Organizers of the 80th Person of the Year Awards are requesting nominations of individuals or families who have gone above and beyond to benefit the Santa Barbara community, who exemplify the spirit of volunteerism or who demonstrate selfless leadership.
The Santa Barbara Foundation invites the community at large to nominate an individual, couple or family worthy of this recognition.
Nominations may be submitted online now through 5 p.m. Feb. 24 at https://www.sbfoundation.org/person-of-the-year-nominations/.
Considered one of the Santa Barbara area’s most prestigious honors, the Person of the Year Awards event highlights Santa Barbara-area residents whose extraordinary service represent a meaningful commitment to the community; address a real community need or enhance the quality of life; or has demonstrated exemplary acts of generosity, kindness or innovation in the Santa Barbara area. Recipients are selected from a wide range of candidates nominated by community members.
“We are honored to be the organizing sponsor of the annual Person of the Year Awards, which gives us an opportunity to stop and thank individuals who dedicate so much of themselves to their community,” Santa Barbara Foundation President/CEO Jackie Carrera said. “This is also a major milestone year — the 80th year of recognizing philanthropic contributions to our region and 80 years of gratitude from the community.”
The term “Person” reflects how the award has evolved over the decades, said Katherine Sanders, communications manager for the foundation.
Until 2020, the award was known as Man & Woman of the Year. The first honorees were Harold Chase in 1942 and Pearl Chase in 1956.
The foundation broadened its terms to be more inclusive and not limit the award to individuals.
“There might be some great families out there who are doing wonderful work in the community,” Sanders said.
The number of nominations submitted each year varies but tends to average around 15, Sanders said.
A pre-selection committee — made up of the Santa Barbara Foundation’s Collaboration for Social Impact Advisory Board, and consisting of nonprofit leaders from across Santa Barbara County — conducts the initial review of nominations.
The pre-selection committee then provides recommendations to the selection committee, which includes past award recipients.
Last year’s winners were Ginger Salazar and Katina Zaninovich.
Other past honorees have included John Daly, Judy Stapelmann, Jelinda DeVorzon, David Boyd, Catherine Remak, Tom Parker, Michael and Marni Cooney, Ernesto Paredes, Joni Meisel, Janet Garufis and Jon Clark.
The Person of the Year Award is geared toward South County residents.
“We have a similar award honor for our North County neighbors, Celebrate Philanthropy, which takes place in the fall,” Sanders said.
The 80th Person of the Year recipient(s) will be honored at a luncheon on April 19 at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.