The Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHP) elected two new board members and presented community awards at its 61st Annual Meeting in January at the Chapel at El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park.
The new trustees are Michael Drury and Jeffrey Sherwood, each elected to the board for a three-year term.
The annual community awards and certificates of appreciation were as follows:
Pam Post and Tim Hazeltine received the Pearl Chase Historic Preservation and Conservation Award for their 40 years of work helping designate historic buildings throughout the city of Santa Barbara and countywide.
Manuel Unzueta received the George and Vivian Obern Preservation Stewardship Award for his historical murals and work to preserve public art throughout Santa Barbara.
Jeff Garfinkle received the Sue Higman Volunteer of the Year Award for his extensive volunteer work in the past year at Our Communities, Our Stories, Historical Games Day, Archaeology Day, and DÃa de los Muertos.
UCSB Interdisciplinary Humanities Center received the Partnership Award for its work with SBTHP’s Public Engagement Department since 2019, and most recently their collaboration on a week-long teacher training, The Making of Monuments.
Luis Moreno was chosen as Life Honorary Member for his long work supporting SBTHP’s numerous public programs.
SBTHP awarded certificates of appreciation to Simon Kerry for his work to keep Pearl Chase’s legacy alive through his recent biography; Michael Montenegro for his sustained efforts to share Chicano history of Santa Barbara, celebration of public art, and his participation.
New trustees
Drury was born and raised in Santa Barbara. He attended local public schools, worked on a ranch north of Gaviota for many years, met Ray Strong in 1970, received a B.A. in art studio from UCSB College of Creative Studies in 1983, and an MFA from UCSB in 1985. He is a co-founder of the OAK Group, an environmentally active group of landscape painters, and currently serves on the Historic Landmarks Commission.
Sherwood and his wife Jae moved to Santa Barbara three years ago from Annapolis, Maryland. A California native, Sherwood graduated from Colby College and Stanford Law School. He had a national law practice based in Washington, D.C. Now retired, he is a regular volunteer at Lotusland, The Ensemble Theater Company and the Santa Barbara Foodbank.