PARADE HONOREES
Grand Marshal
of
the 2009 Laguna Beach Parade
Frank Mickadeit, O.C. Register Columnist
The Grand Marshal
for our 43rd Patriots Day Parade is the Orange County Register’s well-known
columnist, Frank Mickadeit. A native Californian born in Palo Alto
and the oldest of seven children, Frank was raised on the Central Coast
in Lompoc. Printer’s ink seemed to run in his veins early on,
and at just the age of sixteen he was working as a part-time sports writer
for the local paper. Frank attended San Diego State University and
for the past twenty-two years, has been a reporter, and then editor, for
the Register. However, in recent years it has been his columns that
have won him a large and devoted reading audience. Here in Laguna
Beach, he has become widely esteemed for his fearless venturing into our
own coastal bit of wildness and weirdness.
As Frank relates to Martin J. Smith, one of his inspirations to become a
columnist was the legendary Pulitzer winner, Herb Caen (1916-1997) of the
San Francisco Chronicle, whose pungent and witty columns --fed by a huge
cadre of informants-- were arguably the best newspaper writing of its type
in the region. Like Herb Caen, whose writing served to bind
the Bay Area’s diverse lot of inhabitants into a kind of readership
collective, Frank Mickadeit has been an indefatigable investigator of the
personages and culture of Orange County, such as “The Real Housewives
of Orange County.” However, Caen would have been envious of
Frank’s uses of digital media that instantly connect him to his vast
array of aides and abettors with on-line names like “Commie Girl”
and our own “reallagunagirl” who keep him up to date on the
latest foibles and fads of our county’s rich cast of characters.
In a more serious vein, Frank is usually in the field following leads of
outrageous behavior like the group of some 80 Newport beachfront owners
who decided to quietly and illicitly expand their acreage by landscaping
personal gardens and structures out onto the public beach. His reporting
from court is exceptional, with vivid description and cogent commentary
on the rendering of justice, particularly (and deliciously so) if they involve
sex, scandal, and malfeasance--preferably all three. As Jean O. Pasco,
former reporter and now Orange County Archivist, describes him, “Frank
just brings it. He lays out what’s really a very artful mix of casual
acceptance, wry commentary with just the right dose of titillation, and
he gets properly outraged on occasion about what goes on here. He not only
opines about what happens—he makes things happen, and he doesn’t
lose one minute of sleep over butting in.”
That said, it is his narration of, and indeed, participation in some of
Laguna Beach’s quirkier rites and rituals such as Lagunatics and Splash
that have endeared him to our community. Jean Pasco has called this
trait of Frank’s “a backstage pass with color commentary.”
And after all, very few journalists would be willing to appear in public
performance singing and dancing in drag and high heels, let alone write
engagingly of the experience. This by itself would merit any honor
that we give him today.
The 2009 Laguna Beach Parade
Honored Patriot of the Year
Lieutenant
Colonel Donald R. Segner USMC(Ret)
The Honored Patriot
of the Year is awarded to persons who have served the nation gallantly or
meritoriously in time of war or national emergency. This year’s
honored patriot, Don Segner, is recognized both for his gallantry in combat
as a Marine aviator and for his service as a pioneer test pilot.
A native southern Californian, Don was born in Tujunga in 1925 and raised
in Burbank where his father was a gaffer for Warner Brothers. The area was
then a beehive of airplane manufacturing and flying, and Don was soon bitten
by the flying bug. Don was a junior at Burbank High School when Pearl
Harbor was attacked. He enlisted into the Navy’s V-5 Aviation
Cadet Program during his senior year in February 1943 and was allowed to graduate
from school early. While awaiting orders, he worked as an apprentice
line mechanic at the nearby Lockheed aircraft factory. Ordered to active
duty in mid-1943, he underwent a year of intensive academics at College of
the Pacific and then began flight training with 169 fellow student pilots
to become a Marine carrier-based pilot. The program was rigorous, and
he was one of only sixteen who would receive aviator wings shortly after the
war ended in 1945.
