Mark Hafeman, a local artist, was awarded a Social Business Icon Award at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. He is pictured here with another award winner, Paula Abdul. Mark does plein air and landscape paintings and founded the group TULARIVA – Tuesday Los Angeles River Art – a group of artists that paints many of the waterways that flow into Los Angeles River. Hafeman is also a benefactor to the non-profit Foothill Creative Arts Group in Sierra Madre, is the treasurer of non-profit Buenaventura Art Association and is an artist at White Gallery in Montrose.

Additionally, he said he is traveling to Malawi later this year to build an orphanage for Habitat for Humanity.