As part of our monthly Committee Member Profile series, DLBA would like to introduce you to Brian McGraw and Dwayne Horton, two Downtown stakeholders and Committee Members who have a flair for bringing folks together. This will come in handy this summer and beyond as Downtown streets once again fill with people.
New Public Safety Committee Member Brian McGraw, born at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, grew up in Los Angeles before returning to Long Beach two years ago. He is currently the Director of Loss Prevention at the Downtown Long Beach Renaissance Hotel. He has been with Marriott International for about 20 years, working at Los Angeles hotels such as the LAX Renaissance, the Marina Del Rey Marriott and Ritz Carlton. McGraw relishes the opportunity to bring his years of hospitality security experience to a Committee dedicated to public safety in Downtown.
“My hope is to inspire other hotels and professional security leaders to actively engage with the Public Safety Committee,” said McGraw. “We would love as much support as possible in helping keep Downtown a safe place for people to work, live, visit and enjoy.”
McGraw, who earned an Associate of Arts Degree in Biblical Studies at Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary, is a full-time minister at a local church. During his off-work hours, he enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, watching sports and “building people up from a spiritual perspective.”
Special Events Committee Member Dwayne Horton comes to Long Beach by way of Anderson, a small town in Northern California. “I knew all my neighbors, and my high school had only 240 students,” said Horton. “I’ve always loved community. Long Beach has a lot of similarities to the small town that I grew up in. Despite the population being 50 times the size of Anderson, I regularly run into the same people and the same shop owners – and the same dogs – each day.”
Horton is currently studying Business Management at Long Beach City College while holding down a full-time job. He and his wife have lived in Downtown for almost 10 years. They are delighted to see a livelier and happier atmosphere on Pine Avenue and surrounding streets. “It’s obvious that people have a lot of pent-up energy that they’re ready to let out,” he said.
“My goal as a Special Events Committee member is to help bring people closer together,” Horton continued. “I want everyone who lives in the area and folks who live further away to come to Downtown events and connect with each other. There are a lot of lonely people out there that need things like this to plug them into the community, especially right now.”
During his down time, Horton enjoys traveling and scuba diving. He went to Catalina for a dive trip last month, and hopes to plan another getaway soon, as travel restrictions ease.
As Downtown Long Beach enters a new era, DLBA encourages all Downtown stakeholders to become involved with our Committees and make their voices heard. To learn more about DLBA’s Committees, click here.