Robert Emmons, Jane Habermann Named Man and Woman of Year
http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/093010_robert_emmons_and_jane_habermann_named_man_woman_of_year/
By Lara Cooper, Noozhawk Staff Writer
Pair recognized for their longtime volunteerism and commitment to community
Several hundred people gathered Thursday night to celebrate the achievements of Robert Emmons and Jane Habermann, named Man and Woman of the Year.
The pair were honored by the Santa Barbara Foundation and KEYT at a warm gathering of the 68th annual Man and Woman of the Year Awards hosted by the Coral Casino.
Previous recipients of the award include Pearl Chase, Eli Luria and Thomas Storke. KEYT anchor Paula Lopez and Santa Barbara Foundation president and CEO Ron Gallo presented the awards.
The winners of the awards were a closely guarded secret until Thursday night’s announcement, and after hearing of the award, Emmons took the stage and said it was honor to be named among past recipients.
“They’re heroes to all of us,” he said. “The people in this room get it. ... It’s all about making this world a better place.”
Emmons, a New York Stock Exchange company CEO, is the recipient of the Herbert Hoover Humanitarian Award and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s Wright Ludington Lifetime Achievement Award.
He and his wife are charter members of the Lotus Society, Lotusland’s planned giving society. Emmons is a supporter of CAMA, the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation, the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts and the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.
Larry Crandell, aka “Mr. Santa Barbara” and a former Man of the Year, also was honored at the event for serving as emcee for the Man and Woman of the Year event for the past decade.
Habermann, whose father was a country doctor in North Dakota, said she learned the importance of home health care from her family.
A champion barrel racer, Haberman got involved with the nonprofit world shortly after moving to Santa Barbara. She’s a 20-year board member of Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care, an agency that provides hospice care to Santa Barbara residents.
She was voted Volunteer of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2007 and named a Health Care Hero in 2008 by the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics.
Like Emmons, she’s a member of the Santa Barbara Foundation Board of Trustees.
“I think about this community and how generous you all are,” Habermann said. “You should be really proud.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk or @NoozhawkNews.
http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/093010_robert_emmons_and_jane_habermann_named_man_woman_of_year/