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Congratulations to Maggie Boscoe!!
2025 Citizen of the Year

Maggie will be honored at a banquet on November 2, 2025, catered by Shelby's, at the Orinda Community Center.

Maggie moved to Orinda 40 years ago.  Over these 40 years Maggie has spent countless hours volunteering her time and skills to help bring art to the citizens of Orinda.  She also helps local artists make their work available for the public to appreciate.  

She has been the volunteer curator for the art gallery at the Orinda library for the past 18 years. The art gallery displays works by local artists and changes every month. Maggie finds the artists, corresponds with them to help them select and display their work as well as holding artist receptions at the gallery.

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As soon as she moved to Orinda, Maggie started teaching music and art at Del Rey School where she taught singing, recorders, plus the infamous Singing Socks, where she taught her students to work together by having them put their handmade “singing” socks through holes at the appropriate time to the music.  Always a crowd pleaser.  After six years of instruction, her students were very enthusiastic and appreciated all types of music and art.

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Maggie has been a member and supporter of the Orinda Arts Council (now Lamorinda Arts Council) for the past 40 years, where she has been president and vice-president. She is currently involved with organizing a fund raiser for the Arts Council as well as a 75th Anniversary celebration for the Council.  She also was a Member and President of the Contra Costa Music Teacher’s Association.

 

Maggie’s greatest accomplishment in the arts is “Artify Orinda”. She started this project in 2019 after seeing painted big bellies and other surfaces in Walnut Creek, San Ramon Lafayette and other cities. She approached the City Council about doing this in Orinda, and made a presentation to them.   You have all seen the results of her hard work throughout Orinda in the form of the original paintings on utility boxes, big belly trash cans and on a few spots on buildings. It was not an easy path for Maggie, coordinating the artists, the City Council and the merchants. 

 

The Council wanted to see proof of concept, and to approve the art that would be on city property before it was displayed to the public.  To get approval of the concept she got agreements from Mash Gas Station and CVS Pharmacy to display art on their buildings.  She had local artists paint panels of the correct size to fit four places on the CVS building and one on the Mash Gas Station. The City Council approved the concept and so the process for painting utility boxes and Big Belly trash cans started. Maggie selected artists and had them supply photos of their work for City approval. Through Orinda Arts Council Maggie obtained donations from the public to get the art printed and installed as well as getting the artists paid for their work.  Besides the murals on the Mash gas station and CVS there are now over 20 additional pieces of art on the utility boxes and Big Bellies.  Maggie continues to be the driving force behind these displays of public art and is working to get approval from Cal-Trans to have more utility boxes painted.

 

Maggie also volunteers her time and talent to many local organizations such as the Singing Messengers, a volunteer group that travel to convalescent homes each week to provide song and entertainment to the residents. She has been involved with the group for 18 years lending not only her singing voice but helping organize programs and playing piano.

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As many people like to sit and view some of the public art in the Library lower plaza, Maggie led fundraising to purchase a bench in honor of the late Orinda resident Anne Parr, who had taught pottery at the community center for many years. Maggie got approval from the city for the location and design of the bench which was procured and installed by the city in the plaza near Café Teatro.  Maggie had a plaque made and installed it on the bench in a ceremony with other donors. Maggie’s efforts for the citizens of Orinda also include serving as fire captain for her neighborhood and Firewise committee for 70 homes. She has also helped community service projects through St. Stephens Church, Acalanes chapter of DAR and the Orinda Rotary Club.

Maggie has enriched Orinda as she has initiated and followed through on r many large and small projects.

Congratulations Carlos Baltodano!!
2025 Orinda Volunteer Award

Carlos Baltodano is a 32-year resident of Orinda. He is a community leader who believes volunteering allows the opportunity to work with others to improve services, shape programs and strengthen Orinda in ways that truly matter. He is presently a Board member of both the Orinda Association (OA) and the Orinda Community Foundation (OCF ). He was OA's Board President from 2019-2021. While serving on the Board, he updated the By-laws, expanded alliances with other community organizations (OCF, Orinda Chamber of Commerce and the Lamorinda Sunrise, Lamorinda Presents ). He started a joint Citizen of the Year and Environmental award program events with OCF.  He organized and led the Candidates Public Forum for City Council, MOFD and School Board. He believes strongly that it is a community service needed to better inform residents what candidates' positions are on issues that affect Orinda. These events required working closely with the League of Women Voters as a co-sponsor of the events.

