Mark A. Easter
On April 22, I had the privilege of hosting the 2025 Good Citizenship Awards in Department 1 of the Riverside County Historic Courthouse, co-sponsored by the RCBA and the Riverside County Superior Court. Presiding Judge Jacqueline Jackson, Judge Sharunne Foster, and Judge O.G. Magno provided some encouraging words of wisdom to the students about the need for good citizenship in our nation and what it means to be a good citizen. We then gave Good Citizenship Awards to students from 29 high schools from across the County, who were in attendance along with their very proud families. Representatives of several of our State Legislators were also on hand to present certifications to the students. Here is the 411 on just a few of these outstanding students:
Christina has been with the Murrieta school district since she was in kindergarten. Principal Scott Richards had nothing but glowing things to say about Christina, and she was a unanimous choice for the good citizenship honors. Christina has achieved all A's in high school, top 3 in her class, with a GPA of 4.46. Christina is a track and field athlete, but community service is apparently where she truly is a record-breaking "decathlete." Specifically, although the requirement for students graduating from Murrieta Mesa High is 40 hours of community service, Christina has accrued over 300 hours of service on a variety of community projects. And she still has her senior year to go. Christina is most certainly a good citizen at not only Murrieta Mesa High, but the Murrieta community, is fortunate to have.
Christina Fayad with Principal Scott Richards
Michael is very involved in the Blythe community in which he lives. He is currently the president and an active member of his local 4-H club. Through 4-H, Michael regularly assists with charity events in the Blythe community. He also serves as a teen mentor, guiding younger members, particularly in the care of swine. Yes, swine. Michael also works with his mother's organization, which focuses on the rehabilitation of stray cats in the community. Michael gained the experience of making a presentation to the Metropolitan Water District. Michael also volunteers as a judge at the science fairs of the local elementary schools and volunteers for the annual "Ducks Unlimited" charity auction event. At Palo Verde High, Michael volunteers at the beginning and end of the school year with classroom setup and tear down. It sounds like the Blythe community is very fortunate to have Michael. And I know his parents are very proud of him because they made the two and a half hour trek (each way) from Blythe to downtown Riverside, so they could observe Michael receiving his award!
Michael Robinson and parents Cintia and Brad Robinson
Michael is on the mock trial team at Vista Del Lago, and his mock trial coach, Ivany Gonzalez, says that Michael is an exceptional student – one of the school's top 10 students. Michael volunteered at the Riverside Festival of Lights, and he participated in the school's Blood Donation Day, having gained empathy for people in need of blood as a result of one of his relatives needing a blood transfusion. Michael wrote an essay in which he discussed what good citizenship meant to him. Michael believes that "happiness is the root of integrity," and that "when people are happy they are driven to do the right thing." As a result, Michael said that he strives to bring "positive energy in every volunteer opportunity or community service," because "the service of happiness is [the] best community service I can provide." Michael's focus on good citizenship by way of empathy, integrity, and spreading happiness to others is spot on, and a great example for all of us.
Judge O.G. Magno presents an award to Michael Cano
Isaac takes rigorous course work and has excellent grades (a 3.7 GPA) at Beaumont High School. He plays in a soccer league outside of school, is currently going through the confirmation process with his church, and next year he will be the captain of the school soccer team. But the primary reason that school counselor Delfina Loustaunau singled Isaac out for good citizenship honors was that he exemplifies, in his conduct, the school's values of "be safe, responsible, and respectable," and he sets an example. Ms. Loustaunau explained that Isaac "does everything he is supposed to do, without drawing a lot of attention to himself." For example, Isaac is always caring and looking out for the special needs students at the school and is patient and understanding with them. Through his actions, Isaac serves as a "silent leader." Our world could use more silent leaders like Isaac.
Isaac Garcia Santamaria
Congratulations to Christina, Michael, Michael, Isaac, and all of the other good citizenship award recipients.
Summer is upon us, which means that I am sadly getting close to the end of my term as RCBA President—in fact president's column in the July/August issue of the Riverside Lawyer will be my last. Our next general membership meeting will be on June 13, 2025, at noon on Zoom. The speaker will be Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas, and he will be making a presentation entitled "Let's Get Along: Civility in the Practice of Law," which will provide one hour of MCLE credit in civility. Please join us.
Mark A. Easter is the president of the RCBA, a partner at Best Best & Krieger LLC, and has been residing and practicing law in Riverside since 1989.
