Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce Celebrates Its Community
http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/020310_carpinteria_valley_chamber_of_commerce/
By William M. Macfadyen, Noozhawk Publisher
Karen Graf and Mariana Vega honored as Carpinterian of the Year and Junior Carpinterian, respectively
Karen Welty Graf was recognized as Carpinterian of the Year at the 52nd Annual Community Awards Banquet hosted last week by the Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce. Top volunteers, educators, businesses and students were heralded for their “beyond-the-call-of-duty” community service and leadership.
More than 350 people turned out for the celebration at Girls Inc. of Carpinteria, where a gym was transformed into a ballroom for the evening.
Graf, who is a tireless volunteer, counts among her many activities the California Avocado Festival, Carpinteria Boys & Girls Club, Carpinteria Flower Growers Association, Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce, Carpinteria Women for Agriculture, Faith Lutheran Church, Girls Inc., Kinderkirk Preschool and Rotary Club of Carpinteria. Graf’s father, John Welty, was the 2004 Carpinterian of the Year and she was presented during the ceremony by last year’s honoree, Bradley Miles.
Mariana Vega was named 2009 Junior Carpinterian of the Year. Vega, who earned a Junior Carpinterian Scholarship, is a senior at Carpinteria High, where she has maintained a 4.0882 GPA and is senior class president. She hopes to major in business administration in college.
Josef Gottwald, a senior at Cate School, and Maritza Torres, a senior at Carpinteria High, were named finalists.
April Nuñez and Becki Gonzales were named Educators of the Year. Nuñez is an English teacher at Carpinteria High while Gonzales teaches at Summerland School.
The Carpintieria Valley chamber and the Business Advocacy Roundtable named Rincon Floral and Carpinteria Toy Co. the Small Business of the Year and Bega-US the Large Business of the Year.
Rincon Floral, 5285 Carpinteria Ave., which opened Carpinteria Toy Co. last fall, has been an active supporter of local churches, schools and nonprofit organizations. Sarah and Scott Hinton, the owners, are longtime community volunteers and Rincon Floral has donated countless floral pieces to fundraising efforts over the years.
Carpinteria-based Bega-US provides lighting products throughout the world. The company is a frequent host for nonprofit events at its 1000 Bega Way campus and its employees are loyal volunteers for the United Way of Santa Barbara County’s annual Day of Caring.
Scott Maio, an account executive with Axxess Ventures, was named chamber Ambassador of the Year while Laura Pettit, Janet Augerot and Gogi Medel-Burquez were named chamber Volunteers of the Year.
Two “Best of Carpinteria” gift baskets, each worth more than $4,000, were drawn from lucky raffle ticket holders, during the evening.
The program’s sponsors included Venoco Inc., the city of Carpinteria, Cox Communications, Hickey Bros. Land Co., Rabobank, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, Rincon Energy, Southern California Edison, Berkenmeier & Sugiyama DDS, DAC International, Hollandia Produce, Blue Gem Sunglasses, Calla Gold Jewelry, Carpinteria Warehouses, Hugo’s Restaurant and McDonald’s.
Click here for more information on the Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce.
— Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk.
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