More than 200 people gathered to celebrate CAC’s 50th anniversary at the Community Action Champions Dinner May 18 at the Hotel Corque in Solvang. The event benefited the agency’s Healthy Senior Lunch program.
CenCal Health provided a matching sponsorship for the event, ensuring all other donations would have twice the impact for some 1,350 low-income seniors who depend on CAC’s Healthy Senior Lunch program for nutritious daily meals.
Featured on the event’s program were: Santa Barbara Schools Superintendent Bill Cirone; District Attorney Joyce Dudley; and Jim Talbott, executive director of Smooth.
Also on the program were Ernesto Paredes, executive director of EasyLift; police officer Adrian Gutierrez; and Alejandro Vasquez, a Bilingual Hospice counselor.
“Tonight we are celebrating community leaders, board members, staff members, and friends of CAC who have contributed to the success of our agency and the well-being of our local low-income community over the past 50 years,” said Fran Forman, CAC executive director.
Among those attending the Champions event were:
Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider, Supervisor Janet Wolf, Santa Barbara City Councilmember Cathy Murillo, Goleta City Councilmember Michael Bennett, Lompoc City Councilmember Victor Vega, Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Arthur Garcia.
Also, Ed Cora, superintendent Guadalupe Union School District; CenCal Health CEO Robert Freeman; and Michael Chen, vice president, Wells Fargo Business Banking Group.
Other attendees were Eric Onnen, CEO, Santa Barbara Airbus, and former Goleta mayor; and Phylene Wiggins and Guille Gill Reynoso of the Santa Barbara Foundation.
Community businesses and organizations sponsoring the event included: CenCal Health, Deckers Brands, Arthur J Gallagher & Co, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation, Hutton Parker Foundation, BB & H Benefit Designs and Sysco.
Also, Pacific Premier Bank, CITIG, Cottage Healthy System, Dignity Health, Union Plaza Corp., Rabobank, Union Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Coastal Copy, Naturipe Berry Growers, Azteca, Santa Barbara Airbus, and SBCC Foundation.
Other sponsors were Sharon Kennedy Estate Management, Oliver Packaging, Central Coast Energy Services, Santa Barbara Sand and Soil, Jordanos, and the Spungeon Family Foundation.
CAC is a private, nonprofit agency that creates opportunities for Santa Barbara County families to achieve stability. Established in 1967, CAC serves more than 10,000 people throughout the county each year.
— Jay Farbman for CAC.