The meeting focused on recognizing community contributors, addressing public concerns over housing and homelessness projects, and voting on reports related to the homelessness emergency declaration. Public testimony was dominated by opposition to specific developments in Council District 6, and the council passed items regarding homelessness coordination with amendments.
As a young girl growing up in Sherman Oaks and Granada Hills. She was always drawn to the outdoors. She joined the California Rangers and the Canoga Cavaliers, where she first learned about horses and quickly became enamored by them. Her father thought it would be just a passing fancy and told her, if you want a horse, then you need to buy it. Well, Charlie took him at his word, and after buying her first car in 1968, she went right back the next day, took out a loan, and bought her first horse. What her father thought would last a month turned into a lifetime passion. And over the years, Charlotte has uh owned five horses, most memorably, sugar beast and coal, and lived by the model, have trailer will ride. She and her horses traveled everything from Griffith Park to Mammoth to Big Bear to Vasquez Rocks, the deserts, and far beyond. She competed in the trial trails, where she trail trials, sorry, where she and Beast excelled in tackling real world challenges in on the trail. In 1981, Charlotte joined the ETI Corral 54 in Chatsworth. Many of its members stand behind me today. And then over the next 44 years, she served in nearly every role of that organization, from secretary to president, and for nearly four decades, the trail coordinator. She became a tireless advocate for trails access and horse property, working with our office, CD 12 and county departments, community groups, and fellow writers to protect the equestrian way of life in the Northwest San Fernando Valley. Most recently, she even helped secure trail access through the Deer Lake Highlands Housing Project, a major victory for riders in my community. Charlotte's leadership extended beyond our community as well. She chaired ETI's national uh trail trial committee, standardizing rules that gained national recognition, and she literally co-wrote the book on how to organize a trail trial. For me personally, Charlotte has been an invaluable partner. Every year we have an annual ride with the councilman where I ride with ETI Corral 54, and she's be there been either in the saddle beside me or behind the cat camera capturing the pictures of the day, and always by the end of the ride handing me a punch list of what needs to be fixed on our trail tri trails. So whenever my office takes on an equestrian project, Charlotte is one of the first people I call, and her insight has always made the project stronger. Charlotte, your dedication, compassion, and leadership have left a permanent mark on this community. While we are sad to see you leave the valley, you know, you're leaving the valley to move to Michigan. We are deeply grateful for everything you've done for the equestrian community and of course Council District 12. Colleagues, I'd like a warm welcome if you join me in warm welcome for our guest of honor today, Charlotte Brody. Oh, you want to say a few words? Please talk about how great I am. He's told me I still tell how great he is. I I have had the pleasure of working with several councilmen, and it has been a real challenge to set them to see my way of thinking, but I have convinced them for the most part. And I really have enjoyed this job, although when I get in front of a microphone, I'm scared to death. And so I usually have words to read, and I don't have any words to read, so I'm just faking it. No, yeah, I can. Yes. Um, so uh there were things I thought of in the night, but those have disappeared with the day. So I I can't tell you what I could tell you because I don't remember. I don't have my little notes, uh, but I I have enjoyed this, and I've had a great uh support from the council, councilman, him and before, and the four. And I just um grateful for getting things done that I needed to get done. Two things I didn't get done, no. I'm sure you'll remind me what those two things are. I have several times, yes. Thank you so much, uh Mr. Lee. We got uh a member on the queue, uh Councilmember Rodriguez. Thank you, Mr. Lee, and thank you, Charlotte, and all of the enthusiasts that have joined you here this morning to celebrate all of your incredible contributions here in our beautiful San Fernando Valley. As uh the uh co-conspirator of all things equestrian on the council with uh councilmember Lee. Um I want you to know that some of the work that we're actually pioneering in my district is uh trails master plan and a great deal of work of incorporating trails as fire breaks to help mitigate a lot of the fire risk in our hillside communities. So I'm really proud to be working and leading on that work and partnering with Mr. Lee on that because it's an important opportunity for us to combine and have the shared open space for our equestrian riders that are safe because we know I know in my district sadly we've seen a lot of individuals uh become injured and and sadly horses lost as a result of uh just crossing on the on the streets. But uh we're doing a lot of that work, and I just want to say thank you for your advocacy, um, all the ETIs that are heavily involved in advocating for this work, but thank you so much for helping to be a strong voice in that because what is uniquely not just the San Fernando Valley, but uniquely Los Angeles, and frankly, an important part of Western history of California is that we can't ignore the contributions and the history and the part of all the equestrian activities that help to develop not just California but Los Angeles. So I want to thank you for your work and your advocacy and best wishes to you on this next part of your journey. I live in your district.