A San Marcos High School teacher, a co-founder of a Goleta tech company and a Nobel Prize winner were just a fraction of locals celebrated Friday during the 2014 Goleta’s Finest Awards.
In an evening filled with food, cocktails and formal wear on more than 400 people, a dozen outstanding individuals and organizations took to the stage at Bacara Resort & Spa to accept and thank the Goleta community, along with whoever may have nominated him or her to receive recognition.
The 65th annual event, sponsored by the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, held both its presenters and honorees to two-minute speeches, with a piano player on hand to coax folks into following the rules.
Man of the Year Mark Linehan was honored for helping to create Girsh Park and for donating to the city’s public safety fund, and Woman of the Year Kathy Koeper was recognized for her love of volunteering at local nonprofits and for the role she played in connecting MarBorg Industries with the Goleta community.
Attendees gave great applause to this year’s Educator of the Year, San Marcos teacher Jamie DeVries, who was recognized for starting the student-run nonprofit organization Kids Helping Kids, which helps fellow kids in financial need.
Student of the Year Bella Darke, a senior at Dos Pueblos High, was honored for academic and extracurricular success in founding the Dos Pueblos Dream Team.
“I’m so truly honored for this award,” she said, noting how grateful she was to live in the Goodland.
Alison Bauerlin, co-founder of Inogen, brought home the Entrepreneur of the Year title for continued success and for taking her company public this year, an achievement she said she couldn’t have imagined 13 years ago when she and two fellow UC Santa Barbara graduates founded the company.
“It’s amazing how many people’s lives we’ve changed,” she said. “I’m still on the journey and having a great time.”
Student Entrepreneur of the Year Scott Voulgaris was recognized for his startup success of sock company, Fresh Swagg, and consistent contributions to the American Heart Association, Fairview Gardens and Goleta Lemon Festival earned Michele Schneider-Talkington the Volunteer of the Year.
Since he also received worldwide appreciation, Goleta’s Finest bestowed a special recognition award for UCSB professor Shuji Nakamura, who won a 2014 Nobel Prize for his invention of blue LED light.
Nakamura was just the sixth faculty member at UCSB to have won a Nobel Prize since 1998.
Other awards went to Cabrillo Business Park (Large Business of the Year), family-owned Hollister Brewing Company (Small Business of the Year), Isla Vista Youth Projects (Nonprofit of the Year) and SEE International (Global Impact Award).
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.