Veterans’ leader Gerald “J.R.” Wilson has been named the 2023 Citizen of the Year for Most Impact while Antioch School Board Trustee and former Antioch Mayor Mary Rocha was named Citizen of the Year for her lifetime achievements.
Service Pros Plumbers also was named Small Business of the Year, Drill Tech Drilling & Shoring was named Large Business of the Year, Antioch High School junior Fifita Grewe was named Youth of the Year and Soroptimist International of Antioch was named Nonprofit of the Year. In addition, Antioch Lifetime Veteran of the Year will be awarded to Diane Ferguson of the U.S. Air Force while Veteran of the Year will be Brenda Cato, also a U.S. Air Force veteran.
A native of Concord, Wilson was raised in Antioch and Pittsburg. He joined the U.S. Army from 1990 and served in the Military Intelligence Corps as a non-communication interceptor/analyst (98J1P) with the 3rd Special Forces Group (A) at Ft. Bragg, N.C., from 1991-1993, where he was Airborne Qualified. He later served overseas in the 102nd Military Intelligence Battalion, part of the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea. He went on to serve as a National Service Officer in the Roanoke, Virginia N.S.O. office from 1998-2000, and the Reno, Nev., DAV National Service Office as an office supervisor from 2000-2002. In 2002, he returned to California to serve in the DAV National Service Office in San Diego as the assistant supervisor and the supervisor from 2002-2004.
When Wilson came back to Contra Costa County, he noticed an increase in homeless veterans and took action, founding the Delta Veterans Group in 2012. He launched the first ever Stand Down on the Delta in 2015 bringing more than 350 homeless and at-risk veterans and their families four days of hope in the areas of housing jobs, health, education, recovery and legal services.
In addition to leading the Delta Veterans Group, Wilson now serves as commander of the Antioch VFW Post 6435 and a life member of the American Legion among many other groups.
Mary Rocha waves to the crowd during the parade at the 11th annual celebration of Armistice/Veterans Day in downtown Antioch, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 11, 2016. She will be given a Citizen of the Year award for her lifetime achievements on March 22, 2024. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)
Rocha, meanwhile, has served the city of Antioch in a variety of ways, including as a council member for eight years. She also has served for decades on the Antioch Unified School District Board, a position she first ran for in 1970. She also was the first Latina mayor in Antioch, a long-time student advocate (a child-care center is named after her) and a decades-long community volunteer.
Rocha also is a current board member of Brighter Beginnings, a nonprofit that focuses on childhood development, family support services, financial literacy, community strengthening and family healthcare.
The honorees will be awarded, along with several others, at an Antioch Chamber of Commerce gala on March 22 at the Lone Tree Golf and Event Center.
Tickets are $80 each or $640 for a reserved table of eight, and can be purchased on the Chamber’s website at www.antiochchamber.com.