Area Democrats Honor Volunteers

The Democratic Club of Southwest Riverside County recently honored key volunteers for their community activism.

Mary Venerable and Fred Bartz were named Volunteers of the Year by the Club at its annual awards dinner held Feb. 4, club spokesperson Nick Shestople said, in a news release.

Venerable helped found the Lake Elsinore/Southwest Riverside County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1997, and is currently serving at the branch president, Shestople said.

Since 2005, Venerable has been a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee to the Riverside County Transportation Commission. A retired Federal employee, Venerable is also active in the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE), and in 2008 was selected as the organization’s first National Service Officer of the Year.

Bartz is a member of the Sierra Club Santa Margarita Group of the San Gorgonio chapter, heading the Environmental Action Committee. Bartz is also a member of the Save our Southwest Hills organization, and has been an outspoken leader in the opposition to the Liberty Quarry.

A recent arrival to the Temecula Valley after retiring from Chrysler-Mercedes Benz, Bartz told the group that he never anticipated being a community activist, but couldn’t just sit by and let the Liberty Quarry despoil the local environment, Shestople said.

Shestople was also given a club Volunteer of the Year award, as was Brenda Phillips of Lake Elsinore.

The Democratic Club of Southwest Riverside County meets at 7 p.m. the first Monday of each month at Casa Jimenez Mexican Restaurant, 40535 California Oaks Road, Murrieta. A representative of the California Highway Patrol is set to speak at the group's March 5 meeting.

For more information, contact Nick Shestople at 951-303-3107.