Thus at the age of only 20, Don found himself flying the Marines’ famed
Vought F4U Corsair at El Toro and living the life of a bachelor in nearby
Laguna Beach, where he often had enjoyed “hanging out at Shaw’s
Cove” in the pre-war years. Like many other wartime El Toro
Marines, he eventually would make Laguna his permanent home. This postwar
idyll was not to last. In the late 1940s, 1stLt Segner underwent training
as an infantry officer and subsequently became a rifle platoon commander and
company executive officer with the 6th Marines at Camp Lejuene NC. In
1950, he served afloat in the Mediterranean with a battalion landing team
thus becoming one of the relatively small number of Marines who could claim
to have served “in the air, on land, and sea.”
That same year, communist forces invaded South Korea. The small peacetime
Marine Corps mobilized rapidly. Don trained on jets and in February
of 1951 joined Marine Fighter Squadron 311 in Korea where he flew 78 combat
missions in the Grumman F9F Pantherjet. On one memorable occasion, he
was called in to provide emergency close air support of an Army unit that
had gotten surrounded. In repeated attacks, he helped drive off the
enemy, thereby collecting some fifteen holes in his plane. As a result,
no soldiers were lost, and Captain Segner was awarded the Distinguished Flying
Cross for his selfless actions. During his combat service, he received
a further four Air Medals and the Presidential Unit Citation.
Returning home to El Toro, he became an aerial gunnery instructor. It
was while cross-training with the Air Force in 1952 that he married his high
school classmate, Alice Stansfield. After an overseas tour flying assault
helicopters, the Corps recognized his broad experience, and in 1957 he was
ordered to the Navy’s prestigious Test Pilot School at Patuxent River
MD. As a test pilot, he evaluated many aircraft types, specializing
in the rapidly evolving field of vertical takeoff and landing. He was
one of the first to fly an experimental aircraft that resulted in the Marines’
Harrier close support attack jet that requires no runway. He was also
selected to be the first military pilot to fly a radical concept “tilt-wing”
rotorcraft that has evolved into today’s V-22 Osprey.
Don’s pioneering test flying drew the attention of Lockheed, whose management
persuaded him to come to work there on its rigid-rotor design. He and
Alice built a house in Laguna, which would become their permanent home. The
couple have three children; Angela, Margo, and Winston. Don’s
developmental test flying of the Cheyenne helicopter at Lockheed won him the
Society of Experimental Test Pilots’ Kincheloe Award in 1972.
His high speed testing of helicopters also garnered him the American Institute
of Aeronautics and Astronautics venerable Chanute Flight Award. Don
remained in the Marine Corps Reserve and became commander of Marine Medium
Helicopter Squadron 764 at Los Alamitos. Don would eventually fly an
astonishing total of 176 different aircraft types.
In 1981, the federal government needed someone with his technical expertise,
and so the president nominated Don to be Associate Federal Aviation Administrator.
Operating from Washington, Don tackled a wide variety of policy issues including
environmental noise, technical treaties, and accident investigations.
In 1986, Don and Alice “retired” for the last time to their home
in Laguna Beach, where Don consulted on advanced aviation projects from manufacturing
standards to noise compliance. Both have also been active in a number
of community organizations. Don and Alice Segner will celebrate their 57th
anniversary this year.
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The 2009 Laguna Beach Parade
Honored Citizens of the Year
Lisa and Ed Sauls, Chairman of the Board of Laguna Relief and Resource Center
The
Citizen of the Year honor is given to persons from Laguna Beach who have contributed
significantly to our community. Ed and Lisa Sauls are among the
co-founders of the Laguna Relief and Resource Coalition that sprang up immediately
following Laguna’s greatest disaster, the October 27, 1993 arson-set
firestorm, which destroyed 366 homes and shattered the lives of many of our
citizens. Together with many other volunteers, Ed and Lisa built upon
this foundation, which focuses today not only on relief from natural disasters
but helps people who are experiencing their own personal catastrophes.
Many outsiders find it hard to accept the idea that disadvantaged and homeless
people exist in a seemingly affluent place like Laguna Beach, but every volunteer
in this city knows that the reality is different. Ed and Lisa’s
story is one of selfless dedication to helping the people of our community.
