El Segundo honors longtime volunteer Bob Mota at Elderfest

El Segundo celebrated its annual Elderfest at the Jocelyn Center to honor longtime volunteer and baseball coach Bob Mota as the city's Older American of the Year, El Segundo Media reported.

The event, timed during Older Americans Month as designated by the U.S. Administration for Community Living, used a baseball theme to recognize Mota's decades of volunteer service with the Babe Ruth League and other youth programs. The Recreation and Parks Department and volunteers from the National Charity League decorated the center, served sandwiches and distributed baseball-themed goodie bags; organizers also planned a lunch, cake and a raffle.

"I've been volunteering for a long time," Mota said, describing how his work began. "It actually started volunteering, at the baseball field, back in 1979. And, I was coaching my brother, obviously younger than me, and they needed coaches and I offered. And I've been doing that for quite a few years and and still doing a little bit with Babe Ruth League. I'm honored, honored and and humbled." He credited coaching and league work with creating space for youth to learn and make memories.

An event participant praised Mota's community impact, saying, "Bob is a great example of someone who has volunteered so much time and energy and part into giving back to his community, and it's what makes El Segundo so special." Another senior attendee said, "It's a wonderful event and a venue to have something like this. So we enjoyed it very much." The event provided time for seniors to socialize and to mark Older Americans Month.

The celebration emphasizes the city's practice of recognizing senior volunteers and the role of local recreation programs in community life. Organizers noted the theme reflected Mota's long association with youth baseball in El Segundo.

"Proof that age is just a number and that the impact we can make has no expiration date," reporter Natasha Gascon said at the close of the coverage for El Segundo Media.