 

As a Board member of the Orinda Community Foundation since 2019, he has worked as a team member to write and produce the annual Newsletter that is sent to every household in the City of Orinda. He has worked closely as a team leader to coordinate involvement with the Orinda Association on the annual Citizen of the Year and Environmental Award programs. He leads advertising for the Annual Grant program and articles of innovative programs funded by the OCF.

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During his six years on the Orinda Planning Commission, including one year as Chair, Carlos states that one of his most challenging and rewarding issues was tackling downtown development.  The Commission had to balance preserving Orinda’s semi-rural character, while encouraging thoughtful growth and revitalization.  Another major effort was the approval of the Housing Element, which identified sites for new housing, including affordable units.  These complex discussions involved different viewpoints, and he is proud that the Commission created a process built on transparency, respect, and meaningful dialogue.

 

In his professional career as the Director of the Contra Costa Building Department, he oversaw plan review, building inspection, and permit processing for 14 cities in the County. He believes in bringing services closer to the people being served, which led to establishing local inspection offices in Orinda and Lafayette for a faster and more efficient permit approval process. That experience reinforced a simple idea -- government works best when it’s accessible, efficient and responsive. Carlos has carried that mindset into his volunteer work and he’s always looking for ways to make local programs more connected to the community.

 

Carlos served for five years as a Trustee and later Chair of the East Oakland Youth Development Center ( EOYDC ). The Center empowers young people with character, skills and methods to positively contribute to society.  Serving EOYDC deepened his belief that a strong community needs to help grow the next generation of leaders. To grow, organizations must keep involving and training others to positively contribute to the community,

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Carlos states, ” Volunteering is one of the most rewarding things you can do. You don’t have to lead a commission or chair a board but every hour, every effort helps. When we give our time, we build the kind of community we all want to live in “.

Past Citizens of the Year 

2024 Rich Thompson

2023 Bill Waterman

2022  Vince Dell'Aquila

2021  Melanie Light

2020 Tom Trowbridge

2019  Peter Hasselman

2018  Carole & Andy Amstutz

2017  Janet Riley

2016  John Wyro  

2015  Mark Roberts

 2014  Susan Garrell

2013  Pat Rudebusch

2012  Richard Westin

2011   Steve Harwood

2010  Linda Landau

2009 Kate Wiley

2008 Ted Urban

2007 Bill Judge

2006 Rebecca Kunzman

2005 Randy Holleschau

2004 Sue Severson

2003 Kay Aaker

2002 Pam Hall

2001  Jo Alice Canterbury

2000 Pete Giers

1999 Rosina McKee

1998 Lynn Olson

1997 Jan Coe & Vanessa Crews

1996 Amy Worth

1995 Ellen Amen

1994 Bill Dabel, Bobbie Landers & Aldo Guidotti

1993 Janet Pease

1992 Richard Heggie

1991  Clarence Woodard

1990 Bob and Sheyla Kantor

1989 Carol Breuner

1988 Peirce McKee

1987 Jack and Linda Knebel

1986 Midge Zischke

1985 Joyce Hawkins

1984 Bran Yaich

1983 Lloyd McDonald

1982 Elizabeth Frazier Karplus

1981  Rev. B. Jean Clark

1980 Bill Cooper

1979 Capt. Ernest Hendricks

1978 Craig McCay

1977 Del Loper

1976 Martin McNair

1975 Harriet Ainsworth

1974 Vasco Giannini

1973 Jerry Wendt

1972 Stephanie Mann

1971 Irene Moylan

1970 Ann Christofferson 

1969 Muir Sorrick Shank

1968 Carl Webber

1967 Clark Wallace

1966 Richmond Bartle

1965 Sam Stovall

1964 Barbara Parker Smith

1963 Waltor Treanor

1962 Dr. John Boulware

1961 Al Winsor

1960 Clarence Betz

1959 William Koch

1958 Gerry Cullen

1957 Ann Pallaczek

1956 Perc Brown

1955 Dr. George Prlain

1954 Frank Isola

1953 Jean Henderson

1952 Ernest Rahmeyer

1951 Edgar Stewart

1950 Ramsay Underwood

1949 Dr. Joseph Sheaff

1948 Dr. Ralph C. Hall

ABOUT US >

The Orinda Community Foundation enhances the quality of life in Orinda by fostering community spirit and citizen engagement, building partnerships and providing financial assistance to support community activities, beautification and the arts. 

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CONTACT >

P.O. Box 21

Orinda, CA  94563

orindafoundation@gmail.com

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