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Elks Recognizes Two Marin Law Enforcement Officers

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, as part of their ongoing Drug Awareness program, awards an annual Enrique Camarena Award, during their Red Ribbon Week at local, state and national levels to a member of law enforcement who carries out anti-drug work.

Published

4 years ago

May 4, 2022

Oakland Post

Left: Enrique “Kiki” Camarena Salazar (commons.wikimedia.org), Card Celebrating Red Ribbon Week (elks.org). Right: Corporal Mark Reischel, Deputy Josie Sanguinetti. (Photos by Godfrey Lee).

By Godfrey Lee

The Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks (BPOE), or the Elks in San Rafael, has recognized two law enforcement officers who have made a significant contribution in the field of drug prevention, and has awarded them with the Enrique Camarena Recognition Award Ceremony and Dinner on Friday, April 22, 2022 at the Elks Lodge #1108 on Mission Street in San Rafael.

The first officer to be honored was Corporal Mark Reischel (retired), Central Marin Police Authority, who was honored for his 20 years of dedicated work as a police officer. He was the 2021 Camarena Award Winner. The second officer to be honored was Marin County Sheriff’s Deputy Josie Sanguinetti.

Enrique “Kiki” Camarena Salazar (July 26, 1947 – Feb. 9, 1985) was an officer for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who was killed, interrogated under torture and murdered in Guadalajara, Mexico, according to narcos.fandom.com and other news organizations.

Camarena was born on July 26, 1947 in Baja California, Mexico. He moved to the United States of America at a young age. After graduating from Calexico High School in California, he served in the U.S. Marines for three years, attaining a rank of Lance Corporal. After his discharge, he briefly had a stint working as a fireman before eventually joining the Drug Enforcement Administration at their Calexico office in 1975. He was later transferred to the Fresno office of the DEA, and in 1980, Kiki started working in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Camarena was close to exposing Mexican drug lord Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, and the Guadalajara Drug Cartel, when he was kidnapped, tortured for over 30 hours, then murdered. He was injected with drugs, most likely to ensure that he remained conscious while being tortured, and suffered from broken ribs, and finally a punctured skull. Camarena’s body, along with the Mexican pilot Captain Alfredo Zavala Avelar who took aerial photographs of the Rancho Búfalo, a marijuana farm run by Rafael Caro Quintero of the Guadalajara cartel, was found wrapped in plastic and dumped on the road outside the small town of La Angostura, in the state of Michoacán on March 5, 1985.

Kiki’s body was examined by American Navy physicians in the embassy, and was flown back to San Diego, California, where he was buried with full honors.

Within months of Kiki’s death, Guadalajara Cartel leaders Caro Quintero and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo were arrested by the Mexican police and received lengthy sentences. The U.S. investigation into Camarena’s murder led to ten more trials in Los Angeles for other Mexican nationals involved in the crime.

In 2004, the Enrique S. Camarena Foundation was established in Camarena’s memory. Camarena’s wife Mika and son Enrique Jr. serve on the all-volunteer board of directors together with former DEA agents, law enforcement personnel, family and friends of Camarena’s, and others who share their commitment to alcohol, tobacco and other drug and violence prevention.

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Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

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5 days ago

March 7, 2026

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

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2 weeks ago

March 1, 2026

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

3 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.