Annual Community Recognition Gala
Community Leaders Giving Back to Santa Cruz County
March 24, 2022
Cocoanut Grove
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Please check back later for more information on our 2022 Community Recognition Gala.
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2021 Gala Recognition Award Dinner - A Splashing Success
Earlier in the year, during a wet and windy evening, the Santa Cruz County Chamber pulled off an in-person/virtual Gala Award Recognition Dinner at the Dream Inn. The weather necessitated additional safety procedures to re-imagine an annual event that has been the highlight of the Santa Cruz County business community for over 100 years.
As they say in show biz, “the show must go on,” so neither wind nor rain nor a blistering night would detour the Chamber from holding this event. Our Chamber Board and ad-hoc gala planning committee took time, talent and treasure to put together a safe, healthy and socially distanced event to showcase some truly amazing community leaders. The Class of 2020 is the highest caliber that reflects the best of the best in Santa Cruz County. What a year to be at the front lines of the pandemic and a wildfire. Our first responders, firefighters, law enforcement officers, nurses, doctors, medical service assistants, retail workers, our grocery store clerks, restaurant servers and cooks, our ag workers in the fields, teachers and all the unsung heroes — doing 24-hour, 7-day shifts — day in and day out — for over a year, deserved to be recognized. The community service organizations and non-profit groups that tirelessly rose up to the challenge ensuring there were financial resources available to feed the needy, re-build and help our community weather the health risks, the fires and an economic storm. We gave a shout out to our financial institutions that allowed 100s if not 1000s of businesses and individuals to get the financial support they needed.
I kicked off the event with reflective comments about the challenges of being SANTA CRUZ STRONG during a pandemic. There is not one person that I know who hasn’t been touched by the pains of COVID-19. For me, the challenges turned to opportunities as we rolled up our sleeves and found innovative ways to work with a dedicated board of directors and our staff. The pandemic made the Chamber shift our work plan. We focused first and foremost on helping each other. We put our bread and butter events and connecting people to people on the back burner. No networking events, no lunch time talk series, no Business after Hours and our showcase events like our annual Business Expo, the Forks, Corks and Kegs community party and the annual Community Leadership Visit were all put on hold. Our membership recruitment and retention took a hard hit too.
But on Thursday evening, we honored them as members of a long list of visionaries, leaders, investors, healers and risk-takers. Collectively their work has shaped both what Santa Cruz County is today and creates the launching pad for what we will become tomorrow. Here are the 2020 honorees:
• Susan True, Chief Executive Officer, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County
• Chris Clark, the Chief Deputy of Operations for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office
• Ian Larkin, Chief, CALFire
• Dignity Health/Dominican Hospital
• Kaiser Permanente
• Sutter Health and Palo Alto Medical Foundation
• Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds/Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Foundation/Ag History Project
• Gail Pellerin, Santa Cruz County Election Officer (retired)
The event was a success because of the resilience of the community. Many of our honorees accepted their award not because of their leadership but rather because of the people, colleagues and associates that they work with daily.
Last Thursday — for the first time in over a year — we safely gathered to celebrate. The energy at the Dream Inn was amazing as DJ Peter Pop was spinning songs on the pool deck as people sang and danced and thoroughly enjoyed the event from the safety of their hotel balconies.
As the evening’s formal presentation concluded, the celebration continued as the DJ played song after song well into the night. In closing, I am very proud of the Chamber, our Board members and the community who came together to celebrate. In a word, like the Golden State Warriors, the Chamber has our own Splash Brothers who made the final hour of the event something that can only be defined as a cannonball splashing success.
As they say in show biz, “the show must go on,” so neither wind nor rain nor a blistering night would detour the Chamber from holding this event. Our Chamber Board and ad-hoc gala planning committee took time, talent and treasure to put together a safe, healthy and socially distanced event to showcase some truly amazing community leaders. The Class of 2020 is the highest caliber that reflects the best of the best in Santa Cruz County. What a year to be at the front lines of the pandemic and a wildfire. Our first responders, firefighters, law enforcement officers, nurses, doctors, medical service assistants, retail workers, our grocery store clerks, restaurant servers and cooks, our ag workers in the fields, teachers and all the unsung heroes — doing 24-hour, 7-day shifts — day in and day out — for over a year, deserved to be recognized. The community service organizations and non-profit groups that tirelessly rose up to the challenge ensuring there were financial resources available to feed the needy, re-build and help our community weather the health risks, the fires and an economic storm. We gave a shout out to our financial institutions that allowed 100s if not 1000s of businesses and individuals to get the financial support they needed.
I kicked off the event with reflective comments about the challenges of being SANTA CRUZ STRONG during a pandemic. There is not one person that I know who hasn’t been touched by the pains of COVID-19. For me, the challenges turned to opportunities as we rolled up our sleeves and found innovative ways to work with a dedicated board of directors and our staff. The pandemic made the Chamber shift our work plan. We focused first and foremost on helping each other. We put our bread and butter events and connecting people to people on the back burner. No networking events, no lunch time talk series, no Business after Hours and our showcase events like our annual Business Expo, the Forks, Corks and Kegs community party and the annual Community Leadership Visit were all put on hold. Our membership recruitment and retention took a hard hit too.
But on Thursday evening, we honored them as members of a long list of visionaries, leaders, investors, healers and risk-takers. Collectively their work has shaped both what Santa Cruz County is today and creates the launching pad for what we will become tomorrow. Here are the 2020 honorees:
• Susan True, Chief Executive Officer, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County
• Chris Clark, the Chief Deputy of Operations for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office
• Ian Larkin, Chief, CALFire
• Dignity Health/Dominican Hospital
• Kaiser Permanente
• Sutter Health and Palo Alto Medical Foundation
• Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds/Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Foundation/Ag History Project
• Gail Pellerin, Santa Cruz County Election Officer (retired)
The event was a success because of the resilience of the community. Many of our honorees accepted their award not because of their leadership but rather because of the people, colleagues and associates that they work with daily.
Last Thursday — for the first time in over a year — we safely gathered to celebrate. The energy at the Dream Inn was amazing as DJ Peter Pop was spinning songs on the pool deck as people sang and danced and thoroughly enjoyed the event from the safety of their hotel balconies.
As the evening’s formal presentation concluded, the celebration continued as the DJ played song after song well into the night. In closing, I am very proud of the Chamber, our Board members and the community who came together to celebrate. In a word, like the Golden State Warriors, the Chamber has our own Splash Brothers who made the final hour of the event something that can only be defined as a cannonball splashing success.