape lives, influence our communities, and impact our future leaders. But when someone has had a career that has spanned 46 years, dedicated to teaching generations of students, inspiring them and empowering them for their future, that has to be recognized. For those of you here tonight to recognize Mr. Bowden, you've all seen the amazing work that he has done. And I especially want to thank our city auditor, Laura dowd, because she brought this item to my attention, has a personal relationship with Mr. Bowden, and felt very strongly about the recognition tonight. So thank you to Laura. I think she's going to say a few words. The role he played as a trauma teacher working in the arts, a field that is often underrecognized for the important place. It has an education. Today, we thank you for the work that you have done for the time and energy you've committed to our city, to our community, and to our students. Your career has touched so many lives, and that is clearly evident with the outpouring of love and the opportunity to show appreciation to you for the honor that you're receiving. Thank you for making Long Beach and Wilson High School. It's a great day to be a Bruin. A better place. And for caring as deeply as you have throughout your amazing career. Having a child that's going to be entering Wilson next year. I'm grateful that we have teachers like you who are inspiring them to be the best people that they can be. Thank you. And you deserve every bit of this honor and so much more. Laura I'm going to invite our city auditor up to say a few words and then if anyone else would like to say a few words, and once we're all done with that, we have a certificate and we'd invite Mr. Bowden down. Great. Thank you. Councilwoman Pryce, thank you very much for sponsoring this item and bringing our attention and special recognition to a very special teacher, Mr. Bowden, who has, as been mentioned, 46 years of complete devotion and dedication to teaching. When you think about 46 years, I know some of you weren't even born. 46 years ago, so that he was that he was started to teach people. And this isn't to make you feel bad, but, you know, when you think about that 46 years of what what a legacy, what a. What an era, very difficult to put into just a few words and few minutes here the impact that he really has had on so many students and this community. And when you think about 700 productions. Wow. The the time, the energy, the blood, sweat and tears to just put nothing but the best forward in the production. As a student at Wilson, I also had the privilege of being his drama student for the three years that I was there and the the blessing, the gift of so many qualities that he helped me develop, especially that of confidence and helping me in my role today as the city auditor to be able to get up and to speak. And, you know, when you think of the thousands and upon thousands of students that has had him. Collectively, it seems. Overwhelming. But when you. Were with. Mr. Bowden, he made you feel like you were the only student, the only one, the most important one. His passion and his love and concern for each individual student is something that really impressed me as a student, as I have observed him, and also with. All how how he worked so hard. We all know that he was always at the Rainbow Playhouse, the the the. House. He built for the students to come to feel welcome to. To be accepted for who they are. For the hours. That he worked there, it never seemed like a job to him. It was just who he was. And living out his his his passion and his love and I, on behalf of the thousands of students who had the pleasure and honor of of being one of his students, I want to thank him for going into the profession of teaching for the selfless acts of service that he. Provided for over these. 46 years and whether they were drama students or not. All were always welcome and he was always available for us. And we want to thank him for his service, for his kind acts, for the memories that will always last. With us, and we wish him the very best in his retirement. We love you, Mr. Mode, Mr. Vogt, and thank you very much. Trulieve. They're just a couple other students that like faith. Just a few words. Yeah. Please, please come down to the to the microphone. If you are making some comments, now would be the time. Oh. What happened after the public comment and public comment. My folks. We're live on Facebook right now. Okay. All right. So can we look at alumni? So. Yes. We love that. We. Hello? Go Bruins. Oh. Well, I'll start. I'm Janet Jarrod Wilson, class of 78. We're heading our 40 year class reunion. And I was back at Wilson when it was the three year school. I had Mr. Bowden for three years. He was the best teacher I've ever had. He was very impactful on my life. I've been in many situations where I've had to do public speaking and thank goodness for my experiences at Wilson. I appreciate all of what he did for all of his students. For me personally, the time that he put in to his job, when I think about how many hours went into that after school and all the time and putting together so many plays each year, my mind boggles at it. As a kid, I didn't appreciate it quite as much. But as an adult, I think being at your job, not only the 9 to 5, but the ten, the 11, the 12, the 13 to 14, the 15 and sometimes to 24. And that was what Mr. Bowden has done for so many years, and I can't thank them enough. And I wish him the best on his retirement. Thank you so much. Next week or please, please come forward next speaker. