For Walnut Community Heroes, Service Reward Enough

Walnut staples Jim Polite and Laviana Someya both received the 2013 Community Hero Award Thursday, but when it came time for the spotlight and the speech, they kept it brief.

Even with a chorus of "speech" chants raining down on Polite from students, the longtime Walnut High cross country and track and field coach leaned into the microphone and said "thank you." And that's all he said.

When volunteer extraordinaire Someya took to the stage and had her moment to speak on her award, she too left it at "thank you."

Someya said after the award ceremony that her drive to serve isn't about accolades.

"It's awkward because I just to do this do this as a mom for the kids," Someya said. "Now that my kids are out of school, these kids are like my kids.
It's nice, but we just do it to support the kids, the teachers and the staff."

Someya, who speaks English, German, Japanese, and Spanish, is a long-serving member of Walnut Valley Unified's District English Learners Advisory Committee and previously was the volunteer coordinator at Suzanne Middle School and Walnut High. She also has volunteered for Walnut Relay for Life for the past three years, serving on the committee.

This year, Someya has dedicated most of her time and effort to the Walnut High music program, particularly the marching band, and also has volunteered for track and field, part of her link to Polite. 

Polite has coached cross country and track and field and taught at at Walnut High for 47 years.  Someya called him "an icon" in the community. The beloved coach is known for his sense of humor and his dedication to "helping students reach their full potential, not only for the team but for themselves personally," the committee who nominated him wrote in his bio.

The annual Jim Polite Invitational is held in his honor.

Parks and Recreation Commissioner James Swartz served as the master of ceremonies for Walnut's portion of the ceremony. West Covina also honored its heroes.

Swartz filled in for the Walnut City Council members, who are attending the California League of Cities conference in Sacramento.  Besides the city and the Pomona Fairplex, the pair also received certificates from Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills and Senator Bob Huff, R- Diamond Bar.

He lauded both Polite and Someya for their dedication to Walnut.

"Laviana brings a new meaning to the word volunteer," he said. "Our schools and our community are lucky to have someone like Laviana who is so extremely dedicated to everything she does."

Swartz also praised Polite for his nearly five decades of coaching and mentoring youth.

"Jim's dedication to the local student population is something we all can admire," he said. "He is one of the kindest men you ever could meet and the city of Walnut is proud, very proud to have Jim Polite as a member of our community."