2008 Ruhkala Community Service Awards Winners

The City of Rocklin will make presentations to the winners of the annual Roy and Peggy Ruhkala Community Service Awards at a reception to be held on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 7:00 PM at Finn Hall on Rocklin Road. The public is invited to this free event.

The 2008 Ruhkala Community Service Awards will be presented to:

Individual Award:
Larry Osborne, for his commitment and dedication to serving the Rocklin Community.

Larry is a long term resident of Rocklin, moving here in 1978. He has served on the Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce for more than 15 years. In 1992 he was chosen as the President of the Chamber.

Larry has been a runner all of his life and with his passion for running and his commitment to community involvement, Larry has organized and financially backed the annual Run Rocklin event for the last three years and was a main title sponsor the first two years of the event. Larry is a retired Berkeley police officer and his son is currently a Rocklin police officer and with strong personal ties to the Redding family, Run Rocklin has benefited the Matt Redding Memorial Scholarship Foundation, last year raising $10,000 for the foundation.

Larry and his business, Elephant Ideas, have also been sponsors of the Rocklin Jubilee.

Group Award:
William Jessup University for their continued involvement in the Rocklin Community.

Since moving the William Jessup University to Rocklin in 2004, they have been involved in many community events. The university has hosted events such as Laura Bush, Placer County Transportation Forum, City of Rocklin Drug Awareness Series, Placer County Chaplaincy meetings and trainings and served as a Placer County Elections Polling Place. They also have more than 20,000 hours of students in community service per year participating in Church internships, youth groups and music; university and church missions; new student orientation Community Service Day – serving homeless, charities, Salvation Army, and volunteer centers as well as Non-profit and Civic community Service. Also, William Jessup University will be the location of the upcoming Congressional debate.

William Jessup University offers free or reduced facility usage to local city, county and chamber groups and also has music concerts and recitals open to the public.

Pioneer Award:
This year the City Council has decided to award two Pioneer Awards. They will be awarded to Ken Yorde, a long time member of the City Council and former Mayor and posthumously to Vince Amado, elected City Treasurer for more than 20 years.

Ken Yorde
Ken was elected to the City Council in 1993 and served the citizens of Rocklin for 13 years always advocating for a balanced community with a good mix of housing, jobs, and retail opportunities. Ken had a vision for an expanded system of trails and was a major supporter of trail systems in Sunset West, Whitney Oaks, the Southeast Rocklin area along Secret Ravine Creek, and in Clover Valley. Ken also contributed to the environmental quality of Rocklin by being a major supporter and a leading participant in the acquisition of the Johnson and the Ganiats properties which created a major open space area expansion next to Johnson-Springview Park and was the leader in the development of the Urban Forest Plan. Because of Ken’s leadership, Rocklin is today one of only a handful of cities in California that have a long-term tree preservation plan.
Ken always took an active interest in the preservation of Rocklin’s history. He was the City Council’s liaison to the Historical Society for the preservation of St. Mary’s Church and for the creation of Heritage Park. Ken was also supportive of the City of Rocklin’s Historic Museum and participated actively in the development of the Civic Center Master Plan area which, among other things, provided for the preservation of important historic elements around the Civic Center area.

Ken had a long-term vision for the quality of life in Rocklin. He considered mobility an important factor in quality of life. He supported a transportation concept which included the creation of a ring road around Rocklin to allow citizens to travel to any point of Rocklin without having to cross through town. His vision included the ability to travel along Highway 65 to I-80, to Sierra College Boulevard, to Clover Valley Parkway and along Whitney Boulevard back to Highway 65. In addition to that, he supported internal ring roads, including the connection from Wildcat Way to West Oaks Boulevard and the extension of Lonetree Boulevard through the industrial area adjacent to the Atherton Tech Center.

Ken provided leadership in the future expansion of the Rocklin Library. He served as a liaison between the Friends of the Library, Placer County and the City, always advocating for a much needed expansion. Ken Yorde’s legacy in the City of Rocklin will prove beneficial to current and future residents of our City.

Vince Amado
Vince was elected City Treasurer in November, 1987 and served until he passed away in December, 2008, having been re-elected five times. Prior to his election as Treasurer, Vince was active in Rocklin’s Citizens for Parks and Recreation and served on the Redevelopment Citizens Advisory Committee. He served on the board of directors of the California Municipal Treasurers Association (CMTA) for many years and was the current Vice-President and Legislative Representative. Vince also represented CMTA on the League of California Cities Revenue and Tax Committee. In April, 2006 Vince received his California Municipal Treasurer Certification.

An active Rotarian, Vince held numerous positions in the Rotary Club Rocklin/Loomis Basin and served as the club president in 2002-2003. He was a Paul Harris Fellow and supported Rotary projects locally and the eradication of polio world wide. He was a strong supporter of the American Cancer Society of Life fundraiser in Rocklin, Relay for Life. He served on the local Relay for Life organizing committee and would personally raise hundreds of dollars to support the event annually.

Vince graduated from Riordan High School in San Francisco in 1963 and attended San Francisco State where he received an Associates Degree in Horticulture in 1970. He began his insurance career in San Francisco with New York Life in 1970. Vince married Helga Albright in San Francisco in 1971. The Amado family moved to Rocklin in 1978 to raise their sons David and Jeffrey. Vince continued his insurance career in Rocklin and opened his own Farmers insurance agency in 1981.

Vince was extremely proud of his family and the community he lived and worked in.