starting in 1995 going into 1996 I volunteered 120+ hours of work painting murals inside a brand new Gym in San Marcos, CA. called "Courts and Sports". I also volunteered my time to inspire and teach kids art in different classrooms throughout San Marcos, California. I want to thank both my mom and my 6th grade teacher "Carol Scurlock" for putting a good word in and nominating me for this award; it was a big honor to be recognized for something I really enjoyed doing.

My Mom who also worked for the San Marcos school district set up a couple of times for me to give motivational and inspiring talks to the class she was a T.A. in for several years. My 6th grade teacher "Carol Scurlock" invited me to teach art in her class a couple times a month for 30-45 minutes at a time for her current students at "Discovery elementry school" back then.

I think my mom exagerated a bit about me volunteering my time to help Wyland paint a mural in San Diego, either that or she assumed I did while telling the award commitee. However, I did go down there to watch him paint this mural just about every day until he finished it. He was a huge inspiration to me back then; just being there, really helped motivate me to contribute my time to help others be more eco-conscience through my own inspired art work. At the very least, it ispired me to be more environmentally conscience and really appreciate what we have here on earth.

The rest of the story is in the articles within this page, even though the journalists got some stuff wrong, as usual. Haha!.