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And City Council. My name is Sheri Diamond. I am a graduate. Of Wilson High School, class. Of 1979. Mr. Bowden was my drama teacher from 1976 through 1979. I echo Auditor Dowd's words when she said that he he taught his classes and he lived his life in a way for us with complete and utter devotion, but made himself available to each of us as if we were the only one who existed. I think the best teachers know that every student walks into their classroom with a story, a story of their own, a story that doesn't usually get told whether it's having to be their grandmother. And that's why they were late or they didn't have breakfast, or there was. Violence in the home. Or other kinds of trauma and duress. The Rainbow Playhouse was more than a classroom. It was our safe haven. It was where we could go and know we would be okay until the end of the day. And many of us stayed even beyond that because we were at home in the playhouse, more so than we were in our own living rooms. And I think, again, echoing Laura's words. On behalf of the thousands and thousands. Of students for whom he provided that refuge, we want to express our gratitude, Randi. We are alive. Today. Many of us. Because of you, simply and solely because of you. And we owe you an enormous debt of gratitude, because we've. I hope, in Your Honor. Modeled and lived. The life that you showed us was possible. And so, again. We take a bow. Our curtain call to you, sir. Thank you so much for everything. And thank you for the counsel today. Thank you so much. Thank you. Next week at least. And make sure you say your name for the record. And I'm here. Council members. My name is Logan Montaigne. And on behalf of the Class of 2017, we would like to thank Mr. Byrne for everything that he did for us with a plaque. I'd just like to read what it says. 46 years. 8280 school days. 66240 hours. 3974400 minutes. 828 weeks of rehearsal. 1656 hours of rehearsal. Over 8000 students. One man who made an impact on countless. Lives. Loved the class of 2017. Congratulations, Mr.. Bowen. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Thank you. City Council members and Mayor Robert Garcia. My name is Pablo Moraga. I graduated from Wilson High School last year, and I would just like to say a few things about Mr. Bowden given by his vast experience. Mr. Bowden is extremely talented in an art and a very important note, which is how to act and how to be people. I came into his classroom as a really awkward little freshman, and I did it. I had no self-confidence whatsoever, but he taught me and that. And in the Playhouse, which is a safe haven to express ourselves and experiment with all types of ways of speaking and mannerisms and how we posture ourselves. We can learn how to be people, how to be whatever we want. And that has given me and many, many, many, many students the confidence to do whatever they please. And that gave me the confidence to to go to UC Berkeley, major in political science, to pursue my dreams of becoming a politician, and to one day maybe sit on this council table like you guys are, and to now work for Congressman Ron Paul and be able to present this certificate on behalf of Representative Lowenthal to Mr. Bowden. Thank you. Next speaker. Hi. Hi, everyone. My name is. Emily Rodriguez, and. I am a student right. Now with Mr.. Bowden. He has been my teacher since. Freshman year and I am. Currently a junior and coming into my freshman year. I used to be a straight off student. I had no. Motivation for anything, and. I thought by my junior year I would have been a dropout. But because of Mr. B, because of how much he inspired me to just keep being in drama. He really did save me and saved me so much trouble, you know, because of him. I tried harder in school and I even made it on the principal's honor roll. So thank you, Mr. B and C, and because of him, I want to go to college now. I want to be a teacher. I want to inspire just like him. And if it wasn't for Mr. Bowden, I don't know where I would be. So thank you, Mr. Bowden. Thank you. And our final speaker. Thank you all. My name is Morris Smith. I'm again currently a junior under Mr. B. Unfortunately, I won't have him next year as a senior, but I know that in his retirement he'll again touch as many lives as he had the past 47 years. 46, 46 years. I just wanted to say that Mr. B gives everything he has, his his emotions, his passion to help his students pursue whatever they want to, whether that be performing or coming out of their shell or even making them better people. Like just this year he had us perform a play about homeless people and took us to the homeless shelter. He didn't just have us perform on stage as people we didn't know, but he had us meet these people and understand what they were really going through and decide not to just pass over them on the street, but to give them a smile and, you know, be better people. And he does this every single day in class and he pushes us to do better and be better and change the world around us. And I hope someday I can be a drama teacher, just like Mr. B, and follow in his footsteps, which is pretty hard. But he has inspired so many people, including me, and he's changed countless lives. Thank you so much, Mr. B. We owe. You everything. Thank you, sir. Counsel My name is. Ken Schlesinger, and I'm going to go off script and I. Proudly live in the third district. Susie Price We love you. We love what you do for our neighborhoods. You're welcome here any time. Thank you. I've lived in the district for 45 years. I've lived in Long Beach for 55 years. This is a great place to be. I've got something that was sent to me earlier today that probably will summarize how many of us feel. And that is there are people that teach you the world through different eyes, that allow you to encourage, to be who you truly are and the strength to continue forward despite any obstacles you may encounter, there are people in life that ultimately define your path. Mr. Bowden For myself and literally thousands of students, that person is you. Your classes rose above the scope of just drama classes. Of course you did teach us acting method versus technical. We learned how to create a. Character, how to analyze scenes in plays. But you also taught us how to critique without criticizing. How to work with an ensemble, how. To trust your fellow. Actors, how to be trustworthy. You taught us to follow our dreams, to believe in ourselves, and to never give up. Even with the number of years that are passed, many of us are as close as we were back then. You created a bond between us thicker than blood, because of the values instilled in us by you as adults, we continue to be advocates for the arts. Mr. Bowden. You were the catalyst for the passion in. US, which is theater. You taught us about the powerful. Impact that a. Performance can have and how to create a platform for truth and justice and build a community in which equality is not just an essential element but an absolute. Necessity. As Helen Keller said. