In an email announcement to staff April 14, CCC Director David Muraki shared his plans to step down as director by July 1. 

David was appointed director in 2007 by Governor Schwarzenegger and was the first director to have previously served as a CCC staff member.
 

"This will bring to an end what has been an eight-year time in my life and career that I wouldn't trade for anything," David wrote. "It has been my highest honor to have served alongside the exceptional staff of the CCC and to do my part in turning the Corps' great mission into reality."

 We hope to have more regarding David Muraki's exceptional career with the CCC in our next newsletter. 

Gov. Brown takes questions from corpsmembers in the Jack Dugan room at CCC Headquarters. Photos by Susanne Levitsky.

In the nearly 20 years the CCC has been located at its 24th Street Headquarters, only one governor has visited the Corps -- Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., who has visited twice. The governor met with Backcountry supervisors and Headquarters staff in September 2013 and returned in April 2015.

The governor, together with two of his top staff members, talked for about an hour with CCC Director David Muraki, External Affairs Director Martha Diepenbrock, and Programs and Operations Chief Erin Healy.

"During our meeting with Governor Brown, he expressed his support for three priorities," David Muraki wrote:

1) Rebuilding the Residential Corps Program

2) Building on Corps Strengths -- Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; Disaster Response and Prevention; Fisheries and Watershed Restoration; Parks, Forests and Wilderness; and Water Efficiency and Transporation Alternatives.

3) Creating a CCC Community College

Following this meeting, the Governor met with corpsmembers and staff, taking questions about the creation of the CCC, the drought and and other topics. 

Gov. Brown meets Fresno corpsmember Vue Xiong, left.

Special Projects' Dana Brazelton, left, and Information Systems' Rita Gass, greet Gov. Brown at Headquarters.

Gov. Brown leaves the CCC, chatting with CCC Director David Muraki and External Affairs Director Martha Diepenbrock.

Fortuna Conservationist II Mark Allee was recognized last month with the highest honor the State of California bestows on its employees: the Gold Medal of Valor.

The award was presented during a ceremony at the California HIghway Patrol Academy in West Sacramento.  Following the ceremony, Mark was honored at a reception at CCC Headquarters.  

Mark received the medal for actions taken in Yosemite National Park in 2011. A Backcountry Trails Supervisor, he was near the Wapama Falls footbridge, where water from a rapid snow melt was rushing over the bridge. Two hikers tried to cross and were swept away.  Mark, in his CCC uniform, successfully dissuaded the remaining hikers from attempting to navigate the bridge.

Mark radioed in about the situation to the National Park Service. Backcountry Program Director Karlson Hubbard said Mark had risked his personal safety -- in the safest possible way -- to try and intervene with the first two hikers.

In talking with Headquarters staff after receiving his medal, Mark noted that he was most proud that there were two twin girls living today with their mom in Marin County, because the mother was among the hikers who did not cross the bridge.

Allee is trained as a swift-water rescue technician and a wilderness first-responder. Earlier in 2011, he had co-led a day-long swift-water rescue course for his fellow Backcountry supervisors.

In 2014, Mark was honored by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell with the Citizen's Award for Bravery for his actions at Yosemite.

Mark began his CCC career as a YouthServe AmeriCorps Program team leader at McKinleyville in 2006.

Accounting Manager Imelda Chapman takes a closer look at Mark's medal.

Our tent camp funded by the Governor's 2014 drought relief legislation is now at its third location: Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz County. This follows stints at Silverwood Lake in San Bernardino County and Lake Camanche in Calaveras County.

Monterey Bay Center Director Brenda-Burks-Herrman is overseeing the Big Basin operations which will feature fire hazard reduction work at the park as well as for agencies in the area. Chad Harris will oversee the camp's day-to-day operations.

Brenda says the CCC has a long history of work at the park going back nearly 40 years.

"We've worked on hundreds of miles of trail, done stream restoration work and campground maintenance," she said. "After big storms, we've helped with cleanup efforts."

State Parks Environmental Scientist Tim Reilly is working with the CCC at Big Basin.

"We're very excited to host the CCC crews who will be assisting us in reducing fire hazards throughout our State Parks," Tim said. "We look forward to strengthening our partnership with the Corps."

There is also a connection with the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps, which did a lot of work in the park.

The tent camp is expected to remain at Big Basin through the end of October.

Next month we'll have photos of our new tent camp, but here's a shot from the 1930s with CCC boys working on a Big Basin amphitheater.

Rhody Soria may be the new center director in San Diego but his CCC days go way back.

In 1980, he saw a CCC flyer at an Employment Development Department office in San Francisco and decided to sign up as a corpsmember. By December, he was a part of the program.

"I was given a bus ticket and a report date and went up to Sacramento," Rhody recalls. "There was a long line of buses and we went to the CCC's Bret Harte Academy. It was Session 40."

