The City of La Mirada presented Biola with the award for Most Outstanding Spring Beautification Monday in two categories: Most Outstanding House of Worship / School for the campus as a whole and Most Outstanding Apartment / Condominium for the Tradewinds Apartments.

Mayor Susan Tripp honored more than 200 homeowners and businesses for the pristine care they invested in their homes by inviting them to the 49th annual awards ceremony at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. Of that number, about 10 homes and a few more businesses and other sectors were awarded.

Judges determined the awards based on basic criteria such as being free of apparent city code violations and “general aesthetics” in beauty and landscaping, said Oliver Osuna, community services coordinator for the City of La Mirada. Brian Phillips from facilities services accepted the award on behalf of Biola.

“It was an honor to accept the City of La Mirada’s Spring Beautification Award on behalf of Biola University and the entire facilities team,” Phillips said. “The grounds are an important part of our living and working environments at Biola, and much hard work has gone into improving the overall appearance of the campus in recent years.”

Biola has won the award several times in the past decade— once for Most Outstanding Apartment/Condominium for the Beachcomber Apartments, and at least three times for the Most Outstanding School, said Brian Langworthy, Biola’s grounds manager. This year, the award grouped Most Outstanding School and Most Outstanding House of Worship together.

“We try to do the best we can each year. Sometimes we get selected and sometimes we don’t,” Langworthy said.

The ceremony’s presenter mentioned the overall upkeep of a beautiful plant design, as well as architecture, as two reasons behind the university’s win. Biola spends an estimated $25,000 per year on plant materials alone. Twelve full-time groundskeepers, led by Langworthy, and Grounds Supervisor Jim Curran are responsible for the upkeep.

The Spring Beautification Awards gives residents of La Mirada the chance to give back in a way that benefits both them and the city in which they live. Though this is the first year that Biola has been awarded this honor, according to Tripp, though Biola has been a positive presence in La Mirada for years.

“The City of La Mirada has a great relationship with the Biola community. We appreciate Biola not just for its aesthetics but for service as well,” she said.

Though the event’s audience was made up almost entirely of those outside the Biola community, a sign that the small city takes great pride in community and self-presentation. Attendees acknowledged Biola’s positive impact on the community in more than just an aesthetic sense.
Barbara Capen, head usher and two-time recipient of the Spring Beautification Award, has lived in La Mirada for 42 years. She said in all that time she has never found Biola to have anything but a positive effect on the community.

“Biola gives back,” said Mark Sills, La Mirada resident of 17 years, whose home was honored for the first time.