Fairfield woman earns nomination for district honor

Originally published in the Daily Republic on September 13, 2014 By Brad Stanhope.

Fairfield resident Samina Masood is one of 12 women from the 3rd Congressional District nominated as the district Woman of the Year.
According to her nominee form – submitted by Richard Rivera of the Interfaith Council of Solano County and local resident Dawn LaBar – Masood has worked with the city of Fairfield the past three years on combating homelessness and domestic abuse “in order to demonstrate that renewal is possible for homeless, abused and neglected women and their children.”
Her organization, Heather House, takes in hundreds of needy and vulnerable women and shelters and supports them – many moving into a 90-day work program. She also is a commissioner on the Mayor’s Commission on Crime.
Masood came to the United States from Pakistan and is a writer and published columnist. She has two master’s degrees and has worked for the World Health Organization, the U.S. Department of State and US-AID as an advocate for women and children.
She and the other nominees will be honored at Rep. John Garamendi’s women’s advisory round table meeting Sept. 24 in Marysville.
Congratulations.
Shrine honor for Vacaville resident
Vacaville resident Carl Parker was installed as the deputy imperial potentate of the Prince Hall Shriners – the second-highest position in the organization’s worldwide structure.
Parker, who has been married to his wife, Sammie, for 48 years, has a son and four grandchildren.
He was born in North Carolina and graduated from high school in Philadelphia. Parker received a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University with a 3.97 grade point average, serving in the U.S. Air Force, where he retired as a chief master sergeant after 25 years. He flew more than 100 combat missions in Vietnam and was the chief instructor loadmaster for Hughes Aircraft Co. at Travis Air Force Base. He was also a high school teacher for 10 years in the Fairfield-Suisun School District.
Parker began his masonic career in Maine in 1967 and was installed to his new role Aug. 21 in Tampa, Florida.
Congratulations to a very accomplished resident of this area.
Telstar donates to Scouts
Boy Scout Troop 864, based in Cordelia, received a donation of $1,000 from Telstar Instruments Inc. of Concord.
Telstar owners Bob Marston and John Gardiner and General Manager June Johnsen led the way for the donation. Johnsen and Marston are members of the Rotary Club of Cordelia, which serves as the troop’s charter organization.
The donation will help with some of the troop’s costs associated with next year’s summer camp. The parents and leaders of the 24 boys in Troop 864 expressed their gratitude in an email.
Agency on Aging lands $60,000 grant
The Area Agency on Aging Serving Napa and Solano recently received a grant for $60,000 from the United Way Health Endowment Fund Grant Program through the Solano Community Foundation.
Grant money will help to establish “StopFalls Solano,” a fall prevention program for Solano County seniors, according to a press release.
The program will be a first for Solano, modeled after the successful StopFalls Napa Valley, which currently serves Napa County residents. The anticipated start date to launch StopFalls Solano is Oct. 1.
Along with the $60,000 grant, the agency will contribute $40,000 toward the program from money received and designated for fall prevention efforts in Solano County.
The press release said research shows that falls by seniors and their resultant injuries are preventable and are not random events. Assessing risk factors and making lifestyle changes, home modifications, and proper diet can dramatically reduce the risk of falling.