From there, Rhody was assigned to the Camarillo Center where he became a corpsmember and a crewleader.

"After two years I took at job as a SAM (Service Assistant Maintenance) in Santa Barbara, working for Caltrans on a tree crew."

In his Caltrans job, he worked with a CCC crew and they told him of a C I opening in Camarillo.  "I met and talked with Bruce Saito and Nacho Pi�a and transferred from Caltrans to the CCC."

After eight years at Camarillo, he transferred to the San Bernardino (now Inland Empire) Center "and spent the rest of my career there, including helping to start the Victorville Satellite."

In the meantime, he promoted to a C II and then a Conservation Supervisor, before being selected to head the San Diego Center in 2015.

"It's a different role, more of a management role," he says. "It's rewarding -- you can make changes to better the lives of corpsmembers."

A move to San Diego could happen down the road, but probably not until his daughter, Skylar, graduates from high school.  Rhody and his wife, Gloria, also have a son whose name may be familiar to some of you -- Reggie Soria is a C I currently assigned to the Big Basin tent camp.

Rhody when he ran the Camarillo fire crew.

Corpsmembers, and Stockton C I Adrian McCoy, back left, listen to Yosemite Ranger Shelton Johnson. Photo by Steve Donnelly.

For the second year in a row, Napa C II Steve Donnelly organized a weekend trip to Yosemite National Park with corpsmembers from the Fresno, Napa, Sacramento and Stockton satellites.

The 20 corpsmembers, many of whom had not been to Yosemite before, hiked several trails in Yosemite Valley and also visited the Mariposa Grove of giant Sequoia trees.

A highlight of the day-long visit was a two-hour talk by Ranger Shelton Johnson about the natural and cultural history of Yosemite as well as the role of the Buffalo Soldiers in the establishment of the park. Johnson, who also talked with last year's CCC contingent, was featured in filmmaker Ken Burns' recent documentary on the national parks.

"Shelton loved meeting with us -- he was very engaging and gave an amazing talk," Steve said. "The corpsmembers just loved him -- my corpsmembers were talking about the trip for days after!"

Staff accompanying the corpsmembers included Steve, Fresno C I Bry Dunkle, Stockton C I Adrian McCoy, and Special Corpsmembers Amy Gaber (Sacramento) and Samielle Foltz (Napa).

Steve and Amy were instrumental in organizing the trip. A third trip is being planned for next year, hopefully with an overnight camp-out included.

Napa corpsmembers climb a large rock. Photo by Steve Donnelly.

Sacramento Satellite fire crew members in front of Lower Yosemite Falls.  Photo by Amy Gaber.

Camarillo fire crews at Cal Fire exercise. Photos by Juan Mercado.

Formerly called a "Bautista," this year's Fire Crew Preparedness Exercise provided good training for two Camarillo fire crews. They passed muster and are ready to be called out as Cal Fire Type I crews for the 2015 fire season.

The exercise took place on the Kelly Ranch in Santa Margarita, San Luis Obispo County. C Is for the Camarillo crews were Jeremy Day and Art Gonzalez. 

Camarillo Conservation Supervisor Juan Mercado says this year they had two planes as part of the exercise, training the corpsmembers on air tanker drops. Other portions of the exercise focused on tool-up and crew inspection, hiking, and fire line construction.

Crews spent two hours constructing a fire line.

On May 12, the CCC Foundation will host its Second Annual Benefit Fundraiser at the Sutter Club in Sacramento.  It will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Cost for the tax-deductible event is $50 per person. Appetizers and beverages, catered by the Sutter Club, are included in the cost.

The event will also feature a silent auction, with items such as a San Francisco Bay cruise, jewelry made by Foundation board member Barbara O'Connor, lunches with Treasurer John Chiang and also Controller Betty Yee, tickets to Giants/Dodgers games in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, and more.

For details or to RSVP, you can email [email protected].

The Camarillo Center went beyond flowers to honor their administrative professionals last month. Center Director Christie Rochte tells us they decided to take their office staff on a field trip to see corpsmembers at work.

They visited several projects in Camarillo and the one above, at Carpinteria State Beach.

Shown from left are Business Service Officer Gale Rogers, Office Technician Georgia Rodriguez, Office Technician Ida Orozco, Conservation Supervisor Juan Mercado (back to camera), and C I Joshua McKinney. Photo by Christie Rochte.

The Magalia Beautification Association in Butte County went all out in thanking Chico corpsmembers for their ongoing project work. C I Ken McDonald is holding the goodies, below.

Look closely at the brownies and you'll not only see letters, but work gloves, loppers. a McLeod, a bow saw and more.

