Riverside Selects Entrepreneur Lorna Jenkins As Recipient Of Annual City Spirit Award

After brief deliberations, the Riverside City Council Tuesday selected education entrepreneur Lorna Jenkins as the 2025 City Spirit Award winner. 

“This is always a very difficult decision,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said during the April 7 meeting. “There’s no shortage of fantastic people in this community who serve and do it quietly, without much notice, so this is our opportunity to recognize them.”

The city council voted 6-1 to award Jenkins the honor reserved for community members dedicated to being exemplary residents. Councilmember Steven Robillard was the sole dissenter, because his Ward 3 nominee was the other finalist. 

After a small committee deliberated nominees last month, two finalists were selected for the council to make the final decision: Riverside Airport Cafe owner Leimamo Taylor and Jenkins.

Taylor was selected due to her work in growing her cafe, leading a restaurant coalition during the Covid-19 pandemic and organizing several large-scale community events, like Planes and Treats, annually. 

Jenkins was also picked for her work in founding a tutoring business called My Learning Studio as well as her years of community service with helping Riverside County students grow academically. 

“Lorna understands that these children are going to be our future,” Councilmember Chuck Conder told the council on why he nominated Jenkins. “She puts forth her time and her company to do a lot of free tutoring so these children aren’t left behind.”

The city is set to present Jenkins with the award during its May 19 evening city council session. 

Since 1995, the city has awarded pivotal community figures, like housing and civil rights activist Rose Mayes, community leader Dell Roberts and Marine veteran Zack Earp, with the honor. As part of the award, the winners’ names are engraved onto a plaque that hangs inside the council chambers.