The Santa Barbara Foundation is still accepting nominations for the 70th Man & Woman of the Year Awards, with next week’s deadline quickly approaching.
Alixe Mattingly, vice president of communications and marketing for the Santa Barbara Foundation, emphasized how the awards ceremony is part of a long-standing community tradition that highlights the spirit of volunteerism for which Santa Barbara is well known.
“Each year we honor two people who have really enriched our lives overall,” Mattingly said. “It’s a wonderful annual tradition of recognizing long-standing community involvement and civic leadership, and it’s also a toast for others demonstrating volunteerism in their communities.”
Susan Gulbransen, who received the Woman of the Year award in 2004, described the unique nomination process, in which past award recipients become part of a selection committee that confidentially reviews all applications and nominations put forth by community members.
“We’ve looked at so many different kinds of nominees in the past, there really is a diversity of volunteers nominated,” Gulbransen said. “I tend to look at how people make a difference as leaders within their communities and getting other members involved.”
Gulbransen said one person named as an award recipient generally represents a lot of people who put in “unimaginable hours” for a cause they are passionate about.
While past award recipients vote for one man and one woman of the year during the selection process, they are ultimately kept in the dark about who will win until the night of the gala, when community members gather to honor the recipients.
“It’s a wonderful event every year, a wonderful award given each year to a person whom past recipients feel is a deserving individual,” said Gerd Jordano, last year’s Woman of the Year recipient. “I just hope anyone they call up there has a strong heart so they don’t keel over when their name is called.”
Jordano, who considers it an honor to be a “part of the family of past award recipients,” explained how past recipients truly know what it takes to be nominated and be raised to such a high level — all of which she describes as a “humbling process.”
“The core focus of this event is about philanthropy, not about money but about giving ourselves and that trait of contributing continuously to the community,” Mattingly said. “Recipients really have one thing in common: They really care about others and are committed to Santa Barbara.”
Click here to nominate someone online, or call 805.963.1873 to receive an application by mail. The deadline to submit an application is 5 p.m. Aug. 31.
The 70th Man & Woman of the Year Awards dinner and gala affair will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara. It is sponsored by the Santa Barbara Foundation, Noozhawk, KEYT-TV and KDB 93.7 classical radio, with support from Montecito Bank & Trust.
— Noozhawk intern Amanda Garcia can be reached at agarcia@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.