Chico Conservation Supervisor Keith Welch says he started working for the MBA in 1998 while still at the Butte Fire Center (located in Magalia).  He says the group has supported their local CCC center "through thick and thin, sometimes marching with signs to protest the closure of their favorite CCC center, or going to testify at legislative hearings about reductions to CCC funding."

Keith says the group has given checks to departing corpsmembers going off to college and usually provides an annual gift to the Corpsmember Council to show their support for the crews' efforts.

"I usually have each COMET class go to Magalia amd work for the MBA as part of their second week," Keith says. "The MBA members get to meet all of the COMETS and talk with them during lunch after working all morning in the MBA gardens, weed-eating at their adopted street corners or doing other 'down and dirty' work."

"And probably the coolest part is that these ladies (who are all retired and have grandkids of their own) are down in the dirt working right alongside the corpsmembers."

C I Ken McDonald with the brownies.

Erik Weinmeister's Ukiah crew has been busy with trail work at China Camp State Park.  The park is located in San Rafael, on the shore of San Pablo Bay.

 The crew was involved with reconstruction, rehabilitation and maintenance of the Shoreline Trail, including erosion control measures of various kinds. Corpsmembers were involved in the ribbon-cutting, above. Photos by Erik Weinmeister.

Most of our centers participated in Earth Day activities last month; we'd like to showcase the Redding project. 

As Conservationist II Lynda Burkhalter explained, each year the center chooses a local nonprofit or government agency to assist. This year it was the Red Bluff Recreation Area in the Mendocino National Forest.  Forty corpsmembers worked on projects ranging from landscaping to trail work to fire hazard reduction and general cleanup. 

Among those assisting were COMET members on their first project.

Lori Cayo, who oversees management of the Recreation Area, is a former Siskiyou corpsmember from 1986.

The Redding Center has worked in partnership with the Mendocino National Forest for the past 15 years.

COMETS help with cleanup efforts.  Photos by Lynda Burkhalter.

Redding corpsmember Garrett Ellis and the USFS' Lori Cayo at the worksite. Garrett just got hired by the Feather River Hotshot fire crew and Lori was a 1986 corpsmember at the former Siskiyou Center.

Information Systems C� Project Manager Steve Turtletaub tells us there are many people pitching in to help finalize the system requirements.  "They're helping us to make sure that as the system is being built, we meet CCC's business needs," Steve says.

Those taking time out of their "normal" jobs to help out include Jennifer Dulay, Kelly Reynolds, Karen Chesmore, Michelle Rankin, Marcia Welch, Lynetta Moses, Jeff Schwarzschild, Erin Healy, Valerie Justice, Jill Smith, Melinda Allen, Nick Howe, Hunt Drouin, Margaret Farinias, Carolyn Webberson, Summer Kincaid, Marissa Neal, Susan Jones, Tony Vasquez, Charlene Tapia, Cindy Zalog and Dana Brazelton.

Steve notes thas as the system is being built, they are working to identify how processes are going to change.  Replacing a system that has been in use for 30 years will require adaptation by everyone and they hope to make the transition as smooth as possible.  "These changes will be discussed by your managers and will be covered during training," he says.

One change involves the scheduling of corpsmembers.  Scheduling will be online within C� and schedules will automatically create the crew rosters.  

Another change is that modifications to approved projects will follow an automated amendment process so that the different versions, project changes and approvals will be tracked in the database.

There are other changes and enhancements that will be mentioned in upcoming newsletters.

Corpsmember Development Manager Hunt Drouin with HQs VISTAs Scott, Katie and Lisa.  Photo by Stephan Saunders.

Over the last six years, the CCC has had more than 80 AmeriCorps VISTAs -- Volunteers in Service to America -- throughout the Corps, with additional VISTAs helping the CCC in earlier years.  

The more recent VISTAs assisted with developing partnerships and components to aid corpsmembers transitioning into jobs after the CCC. Many of the components were incorporated into the Career Development and Transition competency course.

In the last three years, the VISTAs assisted with the CCC's veterans population as they reentered civililian life. 

The AmeriCorps grants for the CCC VISTAs are now ending and the VISTAs are moving on; four departed in April. VISTA Leader Katie Goad, completing her second year, looks forward to working at a nonprofit organization in Sacramento.  . . . Lisa Burgess will work at Sequoia National Park at the Ash Mountain entrance station, welcoming vistors and collecting fees. . . . Scott Ghiringhelli will work with the Navy in Bahrain as a Public Affairs Specialist, helping to build public awareness of the installation in the local community. He'll also begin a doctoral program in transformative studies with the California Institute of Integral Studies. . . .  In Fortuna, Alison Lundahl plans to further her education at Humboldt State University, working towards a Master's Degree in Social Work, with a specialty in Mental Health. 

Steve Wu is our remaining VISTA, based at the San Diego Center until August.