In a celebration of their unit on citizenship and what it means to be a good citizen in one’s community, Laguna Blanca fourth-graders invited community members, including Santa Barbara’s mayor, local first responders, teachers and community volunteers, who model good citizenship.

The honorees will be recognized at a Citizenship Breakfast 8:30-10 a.m. Wednesday, May 30, at the Lower School campus, 260 San Ysidro Road.

The breakfast is a culminating event that gives the students the opportunity to think about what citizenship means to them and what it looks like in action.

Keynote speaker this year is Victoria Strong, a writer, advocate, and mother of two. She and her husband Bill founded the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, named after their late daughter to raise awareness and fund research on spinal muscular atrophy.

They also developed NEVER GIVE UP, a 100 percent nonprofit apparel brand, because Gwendolyn inspired the philosophy “never give up” in everyone she met.
 
The address will be followed by breakfast and a student program with each student honoring his/her guest. Honorees include:
 
Lizzie Ponder, clinical supervisor at Koegel Autism Center
Vince Garcia, co-founder/CEO of Q&A College Admissions and Academic Consulting
Dianne Duva, partner at Arlington Financial Advisors in Santa Barbara; nonprofit boards in Santa Barbara
Adam Sharkey, architect, Blackbird Architects in Santa Barbara, Page Youth Center board member, basketball coach and chef
Mike Bilgren, fireman, Santa Barbara City Fire
Daniel Garcia, Santa Barbara police officer
Holly Murphy, entrepreneur and philanthropist
Eric Delgadillo, senior deputy-sheriff of Santa Barbara County
Mason Farrell, LBS board member, 1980 LBS grad
Michael Yamasaki, executive director, Montecito YMCA
Leilanie Silva, lifeguard/swim coach
Trey Evans, Evans Realty & Investments; Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian board member
Laura Nelson, music teacher/guitar lessons
Cathy Murillo, Mayor of Santa Barbara
Das Williams, 1st. Dist. county supervisor
Suzy Dobreski, preschool teacher, El Montecito Early School

For more information about Laguna Blanca, visit www.lagunablanca.org or call 687-2461.

— Tara Broucqsault for Laguna Blanca School.