Oakland Honors 2007 Mother of the year

By Chauncey Bailey

Colleen Brown bought her home in Oakland more than a decade ago, but she didn’t realize that community service would go along with her home purchase.
    When she purchased her home in an established east Oakland neighborhood in 1994, she was informed that she would be the replacement block captain of the Neighborhood Watch Group, since the previous homeowner held the position. Although she did not expect the obligation of public service to come with the house, she has since been actively involved in community development and crime prevention.
    It is that involvement that has resulted in her selection as 2007 Mother of the Year by the city of Oakland's Office of Parks and Recreation.
    Brown was nominated by the Community Policing Advisory Board, an organization that is active in advising on city-wide policing affairs. "Ms. Brown is a community activist with a leadership style that emphasizes doing the heavy lifting needed to get things done. She is humble, unassuming and deferential to the community members she serves," said Community Policing Advisory Board Chair, Don Link.
    Brown has organized several Neighborhood Watch Groups, served on the Oakland Home Alert Coalition, and established the Burbank-Millsbrae Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council, among her many community service activities.
    The ceremony to honor Brown will take place at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Morcom Rose Garden, 700 Jean St
    Oakland 's Mother of the Year Award is a project of the Office of Parks and Recreation. It began in 1954 to publicly honor an Oakland citizen whose contributions to the community symbolize the finest traditions of motherhood, although being a parent is not a requirement to be nominated for the Mother of the Year Award. For more information, call (510) 238-2082.