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces towards change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate. Is strength undefeatable? That undefeatable strength is what you ingrained in all of us those years ago. Thank you, Mr. B, for your dedication to teaching, your passion for advocacy, for your love of the theater, and your never wavering enthusiasm throughout 45 years of teaching theater. Thank you for being a part of our journey, and thank you for allowing us to celebrate your legacy. This was written by. My good friend Carys Gonzales, graduated in 1978, who is teaching. She's a performing arts teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District. In 1975, my own story. When I came to Wilson, I was bullied and it wasn't my dream to be in Randi's class. Initially, I was in a second period German class. I weighed over £300, and the desk that I sat in that first week of school had to be there, built at 1925. I wound up breaking that desk and was quite ashamed and embarrassed and I ran to my counselor's office asking to be released and he couldn't do anything for me. He said, You have to sit it out for a week. And for that week I got bullied and tortured by my classmates. Finally, the following week, he said, We have an opening and you're going to second period drama with Mr. Boden. The rest is history for me. You've heard it before. I'll say it again. He created a safe harbor where there was none. He taught me an appreciation of live theater. The spoken word, great playwright Neil Simon, Edward Albee, who I actually had an opportunity to meet. I stand here in complete gratitude. I know I've taken up an awful lot of time, but I would be remiss if I didn't. As a gay man living in the city of Long Beach, talk about diversity and the fact that in 1970 576, it was racy to do the Children's Hour. We were sweating bullets. What a proud moment to go back last year and see Randy produce The Laramie Project. For me, that was groundbreaking. It was unbelievable. And this year, Randy produced a show called Careers and he sent me a note. I actually sent some money to help support it. And we have to. I'm so sorry to wrap it up, so. Okay. Very good. Let's go ahead. Thank you so much. Next speaker. Yes, this will be my name is Sasha Boden. This will be short and sweet. I'm not the drama daughter there. I'm one of four children. I'm Randy Boden's daughter. And I pretty much grew up in the Rainbow Playhouse since I was little rifling through his candy in his office, sitting on stage. And then my kids came through, and they all went and saw Winnie the Pooh. And all four of us have been so proud of my dad and so proud to have this last name. And we pretty much can't go anywhere in Long Beach without hearing Mr.. Even at the airport, even at Second Street, for sure. And it's just been such an honor to watch so many students basically call him dad. Also, he has four of us, but he has hundreds of hundreds of children. So congratulations, Dad. I'm super stoked. We're going to spend so much time together now. Thank you. I think I'm officially the last. Okay, no problem. My name is Noel Parmentier. I'm class of 83, and I think Mr. Andrews was a teacher at Wilson when I was there. Am I right? Yes. I would really like Mr. Bowden to. Come on down. Come on down. I'm going to present him with this for a lay like a graduate. And here's a little story. When I went to pick this up today at a store in Lakewood, the girl said, Oh, do you have a child graduating? I said, No. A friend of mine is retiring from teaching for 46 years. And she said, Who? And I said, Mr. Bowen. And she goes, I know, Mr. Bowden. I mean, I didn't even go to Wilson, but I totally know him. He's awesome. So you are just world renowned. So this is for you. Congratulations. And also, he was trying to be very sneaky with us by dropping the bomb of retirement last week so that we couldn't get it together for him to do any kind of celebration. But ha ha, we got you. Right. So social media was a flurry frenzy of all these secret websites trying to keep him off of it. And to make matters short, we set up a go fund me called Mr. Boden's retirement account. And in four days we've raised over 30 $200. So this is for you to have fun, to travel. Don't spend it all on pickled eggs and schooners. And yeah, a little advice about that. When you're at Jojo's maybe two years from now and you're still basking in the glow of retirement, I wouldn't engage those bartenders in a discussion about The Glass Menagerie. I don't think they're going to know about blue roses and gentleman callers, so that's our thing. But we just all want to say, thank you so much. You're a legend. We love you. This is the original life coach. To say drama teacher is a minimal part of it. And I'm so glad you all got to hear about the wonderful Mr. Bowden that we love. But just between you. And Mr. Bowden, did you want to say anything? It's up to you. That's your drama teacher. So come on. I know some. Make it. Short. