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Awards
Woman Of The Year
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Woman of the Year: Martine Watkins, Mayor, City of Santa Cruz - Martine has served the City with unwavering commitment to all citizens of Santa Cruz.
She is a strong advocate for climate adaptation and change representing the City of Santa Cruz at the United States Conference of Mayors where she was a co-sponsor, with the Honorable Tom Butt, mayor of Richmond, a resolution to the US Conference of Mayors for formal adoption, that supports cities’ rights and efforts to mitigate climate change damages and protect taxpayers from related costs. More than an advocate for our environment, she is a consensus builder, by working together, we can improve the health of our community in areas that make sense for our city — such as transportation, parks, housing, public safety, economic development, infrastructure and water and more. “I value how much the Chamber does for the Santa Cruz business community and I am honored to be recognized for this award. I will do my best to live up to the title, Santa Cruz Chamber Woman of the Year!” stated Mayor Watkins |
Men of the Year
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Men of the Year: Frank Bien, CEO and Lloyd Tabb, Founder of Looker — Tabb founded Looker in 2012 right here in Santa Cruz. He sought to fundamentally change how companies were able to interact with their data – building a new lens for them to see what was going on in their business and make decisions based on what the data was telling them. He and co-founder, Ben Porterfield, built Looker from the ground up by cultivating happy customers, one at a time. Bien had been watching Looker for a while and in 2013 came on board to help scale all aspects of the business.
Together, Bien and Tabb built a healthy, productive and inclusive culture within Looker that has been fundamental to its success. Today, Looker has over 1,800 customers, eight offices around the world and over 800 employees. "One of the things I'm most proud of about Looker is that people that were born here, or very longtime residents in this community, can find great work here in Santa Cruz,” said Lloyd Tabb, Founder, Chairman and CTO of Looker. “Santa Cruz has always had brilliant, compassionate people. I'm proud that we've built a place where they can exercise their passion and stay local." |
Business of the Year
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Business of the Year: Dream Inn — A Santa Cruz favorite for surfing, sunsets and oceanfront dinning, Dream Inn is a beloved local landmark on the historic Beach Boardwalk. Effortlessly captivating longtime guests with its colorful retro-chic style while delighting newcomers who appreciate modern services and amenities, this full-service beachfront hotel features 165 guest rooms (all with ocean views), an outdoor pool steps from the sand, and state-of-the-art meeting and event space for up to 200 guests.
Dream Inn General Manager, Darren Pound stated, “On behalf of the Dream Inn team we are busting with pride that the Chamber board of directors has selected us as the 2019 business of the year. At a time in a highly competitive tourist market, to be honored with this prestigious award is a humbling moment for us.” The hotel, which has always been known as the Dream Inn to locals, first opened its doors in 1963. The 10-story tower was added to the original portion of hotel back in the early 70’s. In November 2016, Woodside Hotels, California’s leading operator of independent upscale hotels, restaurants and spas, assumed the management of Dream Inn. Under new management, Dream Inn has thrived and brought back the Santa Cruz vibe to the West Cliff Drive hotel. And earlier this year, the newly remodeled Jack O’Neill Restaurant & Lounge, which pays homage to the legendary surfer, wetsuit inventor, marine advocate, and Santa Cruz native, opened to showcase the Santa Cruz beach and surfing lifestyle. |
Organization of the Year
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Organization of the Year: Monterey Bay Community Power was formed to provide the communities of Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties with a choice when it comes to electricity provider, and to provide carbon-free electricity while supporting the economic vitality of tri-county.
Tom Habashi, CEO of Monterey Bay Community Power acknowledged, “Receiving this award from the Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce is a remarkable achievement for MBCP after just 16 months in operation. We are committed to being a community partner along California’s Central Coast to assist in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, driving economic investment and delivering on our promise to support significant cost savings to our customers.” Support from the local business community helped to energize MBCP before the agency began service. And today, that support has come full circle in the form of tangible benefits returned to Santa Cruz county businesses and residents. Looking ahead, the successes of this collective community action will continue driving MBCP’s growth down in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. Together, MBCP and the communities it serves are driving economic and environmental progress for the Central Coast. |
Legacy Achievement Award
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Legacy Achievement Award: Cynthia Mathews - for more than four decades Cynthia has made a significant and positive impact on our community across a wide range of issues -- through her forty-year career in leadership positions with Planned Parenthood; as longtime board member of the Museum of Art & History; member of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council; leadership positions with local Democratic Party activities; support for education, parks and cultural programs; work on behalf of strengthening our Downtown and local econmy; and her public service on the Santa Cruz City Council dating back to 1992. She has been and continues to be a community catalyst, building partnerships across all sectors to achieve broadly-shared results.
Cynthia commented, “I am truly humbled to be recognized along with the many others honored, both this year and in the past. We can achieve so much as a community when we draw on our full range of talents, passions, creativity and good will. The spirit of the Chamber’s recognition extends to all who work so hard, in so many ways, for the benefit of our community.” |
Host - René Schlaepfer!
René Schlaepfer - The lead pastor of Twin Lakes Church in Aptos, California. He is the author of seven books and speaks at dozens of camps and conferences around the globe every year. He lives in the beautiful beach town of Santa Cruz with his wife Laurie. Born in San Jose, California to Swiss immigrant parents, René grew up with dual citizenship and briefly lived in Switzerland before settling on the West Coast. There he worked for many years in broadcasting, primarily as an air personality on contemporary music radio stations. While in broadcasting, René earned a BA in Radio/TV/Film from San Jose State and an MA Theology from Western Seminary. Since then, he has served as a pastor in San Diego, South Lake Tahoe, and Santa Cruz.