I want to give a HUGE shoutout to Ernie Montano who was chosen as the Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year for all of San Diego County! (The 2nd year in a row the youth of the year has been from San Marcos!)

Ernie has been a member of the Boys & Girls Club for over 11 years and has completed over 400 hours of community service in high school, including 250 in the past year!

Ernie currently goes to Mission Hills High School and is graduating this year. He hopes to go to UCSD and work in the health field. Our future is bright because of impressive young people like Ernie. Congrats, Ernie!!! 

Viasat Engineer Pavillion

On Friday afternoon, I was on hand for the ribbon-cutting of the Viasat Engineering Pavilion at Cal State University San Marcos. The engineering pavilion has already made a major difference for the community, serving as a walk-up COVID-19 testing/vaccination site. 

These two buildings will now house administration spaces and faculty office spaces for the CSTEM Engineering Department and classrooms for software and electrical engineering programs.

Super Stem Saturday

On Saturday, I was back on the campus of Cal State San Marcos for Super Stem Saturday! I had a great morning, “nerding out” with my fellow engineers at the event, which engaged kids of all ages and their families to the diverse and exciting fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, known as the STEM disciplines. I want to give big thanks to Cal State San Marcos and the Classical Academies for hosting the event!

Mojalet Dance Collective

The County of San Diego has a Neighborhood Reinvestment Program, which provides grant funds to non-profit community organizations for one-time community, social, environmental, educational, cultural, or recreational needs. Each Supervisor gives grant awards throughout the fiscal year, which are approved by the Board of Supervisors. 

At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, I initiated action to allocate funds to the Mojalet Dance Collective to produce Progressive Steps, a public performance in collaboration with Mission Hills High School in San Marcos.

With so many wonderful organizations and groups in San Marcos, it’s hard to narrow it down to just a few. If you would like to apply or know of an organization that needs some help, email my office: District5Grants@sdcounty.ca.gov and we will do our best to help.

San Diego County District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond http://www.supervisordesmond.com/