When the basketball came bouncing toward Kim Masoner, she picked it up and threw it back to one of her favorite Lakers, Luke Walton.

 Walton looked her in the eye and said “thank you for making a difference.”

 “My heart just melted. He said it with such conviction,” she said.
What does basketball have to do with the beach?

 Masoner and her husband Steve were recently honored with the “My Better Lifestyle Award” by the Los Angeles Lakers for their efforts on cleaning up the coast.

 “It was such a surprise,” Masoner said. “Someone from the organization must have lived in the area and heard of us. They just found us.”

 The pair was honored for the group they created 10 years ago – Save Our Beach – which brings hundreds of people together each month to clean up the Seal Beach area.

With the award, a PowerPoint presentation about Save Our Beach was shown to thousands in the stands. Not to mention the complimentary seats – just six rows from the court.

 
“We had great seats, to die for seats,” said Masoner, an 11-year Lakers’ fan. “We could hear the sneakers squeak and the players yelling and everything.” 

 
But the real reward is seeing the number of people who have been showing up to the cleanups. In November, 715 volunteers came out to help, and last month 528 people showed up. 

 
“You can spend 10 minutes picking up trash and feel good going about the rest of your day,” she said.
The next cleanup is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 24. Meet at the 1st Street parking lot and Ocean Avenue. The group provides parking passes, garbage bags, drinking water, hand sanitizer and protective gloves. For more info, go to www.saveourbeach.org

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