Edwin G. Sauls was born in Lynwood in 1954 and grew up in Anaheim. Lisa
Miller was born in Arkansas, also in 1954, and came with her family to Yorba
Linda. The couple met as classmates at Valencia High School and later
attended California State University Fullerton, where both graduated in 1976,
Ed with a degree in business administration and Lisa in accounting.
The couple married in 1977, and following a long-held dream, moved to Laguna
three years later. They soon became deeply involved in volunteer activities
at Laguna Presbyterian Church, in SchoolPower, as Performing Arts Boosters,
and at the Friendship Shelter, rising to leadership positions in each.
After the Laguna fire of 1993, Ed as chair of the LRRC worked with the Laguna
Interfaith Council to open the first Resource Center in lower Laguna Canyon.
Over the years at several locations, the Center has continuously provided
relief to low-income households and to the homeless. The LRRC was the
lead local group that assisted people affected by the devastating El Niño
Floods of 1998 and the Bluebird Canyon Slide of 2005.
Seeing a need to coordinate disaster relief, Ed helped to lead the organizing
of the Community Disaster Preparedness Committee that formed a joint effort
with Neighborhood Watch, city police, the fire department, churches and community
leaders to increase the readiness of Laguna Beach households for future natural
disasters. In 2007, Ed co-chaired the Homeless Task Force with now-Mayor Kelly
Boyd. This resulted in the City Council’s adoption of a 14-point
recommendation plan to address homeless issues in Laguna Beach.
Professionally, Ed has pursued a career in real estate development and currently
is president of Development and Conservation Management, Inc., a company the
couple formed in 1990 that consults to landowners and development companies
to reconcile conflict between development and conservation. Their efforts
together with Ed’s father’s company have resulted in the conservation
of more than 15,800 acres for endangered species preservation in Southern
California. Ed also co-founded the Sierra Trails Conservation Foundation
with fellow Lagunan, El Hathaway. Ed co-founded the California Land
Conservancy and now serves as its president. Lisa has continued in her
career as a certified public accountant with the firm of Letwak and Bennett
of Mission Viejo. Over the years, she has quietly brought her expertise
to many of these same volunteer organizations. At the same time, Lisa
and Ed have raised their three sons here in Laguna. James is a naval
officer, Patrick works in the family company, and Garret is a college student.
Ed and Lisa Sauls both personify and exemplify the spirit of caring that has
made Laguna Beach the special community that it is. As one of our association
members remarked about the Sauls’ many unheralded deeds, “Some
people plant trees that they will never sit in the shade of.”
The fact is, thanks to Ed and Lisa, many of our citizens are now able to do
just that.
The 2009 Laguna Beach Parade
Junior Citizens of the Year
Laguna Beach High School
seniors
Rachel Busic and Ryan Lawler
The Junior Citizens of the Year are members of the Laguna Beach High School Class of 2009. They are selected by the faculty and staff on the basis of their achievements in leadership, scholarship, athletics, and community service.
Rachel
Busic was born on March 8th 1991, in Mission Viejo and grew up in Laguna Beach.
Her life revolves around the high school with particular passions for the
performing arts and all forms of dance. She has been in all of the LBHS
dance performances since 2005 and most recently appeared at UCI. She
also was seen in Mark Dressler’s productions of “Oklahoma!”
and “West Side Story” in the Artists Theater. An academic
all-star with a 4.4 grade point average, she is an officer of the Central
Asia Institute and current President of the Dance Council. Rachel enjoys playing
the piano, family camping, baking with her mom, and hopes to study mathematics
and dance at the University of California Berkeley or UCLA.
Ryan Lawler was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1990 and moved with his family
to Laguna Beach at age eight. As any local sports fan will tell you,
Ryan is the star of the best basketball team that LBHS has fielded in well
over a decade. He is also the school’s current Athletic Commissioner
as well as a Scholar-Athlete with a grade point average of 3.5. During
the summer break, Ryan coaches the school district’s elementary and
middle school students at Basketball Camp. In January, he traveled to
Washington, DC to witness the presidential inauguration. Ryan has been
offered a scholarship to Chapman University and is also considering Loyola
Marymount University and the University of San Diego.
