Covenant House California Honors Mickey Segal

Paul Anka serenades honoree Mickey Segal, his friend and business manager, with a re-wording of the lyrics to his classic ballad My Way

Covenant House California (CHC) honored Arcadia City Councilman Mickey Segal along with Fox NFL analyst/actor/retired All-Pro NY Giant Michael Strahan at their Spring Awards Dinner on Friday, April 23, 2010 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The celebratory annual event, which featured live and silent auctions, and musical entertainment by singer-songwriter legend Paul Anka (who hilariously presented/serenaded honoree Mickey Segal, his friend and business manager, with a re-wording of the lyrics to his classic ballad My Way) and popular swing band Royal Crown Revue, raised much-needed funds for CHC and its outreach and residential programs serving homeless teens. Through comprehensive services –including street outreach and residential programs with supportive services– CHC provides homeless youth with a complete range of programs from Crisis Care to Transitional Living and every step in between.

Mickey Segal is Managing Partner of Nigro Karlin Segal & Feldstein, LLP; Wayne Ratkovich, founder and President/CEO of the Ratkovich Company, was also honored. MTV Games Senior Director of Promotions Kelley Electa and Malibu real estate agent Jamie Lescher served as event co-chairs.

TV and film actress Danielle Nicolet, who co-starred with Strahan in “Brothers” and herself a teen runaway, spoke touchingly about how Covenant House stands as a beacon of light to young runaways alone and scared on the street at night, and then skillfully led the live auction appeal.

Strahan, a Superbowl Champion and Fox NFL Sunday co-host who retired in 2007 after 15 seasons with the New York Giants and leading his team to victory over the previously unbeaten New England Patriots, counts among his many sports career achievements being named 2001 Player of the Year by Sports Illustrated and 2001 Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press. The charismatic Strahan transitioned seamlessly into his roles as NFL analyst for FOX TV as well as into the role of sit-com star on the FOX series “Brothers”, starring opposite Daryl “Chill” Mitchell.

Strahan has also been active in a number of philanthropic causes both in the New York metropolitan area as well as on behalf of national organizations including the American Cancer Society and the Children’s Miracle Network. A supporter of the Starlight Children’s Foundation, he was inducted into their Hall of Fame. He has also helped to raise funds for abused and neglected youth in New York via his annual charity golf tournament and has lent his advocacy to the New York Restoration Project, which focuses on the preservation of outdoor spaces, and the Fresh Air Fund.

Past CHC Awards Dinner honorees include a mix of high-profile, philanthropically minded individuals from across the business, corporate, and entertainment industry spectrums: Scott Vincent Borba, Lawrence Bond, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Dean and Shannon Factor, Andy Garcia, Nigel Lythgoe, Sharon Osbourne, William Shatner, Patricia Serio, Nikki Sixx, Charlize Theron, Valerie Van Galder, and Strauss Zelnick.

Covenant House California serves youth ages 18 to 24 at its campuses in Los Angeles and in the Bay Area. Since 1988 when it first opened the doors of its volunteer-led outreach center on Sunset Boulevard, CHC has helped more than 150,000 homeless youth who suffer from the trauma of trying to survive on the streets and the physical or psychological abuse, neglect or high-risk behaviors that led them there. CHC’s mission is to “protect and safeguard all children of the street with absolute respect and unconditional love”.

Segal is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. In 1997, he was inducted into their Accounting Hall of Fame and received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the business school at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona.

Segal has served two four-year terms on the Arcadia City Council, has served as Mayor twice and has also chaired the City of Arcadia’s Financial Advisory Committee. He is involved in numerous philanthropic activities; he has chaired and completed the $27 million capital campaign to raise funds for the new North Tower at Arcadia Methodist Hospital and also chaired and completed a $6 million capital campaign for CHC.

Fellow honoree Ratkovich founded The Ratkovich Company, a Los Angeles development firm whose mission is to profitably produce developments that improve the quality of urban life, in 1977. His company, whose projects range from large-scale urban planning and entitlement endeavors to retail, office, entertainment and mixed-use projects, engages in both new development and the imaginative reuse of existing buildings including eight buildings that are historic landmarks.
Nationally, Ratkovich is a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and an Emeritus Trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In Los Angeles, Ratkovich is a Founding Board Member of the Downtown Women’s Center (DWC), his firm having served as the volunteer developer of DWC’s first residence for the women of Skid Row.

CHC is part of Covenant House International, the largest privately funded agency in the Americas, whose primary focus and mission is to eradicate youth homelessness by providing food, housing, immediate crisis care, and an array of other important services to homeless and runaway kids.

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