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# Pacific park honored for leadership
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/pacific-park-honored-for-leadership/
- Published: 2003-11-13T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:13:37.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Business, Pier, #archive-import

*Pavley a public official of the year*

*By Daily Press staff*

Santa Monica Pier’s Pacific Park was recently named the small business of the year for its contribution to people with disabilities.

In an emotionally-charged evening hosted by Richard E. Marriott, chairman of the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities and chairman of Host Marriott Corp.’s the “Bridges from school to work” program, presented its leadership, small business of the year, employer of the year and the youth achievement awards last month.

Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier was presented with the award in support of the foundation’s employees with disabilities program. In its first year of participation, Pacific Park provided employment opportunities for two program members, Samantha Manday, ride operations, and Justin Grant, food and beverage. The full-time employees have been with Pacific Park since April and June respectively.

“I looked for a job for more than a year, but no one would hire me,” Grant said. “Through the ‘Bridges from school to work’ program I obtained employment at Pacific Park. I love my job, working with the other employees and helping the guests have a great time at the Park.”

Pacific Park and the program joined efforts through a job fair held in April 2003\. Since 1992, over 300 Los Angeles employers have provided employment opportunities for more than 1,000 youth with disabilities.

Pacific Park is the first West Los Angeles award winner and business to assist the program. The Small Business of the Year award is based on a company’s support of the Bridges program, has less than 100 employees at some point throughout the year, and hires at least one Bridges’ student.

The Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities honor is the second employee-related award Pacific Park has received in 2003\. In August, Chrysalis recognized Pacific Park for its ongoing commitment to its labor connection program, which offers individuals who need work experience the opportunity to re-enter the job market through temp and temp-to-hire work assignments.

Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier, LA’s only admission free amusement park, offers 12 rides, 21 midway games and an over-the-ocean food plaza.

State Assemblymember Fran Pavley has been named one of the most influential California public officials.

Pavley was named by Governing magazine as one of its 11 public officials of the year. The magazine is an independent national publication devoted to coverage of state and local government.

“Each of these 11 people,” said Alan Ehrenhalt, the magazine’s executive editor, “has demonstrated creativity, persistence and courage at a time all these qualities are desperately needed in American public life. They have shown a willingness to struggle against the odds, sometimes winning and sometimes losing, but setting a powerful example for future leaders to follow.”

Assemblymember Pavley was honored for taking on the issue of greenhouse gas pollution in her freshman term, despite skeptics who declared it a lost cause. Her bill, AB 1493, signed into law in 2002, sets in place a process to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from transportation that generates the largest amount of greenhouse gasses in California. Specifically, it requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt regulations by January of 2005 that achieve the maximum feasible reduction of greenhouse gases emitted by passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks. The regulations would apply only to vehicles manufactured in the 2009 model year and thereafter.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 13, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/111303.pdf?ref=smdp.com)