Small to fill Rainbow CPG seat

Alvin Small was appointed to fill the vacant seat on the Rainbow Community Planning Group.

Small, whose appointment was confirmed by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on a 5-0 vote March 22, will serve as the board member for Seat No. 9 for the term expiring January 5, 2009. He replaces James Beebe, who was willing to serve if needed but resigned so that his planning group duties would not cause conflict with his Rainbow Volunteer Fire Department commitment.

As was the case with Beebe, Small sought the vacant seat in order to serve his community. The Rainbrook Drive resident received the support of the Rainbow Community Planning Group for membership on the board.

Small has lived in Rainbow for the past two years and previously lived in Bonita. Small grew up in Louisiana and came to San Diego during his service in the Navy. “I got out and I stayed in San Diego,” he noted.

Small spent 12 years as a Naval officer and left active duty as a Lieutenant. He remains involved with the Navy as a reservist.

Small, who has lived in San Diego County since 1987, spent four years as a network engineer for the Veterans’ Administration following his discharge. He is currently an engineer for the Federal Aviation Administration, making the 39-mile commute to the FAA site just outside of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. “It’s not that far, actually,” he remarked.

Small has worked for the FAA for the past two and a half years.

Small grew up in a rural part of Louisiana, near New Iberia and four miles from the Gulf of Mexico. He sees similarities between his Louisiana hometown and his current community. “I think we have a few more people in Rainbow, but it’s just as rural,” he said.

The rural lifestyle of Rainbow was a significant reason for his move from Bonita to Rainbow. “I wanted a change in life,” he noted.

His wife, Maureen, is originally from South Bend, Indiana. “She insisted that I move up here. We were dating at the time,” said Small, who has been married to his wife for the past one and a half years.

In addition to his work and his planning group and Naval reserve duties, Small is also active in IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and in Calvary Chapel Fallbrook.