Antelope Valley, CA, June 13, 2003- The Baha'is of Antelope Valley will host a special ceremony at the Palmdale Senior Center on Saturday June 21st, 2003 at 2:30 PM to recognize and honor lifetimes of service and achievement of senior members of the community. The average age of individuals being honored is 91. They come from different backgrounds, cultures, and countries, yet they tread the same path of faith, service, love of humanity and working toward unity. All of those to be honored have served in the local spiritual assemblies, the local administrative body of the Baha'i Faith.

The following is a brief summary of the lives of individuals being honored:

Mildred Brackett

Mildred Brackett was born in Gyserville, California, in 1909. She has a rich history of growing up with the Baha’i Faith. Her life was touched by many prominent Baha'is, such as, John and Louise Bosch, the founders of the Bosch Baha’i School in Northern California, Ruhiyyih Khanum, the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha'i faith, and the Hand of the Cause, Agnes Alexander who established the Baha’i Faith in Hawaii. Mildred helped to establish the first Baha'i community in the Antelope Valley in 1959. Mildred lives in Lancaster, CA.

Merles Cates

Merles Cates was born in 1913 in Toronto, Canada. She and her husband Bud became Baha'i in 1960 in Los Angeles. Soon after, Bud developed a slide-tape program about the Faith and they began traveling on weekends teaching the Faith at Baha'i firesides. In 1966 they moved to Palm Desert to help form the first Spiritual Assembly of Desert J. D. After passing of her husband in 1971, Merles moved to Port Hope, Canada to assist the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears with his books. After helping Mr. Sears for 13 years, Merles returned to Southern California and eventually moved to Antelope Valley where she currently lives. She served on the Spiritual Assembly of Antelope J.D. for many years.

Flo Magill

Flo Magill was born in 1916 in the small Midwestern town of Jackson, Michigan. Flo was one of those early brave souls that married across the color line in 1937. From early childhood she remembers having no prejudice, so becoming a Baha’i was very natural for her. The Baha’i practice of elimination of all prejudices was a real joy to her. In 1986, Flo moved to Lancaster and became active in the Baha’i community, serving on the Spiritual Assembly for several years. Flo recently retired from the medical field where she worked as an x-ray technician for over 50 years. She continued to work, commuting 120 miles a day, until the age of 85.

Banu Khorvash

Banu Khorvash was born in 1910 in Iran. In spite of severe restrictions for women, she entered school of dentistry and became probably the first female dentist in Iran. Following the Islamic revolution in Iran, she migrated to the United States and came to Lancaster, California. Here, she served on the Spiritual Assembly for several years. All of her six children are active in the Baha’i Faith and serving humanity across the globe.

*** *** ***