The senior presentation honoring National Charity League of Santa Barbara’s “Ticktocker” Class of 2010 featured the 18 young women who have spent the last six years contributing to the mother-daughter volunteer organization.
The girls have 4,157 volunteer hours collectively, and their favorite organizations to help are McKinley School, Safety Town, Unity Shoppe and Valle Verde retirement community.
Other philanthropies served by the seniors through the years include Art from Scrap, Bunnies Urgently Needing Shelter (BUNS), Child Abuse Listening & Mediation (CALM), Children’s Creative Project, Direct Relief International, Girls Inc., Hearts Adaptive Riding Center, Santa Barbara Council for Alcohol & Drug Abuse, Santa Barbara Museum of Art & Ridley-Tree Education Center, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara Special Olympics, Santa Barbara Zoo and Storyteller Children’s Center.
At Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort on Saturday evening, hundreds of National Charity Leaguers, family and friends of the Class of 2010 packed the ballroom for a presentation introducing each ticktocker, a Bollywood-inspired dance number, a fashion show featuring the seniors and junior Ticktockers, and a father-daughter dance.
NCL president Missy Macfadyen introduced Sara Van Valkenburgh, the senior with the most volunteer hours — 610 — who addressed the crowd of nearly 700 people about her experiences with NCL. The group taught her the importance and fulfillment of giving back to the community, and her experience has inspired her to someday join the Peace Corps.
After the girls danced and strutted down the ballroom’s runway stage, starting with a lively dance number to the popular “Jai Ho,” made famous by Slumdog Millionaire, and ending with a fashion show directed by Julie Martin with clothes provided by Blue Bee, Diani, Dressed and Ready, K Frank, French Lesson Boutique, katwalk and Miss Behavin’.
National Charity League Inc. Santa Barbara Chapter is a mother-daughter service organization dedicated to fostering mother-daughter relationships through philanthropy, leadership development and cultural experience. The Santa Barbara Chapter includes 235 women and daughters who attend grades seven through 12 in area schools.
The Class of 2010:
» Shelby Abkin, Dos Pueblos High, daughter of Pam Scott and Joe Abkin. Shelby is a student in Dos Pueblos’ international baccalaureate program, and she also enjoys music and being a teaching assistant.
» Annabelle Butash, Laguna Blanca School, daughter of Susannah Rake and Adrian Butash. She’s interested in biology and photography and is involved in sports and music at Laguna Blanca. Last summer, she attended a pre-med program at Vanderbilt University.
» Anjali Daniels, Dos Pueblos High, daughter of Lisa and Brent Daniels. Anjali is a student in Dos Pueblos’ Engineering Academy and a key member of the school’s nationally renowned Robotics Team 1717, and she indulges her more creative side by singing and acting.
» Holly Emerson, San Marcos High, daughter of Nancy and Jim Emerson. Holly is involved in sports, student government and the arts at San Marcos and hopes to pursue nursing after college.
» Lauren Fausset, San Marcos High, daughter of Carole Fausset and Tom Fausset. Lauren enjoys adventures with her family, prides herself on her fashion sense and eventually hopes to get into business and wedding event planning.
» Olivia Ghersen, Santa Barbara High, daughter of Nicola and Cliff Ghersen. Olivia loves the arts, including singing, musicals and photography, and hopes to study international relations.
» Alexandra Goodman, Santa Barbara High, daughter of Joani Radditz and Lindsey Goodman. Alexandra plays softball and participates in musical theater and a capella at Santa Barbara High. She started an adventure club this year, and hopes to major in environmental protection and management.
» Hanna Grokenberger, Santa Barbara High, daughter of Trina and David Grokenberger. The youngest of seven siblings, Hanna is involved in tennis and student government at Santa Barbara High. “A real people person,” she hopes to study psychology, medicine or neuroscience.
» Kiki Katsev, San Marcos High, daughter of Nina and Doug Katsev. Kiki is involved with student government, plays tennis and is the sports editor of San Marcos High’s King’s Page newspaper.
» Elizabeth Langhorne, Santa Barbara High, daughter of Sofie and Charles Langhorne. Elizabeth enjoys outdoor adventures and is involved with tennis, student government and mock trial at her high school.
» Brenna Linehan, Bishop Diego High, daughter of Kristin Linehan and Mark Linehan. Brenna has enjoyed being involved in many volunteer projects, playing tennis and spending time with her family.
» Kirsten Macfadyen, Laguna Blanca, daughter of Missy and Bill Macfadyen. Kirsten enjoys learning about different cultures, swimming, playing golf and is interested in photography. Her favorite time in NCL was working with her mom, this year’s NCL president, at Unity Shoppe.
» Megan McAlister, Laguna Blanca, daughter of Mari and Patrick McAlister. A science and history enthusiast, Megan has been the editor of her school yearbook and plays basketball. Her favorite NCL activity has been Safety Town.
» Jana McIntyre, Santa Barbara High, daughter of Lana and John McIntyre. Jana is a singer, who also appeared in Hair, enjoys adventures and credits NCL for helping her become a leader.
» Sara Van Valkenburgh, Dos Pueblos High, daughter of Erin and Web Van Valkenburgh. Sara is in Dos Pueblos’ international baccalaureate program, plays clarinet and hopes to become a book editor or publisher.
» Amanda Wilson, Santa Barbara High, daughter of Dina and Doug Wilson. Amanda is a competitive swimmer and captain of Santa Barbara High’s swim team. She enjoys trips to Mexico with her family and follows her older sisters, Haley (Class of 2005) and Sadie (‘07), in NCL.
» Sarah Wrench, Santa Barbara High, daughter of Kathryn and John Wrench. The women in Sarah’s family are very important to her, and she has been involved with her school’s a capella group and musical theater, even performing in Hair in Europe.
» Shelby Zylstra, San Marcos High, daughter of Patty and Doug Zylstra. Shelby enjoys tennis, basketball and water sports, and hopes to start a nonprofit organization for children.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com.