Award Presentation at 2019 Dinner Benefit on May 4, 2019

February 26, 2019

Torrance, CA – Torrance Education Foundation (TEF) today announced it will honor Dr. George Mannon, Superintendent since 2005 of Torrance Unified School District, with the James R. Armstrong Community Leadership Award.

The award honors a community member for extraordinary leadership in support of education and community growth and will be presented to Dr. Mannon as a highlight of the 2019 TEF Silver Anniversary Gala – Celebrating 25 Years of Giving, to be held on May 4th at the Torrance DoubleTree Hotel.

About Dr. George Mannon

In thirteen years as Superintendent of Torrance Unified schools, Dr. George Mannon has made an indelible mark on the district. Since his appointment to lead in 2005, Dr. Mannon spearheaded four successful bond measure campaigns to modernize Torrance Unified schools, creating state-of-the-art performance venues at all four High Schools and the first ever Olympic size competitive Aquatics Center. These and other projects made possible by the bond measures provide Torrance students with safer and more secure campuses and 21st-century learning environments. During Dr. Mannon’s tenure, Torrance Unified has continued to have one of the highest graduation rates in the state, currently, 97%, and TUSD high schools have been ranked by US News & World Report as some of the best in the state, and nationwide.

Dr. Chad Mabery, president of Torrance Education Foundation, states, “Since coming to Torrance, Dr. Mannon has made it his highest priority to ensure that our students have the best possible learning environment, facilities, state-of-the-art equipment, and advanced technology they need to build the  knowledge and skills that will lead to academic success, and prepare TUSD graduates to succeed in life after leaving our district. As a TUSD parent, an educator, and a community member, I thank Dr. Mannon for his many accomplishments. His dedication to our students impacts every facet of the Torrance community. We are proud to present him with the James R. Armstrong Community Leadership Award.”

“As someone who knew Jim Armstrong as a government teacher, friend, and mentor,” says Don Lee, President of the Torrance Board of Education, “I can positively say that George Mannon exemplifies everything Jim Armstrong stood for. Dr. Mannon’s leadership and vision for this Community has been unequaled in Torrance since he arrived in 2005. Torrance Schools are a far better place because of him.”

About the James R. Armstrong Community Leadership Award

Torrance Education Foundation’s James R. Armstrong Community Leadership Award honors a prominent community member whose personal contributions of time, energy, vision, and financial resources in support of the Foundation and the broader Torrance community distinguish them as an exemplary leader. The award remembers the life, service and contributions of the late James R. Armstrong, an iconic and beloved Torrance civic leader who served the city of Torrance for six years on the City Council and eight years as Mayor, after retiring from a three-decade career teaching U.S. Government at Torrance High School. Jim Armstrong’s impact in the lives of his students, and on the city of Torrance cannot be overstated.

Honoree recipients of the James R. Armstrong Community Leadership Award are selected by a committee of Foundation board members. In 2018, businessman and philanthropist Kurt Robinson, President and CEO of Torrance-based Robinson Helicopter Co., was honored. Prior honorees include former Torrance Mayor and founding TEF board member, the late Dee Hardison; founding TEF board member, the late Gene Drevno; Melissa and Garrett Wright; TEF immediate past President, Kevin O’Brien; current City of Torrance Mayor, Patrick Furey; Torrance business and community leader, Chef Michael Shafer, and local parents and public servants Commissioner Betty Lieu, recently elected to the Torrance School Board, and U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu. The James Armstrong award is presented as a highlight of the Annual Dinner Event benefiting Torrance Education Foundation Philanthropy Programs for Torrance students and schools.

About the Silver Anniversary Gala – Celebrating 25 Years of Giving benefiting TEF

The annual fundraising gala benefiting Torrance Education Foundation, in 2019 celebrating a quarter-century of community investment and philanthropy, will take place on Saturday, May 4th, 2019. The evening is open to the public and includes a cocktail reception, 3-course dinner, opportunity drawings, and silent and live auctions. Proceeds support TEF programs for TUSD priorities and student activities, including: STEM competitions and enrichment programs; scholarships; school site and teacher-led projects at elementary, middle and high schools; Academic Decathlon teams; and school/community partnerships.

The elegant, Silver-Anniversary-themed dinner will be held at the Torrance DoubleTree Hotel and will be co-chaired by TEF board members Mary Hoffman and Terry Furey, who is also first lady of Torrance. The winner of the 2019 Spectacular Toyota Car Raffle will be drawn, who will win a new LEXUS 300NXh Hybrid SUV donated by Toyota Motors North America. Silver cocktail attire is encouraged.

Tickets to the Silver Anniversary Gala are $150 each. To purchase tickets, become a sponsor, or for more information, visit www.501Auction.com/TEFGala, email Admin@TorranceEducationFoundation.org , or phone TEF at (310) 320-7232.

About Torrance Education Foundation

Torrance Education Foundation (TEF) promotes and financially supports academic excellence for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students in the Torrance Unified School District. Founded in 1992, TEF is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity, and the chief philanthropic partner to Torrance Unified School District. TEF gathers and channels financial support from Torrance citizens, businesses and area philanthropies to ensure that all TUSD students have access to the widest variety of exciting, cutting-edge, enriching educational and learning opportunities.

In the past five years, TEF has provided more than $6 million to support TUSD priorities. Currently, the Foundation’s highest priority goal is raising a total of $700,000 to equip new elementary science laboratory classrooms being constructed at all seventeen TUSD elementary schools. Other important projects include providing STEM Initiative grants for 230 Teacher-led projects since 2014 for hands-on learning and enrichment projects at all grade levels, and partnerships with local businesses and family sponsors offering college scholarships to graduates from all five District High Schools. In addition to STEM Initiative Grants, TEF also provides grants for a wide variety of student needs, including but not limited to Academic Decathlon teams, middle school leadership workshops, and direct support for myriad school-based projects and priorities.

Since 2009, TEF has also administered the South Bay Enrichment Academy, a fully WASC accredited summer school program that annually enrolls more than 1,100 Torrance area children for academic advancement and enrichment.