Youth Leadership Tours Four Seasons Hotel

On January 7, 2015, the members of the Youth Congress Leadership Program were given an informative tour of the Four Seasons Hotel at Westlake Village. Hotel employees Jim Cathcart, Director of Human Resources, Christine Albertson, Human Resources Manager, and Becky Ahern, Quality Insurance Manager, generously donated their time to explain in detail the Four Seasons secret behind its exceptional service and reputation as a world-class hotel.

First, the participants entered the Presidential Suite, an 1,800 square foot masterpiece located on the top floor of the hotel. A dining room, full kitchen, and spa are just some of the many features of this suite, listed at $9,000 a night. From this room, the Dole Company, owned by David Murdock, can be seen across the street. Murdock, a businessman and philanthropist, built not only the Dole complex, but also owns the Four Seasons Hotel as well as its adjacent building – The California Wellbeing Institute. A healthy lifestyle teaching center and various medical facilities make up this building.

 Second, students were taken into the Hampton Room, a private dining room located alongside an outdoor waterfall. The Four Seasons Sunday Brunch as well as weddings are popular events held in this room. Students were additionally shown the Fitness Center, equipped with a gym, heated indoor and outdoor pool, yoga room, pool table, ping pong table, and separate game rooms for both kids and teens.

Finally, the students were given a tour of the serenity pool, China garden, and Latte Lounge that houses the Italian Buffet held at the Four Seasons every Saturday night. The students ended the tour with a nice bowl of fresh popcorn and lemonade. It was evident that the employees pride themselves on their award-winning service and attention to detail; the most important thing is warm a smile, which is what the students received each time they met an employee.

Cathcart noted that being a Four Seasons employee is not easy because of the high standards employees are held to; however, the benefits are well worth the hard work as employees are given free nights at Four Seasons hotels of their choice, extravagant parties, and internal promotions. 

Story by Christopher Lee

Senior Congress XI

Youth Congress Leadership holds First Meeting

The opening Future Foundation Youth Congress Leadership Program meeting of 2014-15 was held on November 12th at the University Pre-School Program Auditorium in Thousand Oaks.


Genevieve Evans Taylor, Special Assistant to the President at California State University Channel Islands then spoke to the students about leadership. She stressed that leaders must be inclusive, ethical, and plan for their successors. She presented an icebreaker exercise to demonstrate the importance of communication and working collaboratively.

The next meeting will be on December 10th at the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.


Barbara Chilton of the Rotary Club of Westlake Village congratulated the students in the program and thanked them for their hard work. She announced that the Rotary Club is planning two parties for them during the year to thank them for all of their volunteering. Barbara gave Executive Director, Karen Malatesta, a list of organizations that students can volunteer at which will be emailed to the students before their next meeting.

Youth Congress Leadership Program Now Accepting Applications

Youth Leadership at Los Robles Hospital

Applications for the Youth Congress Leadership Program sponsored by the Conejo/Las Virgenes Future Foundation are now being accepted. All students in grades 9 - 12 who attend school in the Conejo/Las Virgenes region are elligible.

Students accepted into this program will have the opportunity to develop effective leadership skills while learning more about their communities. The areas covered are: Introduction to Leadership, Local Government, Law Enforcement, Health Services, Recreation, Education, Community Services, and Business.

Youth Leadership at Civic Arts Plaza

The programs will be conducted by representatives from each of the above entities and the students will meet at the particular venue where the speaker works such as the sheriff’s station, the hospital, etc. Each program will be very different and will range from tours, discussions, presentations, and more. All of the cities in the region will be participating. At the end of the program, students will be encouraged to participate in a community service project of their choosing.


The meetings will take place from 4-5:30 p.m. on the following Wednesdays: November 12, 2014, December 10, 2014, January 7, 2015, January 21, 2015, February 4, 2015, February 18, 2015, March 4, 2015, March 18, 2015, April 15, 2015 and May 6, 2015. This will make a total of 10 meetings.


Applications must be submitted by October 27, 2014 and students will be notified of their acceptance into the program by November 5, 2014. Attendance is very important. Please check your calendar to make sure that you can attend all or most of the meetings. Community Service credit will be given based on attendance. Students are responsible for their own transportation.

All Conejo/Las Virgenes Future Foundation programs are free to the public. The Foundation is most appreciative of the generous support of community members who make programs like this possible.

This is the sixth year of the Leadership Program, which follows twenty-five years of successful Youth Congresses sponsored by the Conejo/Las Virgenes Future Foundation. It has proven to be a very popular program, so we encourage students to apply early as there is a limit to the number that we can accommodate.

To apply online, click here: Youth Congress Leadership Application.


If you have any questions, please call Karen Malatesta, Executive Director of the Foundation at (818) 880-1054 or email info@clvff.org.

Youth Congress Leadership Students Report to Agoura Hills City Council, June 25

Health Expo IV a Resounding Success

An estimated 500 people attended the fourth annual Health Expo at the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center. One hundred and seventy took advantage of the $25 blood panel screening provided by Los Robles Hospital.  In addition, many of the attendees took advantage of the free asthma and skin screenings,also provided by Los Robles Hospital. The Rotary Club of Calabasas held a blood drive and collected 24 pints of blood. 

Special thanks to our title sponsor, Los Robles Hospital, as well as major sponsors UCLA Health, the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center, the Acorn Newspapers, Oak View Health Center, the Rotary Clubs of Thousand Oaks and Calabasas, and Thrivent Financial. 

Dr. Iqbal explains plaque

Lectures on "Your Predisposition to Cardiovascular Disease" by Dr. Shahrzad Shareghi and "Your Geneic Predisposition to Illness"  by Dr. Bader Iqbal were enthusiastically received. Both speakers were informative and dynamic. Comments from people leaving the presentations included "Wow, that was really interesting," "Excellent," and "the best presentation on a medical topic I've ever heard."

Dr. Shareghi

At UCLA Health's "Doctor Zone," doctors provided one on one advice to people with medical questions. Skin screening and Body Mass Index measurement were available for free. Forty different vendors provided information and free promotional items to attendees. Health care providers included dentists, chiropractors, podiatrists, sleep therapists, elder care specialists, nutritionists, hypnotherapists, psychiatric care, acupuncturists,  home health, fitness, and tobacco prevention. Whatever your health and fitness issue might be, there was someone there to help.

Chiropractor David Biedebach, who has been a sponsor every year since the Health Expo began, said, "It's a great event, I wouldn't miss it." First time sponsor, Podiatrist Leonora Fishman was busy helping people with foot concerns, while dentist Brett Egelske was telling people how to get emergency, or after hour dental care. All in all, a lot of people had their health care questions answered and many found help with their specific concerns.

Health Expo Coming, Saturday, April 12

Click Here for Blood Panel Pre-registration Form