Fresno Famous

Fresno, CA— "Living the Dream, Let Freedom Ring for a New Day and a New Way,” is this year’s 2008 theme developed by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Committee (MLK Committee) who puts on an annual weekend of events and celebrations honoring Dr. King.
Also every year, one female, one male, one youth and one organization are honored by the MLK Committee who recognizes community advocates for their service and dedication to the citizens of the San Joaquin Valley, based on the current theme.
This year the committee chose the following award recipients: for the male award, Former Clovis Police Chief Jim Zulim; for the female award, Brenda Carlee; for the youth, “The Know” Magazine and for the organization award, John S. Shegerian—Chairman and CEO, Electronic Recyclers, Inc. and Founder and Chairman, Addicted.com.
The four recipients will be celebrated at a reception on Jan. 18th at the African-American Museum on 1857 Fulton St., and then officially awarded and honored at the William Saroyan Theatre Monday Commemoration Program on Jan. 21st. Below are bios of all four awardees being honored.

Bio: Clovis Police Chief Jim Zulim
Clovis Police Chief Jim Zulim is a 2nd generation valley native and has lived in Clovis for 34 years. He has thirty-five years of law enforcement experience, including thirty-three years with the Clovis Police Department. He served five years as the Chief of Police for the City of Clovis.
Born in Fresno 58 years ago, Jim graduated from McLane High School and California State University, Fresno with a degree in criminology. He is a 1999 graduate of class 27 of the California Law Enforcement Command College where he was honored with the Hank Keohn Memorial award for most inspirational student.
Jim is a board member for the Clovis Boys and Girls Club. He is the committee chair for Young Life of Fresno-Clovis, and is a member of Valley Christian Center Church in Fresno where he has been a Sunday school teacher for over twenty years.
Now quietly retired, Jim enjoys spending time with his wife of thirty-four years, Debbie. They have two adult children, Rebecca and her husband Yongbo; Adam and his wife Christi; one grandchild and one to be born in December. Chief Zulim and his wife are very active in their church. His other interests include fishing, backpacking, guitar and photography.

The Know Bio
The Know’s mission is to bring teenagers together to engage in media as a way to express ideas/creativity, discuss local issues affecting youth, and give young people a voice in the community. The Know publishes a free magazine, for now, at least, twice a year. The young people write about their lives while also creating a social support network for one another.
Since October 2006 over 15-20 teens have participated in after school workshops based in West Fresno. They have learned how to use media and writing as a way to understand themselves and their community. They write about everything, from personal struggles, to community issues, to fashion/music, to school, and other topics. Many of the youth are high school age, some starting in college. They live in Central and West Fresno areas, and reflect the Central Valley’s cultural diversity.
After seven months, they released the first issue of the “The Know” and held a launch celebration at the African American Museum to share their success with the community. And this past December, they proudly released a second issue of the magazine, in which they held a forum at City Hall to discuss youth-related issues with the community.
The Know participates in many community events and programs. Currently, two youth from The Know sit on the Grants Advisory Board for Youth. The Know also serves as a member of the City’s Youth Task Force. In December, several youth volunteered to serve food at a holiday celebration. The youth have also been asked to consult on a number of topics, such as how to improve West Fresno, mental health, drug and alcohol prevention for youth, the Riverpark Curfew issue, and other areas.
The Know is coordinated with Silicon Valley De-Bug, a sister youth publication in San Jose, both of which are programs of Pacific News Service/New America Media.

John S. Shegerian: Chairman and CEO, Electronic Recyclers, Inc. and Founder and Chairman, Addicted.com
John S. Shegerian is the Founder and Chairman of Addicted.com and the Chairman and CEO of Electronic Recyclers, Inc. (ERI). Established in 2002, ERI is an Electronic Waste collector and recycler, specializing in the environmentally safe and socially responsible dismantling of electronic items such as computers, televisions and monitors. Electronic Recyclers is recognized as the Number One Electronic Waste Recycler in the state of California and one of the largest in North America.
Shegerian was also co-founder and CMO of www.finanicialaid.com , one of the most successful student loan companies in the country. While at financialaid.com, John created www.rateyourcampus.com (a college student polling and feedback community) which then led to the creation of www.campusdirt.com (which evolved into the most relevant and trafficked college search engine). Last but not least, www.campusclix.com was created and became one of the first college social networking properties on the web. In October 2004 John and his partners sold financialaid.com and all the aforementioned affiliated properties to Education Lending Group, which was purchased for $400mm in February 2005 by CIT (NYSE: CIT) . Shegerian went on to create and be the Founder of Addicted.com, a comprehensive, interactive website dedicated to helping those struggling with the disease of addiction.
Shegerian is driven by his commitment to innovate and develop companies that benefit and inspire others and are socially responsible. Shegerian has a 25 year track record of quickly converting start-ups into large, highly successful business enterprises.
Shegerian serves alongside Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a member of the California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth and was recently appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to serve on the Governor's Gang Advisory Committee, focused on providing the State's top legislators with guidance pertaining to policies geared toward the reduction of gang and youth violence. In 1993, he also co-founded Homeboy Tortillas and Homeboy Industries, which continues to serve as a paradigm for urban renewal in America and was awarded the New York Stock Exchange "Building for the Future" Award for creating new jobs and opportunities for gang-impacted youth in post-riot Los Angeles.
Passionately espousing his trademarked mantra that "Green is Good," Shegerian serves as an executive board member of the Alliance Toward Harnessing Global Opportunities (www.athgo.org), as a board member of the Coalition for Clean Air (www.coalitionforcleanair.org) and as a board member on the VerdeXchange for Innovations and Developments in the Green Economy. He also serves on the Fundraising Committee and as an Ambassador of Education at California State University at Fresno. Shegerian also serves on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club of Fresno and on the Media Relations steering committee for the State of California's Integrated Waste Management Board.

Brenda Carlee, President Family Council, Dewitt Sub-Acute Care Community Regional Medial Center

The Family Council for the Dewitt Sub-Acute, organizational Mission Statement: Our purpose is to ensure that quality of care is maintained for the residents and the well being of the staff.
Brenda Carlee has shared the Presidency of this Council since 1995. An informal Family Support Group evolved into the Family Council in 1993. The Sub-Acute Unit moved to the Cedar Campus formerly University Medical Center in 2007.
The multiple functions of this advocacy group assists with: secured clean and healthy living and work environment and improved working conditions, encouraged counseling for staff during move of facility to Cedar Campus, raised questions and concerns about death and dying or end of life issues, provided family members with grief counseling services, and many other duties.
Brenda owns and operates a commercial and home cleaning service and is a single mother of three sons: Michael, 40; Richard, 39; and Daniel, 23. As a young person, she realized the depth of discrimination: the sanctity of all people’s rights, no matter who they were or how they looked.
She was born in Boone, NC, raised in, traveled and married into military families. Brenda returned to Fresno when her 23 year-old son, Michael, was critically injured in an Acute Unit. Brenda has received medical training and advocacy skills as she has cared for her son. Her consistency and attitude of never giving up has empowered and inspired many families, staff and friends. She has raised our consciousness in her struggle for the rights and care for disabled patient’s families, communicating concerns to hospital staff and affecting administrative decisions at Community Regions Medical Center.