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Price. Thank you, Laura. Thank all of you. That was very, very touching. Very, very moving, to say the least. I'm honored and thrilled to be here and incredibly humbled. Hey, good to see you again, buddy. It I've I've always felt whenever we have productions in the Playhouse at Wilson, I have always felt that not only is are the parents behind us, the siblings are behind us. The campus is behind us. I have always felt the Long Beach is behind us and all the shows that we do, I felt support all the way over there from here. And it's just wonderful because we can't succeed without standing on other shoulders. And thank you for helping to keep us up and keep it going. Keep us going. And it's wonderful. Mrs. B And I just love, love, love Long Beach. And it's wonderful to be a part of it and to be with these incredibly creative and wonderful and funny and alive and sensitive students who know that when they are performing among all the other things, that they are more than a test score, that they have all this great creativity, and to watch them absolutely lock into a character regardless of the show and absolutely take off. And ascend and become that. That I as the director and overeducated audience member watching them the thrill of that every teacher knows they see the light bulb come on but in the arts to see them take off and become is something so noble and so wonderful and so beautiful . And at a time when our humanity needs to be, in some cases, put back into us and reminded of how the wonderful things in us as human beings and in the world that we need to celebrate. They celebrate every performance, every performance. And just by being themselves, they are. Beauty. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Bowden. Congratulations. Those relations? Absolutely. We do have a couple. There's just a couple members that wanted to add some words from earlier. Councilman Super now. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and congratulations, Mr. Bowden. And since the third District was mentioned, I should mention that Mr. Bowden is a fourth District resident. In fact, I should speak to his patients, too. We just fixed some sidewalks on his street this year, and ironically, I think it's 46 years since the last infrastructure work was done. So thank you for your patience. But I did want to speak on behalf of Wilson High School staff. My wife happens to be the school secretary at Wilson. And I mentioned we are honoring Randi Bowden. She is. Oh, I just got flowers from him today. Wait a second. He's the guy retiring. She is now. He just sent flowers to the office staff and a nice card thanking them for their work for the year. So that tells you what kind of guy he is. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Andrews. Yeah. Real quick, I just want to say I'm 73 to 84. Yeah, I hate to delay. Probably don't get me wrong, but when they transferred me to Washington and I had a chance to meet this young man and you could only tell from his kids and from the students there. And I really thought I knew something until I met this individual, cause I wanted to be an entertainer. And I know if I were taking a class, by the way, older than you. So but the thing about it, Mr. Bowden, you have been a godsend. And you can always and I know you'll carry that with you, and your kids will see that. And I know your students, everyone who stood up and said things about you can be nothing but the truth. Godspeed. And I hope everything goes well for you and the family. Thank you. Thank you. And Mr. Burton, I mean, obviously, we don't know each other. I'm not one of your former students, but everything I've heard tonight, I just love as a drama kid myself in high school. I love everything that your students said. And thank you for, you know, your vision to really bring so much love to Long Beach. And I know I speak on behalf of the rest of the council as well, just excellent. Thank you for your service and for your kind heart. Thank you. Of course, those are brought this forward. There's a motion to receive and file the presentation council. Councilwoman Price? Yes. Thank you, everyone, for your beautiful words. I mean, sometimes I feel like things happen in a way that's unexpected but totally meant to be. And I feel like it was meant to be for me to hear from you tonight. I wish I could have been one of your students because it's clear that you are a life coach. And so thank you for everything. We're going to come down and take a photograph with you. And I'd love to invite my council colleagues to join us. It's not every day we have the OG of leadership, our life coaching here in House, so we'd love to have them all here so that we can not take a photo with you and make it extra special for you if everyone's willing. Thank you. Great. So please cast your vote and we'll come up and take a picture. I got to get. Yeah, exactly. But that's a lifetime. Let's just do it. On the. Stairs. Yeah. Is everything you want to prove. To. Stand on the stairs? Yeah. We'll do that so we can show modulations. Oh, thank you. Oh, I love it. So, my gym teacher, where she grew up and the whole. Thing, I think you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you. Come on. Come on over there. Oh. Want everyone behind us? Yeah. Go. Going the steps. That was just ahead for you. You like what happened here? Yeah. Yeah, just right. Right next to that. You got this way and the house, right? Right. Yeah, right here. One, two, three. Right here, please. One, two, three. I'm right here. And one, two, three. Okay. Good. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, I was so nervous. All right, here is a registration. I got it now I. Okay. Congratulations. Thank you. You know I. Wasn't. You. He is my focus today. Good for you. Thank you. I plays major and I got into it. It's okay. Brenda Killian. Congratulations. You're great. Another big round of applause for Mr. Bowden as we move onto the next item here. So thank you. Yeah. Also with the next two items, one has to move up. We have two parks related items, and we're going to do a public comment after that. So first one is item 12 and then we're going to do 26 and then public comment and the can and the consent can actually let me do the consent minus items 12 and 19 which have been pulled from consent consent minus consent calendar.