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2025 Award Recipients will be announced in early 2025
Person of the Year:
Congressman Jimmy Panetta, United States Representative, 19th District
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United States Representative Jimmy Panetta proudly serves California’s 19th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. His diverse and beautiful district stretches from south San Jose in Santa Clara County, over the hills into Santa Cruz County, down the coastline of Monterey County, and into northern San Luis Obispo County. First elected in 2016, he is serving his fifth term in Congress. He currently serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means and House Committee on the Budget. He also serves as a Chief Deputy Whip in the 119th Congress.
During his time in Congress, Representative Panetta has fought for affordable housing, immigration reform, the continued protection of our pristine coastline and environment, accessible health care, our agriculture industry and its farmers and farmworkers, the reduction of gun violence, a fairer tax code, major infrastructure investment, sustainable conservation practices, our military installations that are an integral part in our community and our country’s security, and the deserved and promised benefits to our veterans. |
Business of the Year:
West Coast Community Bank (Formerly Santa Cruz County Bank)
West Coast Community Bank, formerly known as Santa Cruz County Bank and its 1st Capital Bank division, has recently expanded to ten locations - in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. The new name reflects the vibrant and diverse clients and communities they serve. You probably know someone from the Bank, because they’re in your Rotary, they’re volunteering, and they’re serving in committee and leadership roles on local nonprofit boards. In 2024 alone, the Bank’s employees logged more than 3,000 hours of volunteer time. So you can see the importance of having “community” in the new name.
Organization of the Year:
Soquel Creek Water District
Small Business of the Year:
Sante Adairius Rustic Ale
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Sante Adairius Rustic Ales is a small, but daring, brewery located in Santa Cruz County.
We are a brewery founded on respect for quality and authenticity. We focus our attention on producing well-constructed beers with an eye towards simplicity and character. SARA takes liberty in emulating those memorable beers, their brewers, and the experiences they foster, never forgetting those giants on whose shoulders we stand. Owned and operated by Adair Paterno, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales is our attempt to bring people together over great beer. SARA is an expression of our many years of beer geekery, the rabbit hole of tasting every beer we could get our hands on, and trusting we could contribute to the canon of those beers of the highest esteem. We believe great beer comes first. We stay true to our brewing roots. We take seriously the fact that we are brewing for you, and for ourselves. We appreciate your interest in our efforts. Sante! |
Lifetime (Legacy) Award:
Zach Friend, Santa Cruz County Supervisor (2013-2025)
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Zach Friend is a global government affairs, communications and public affairs expert with significant experience crafting and shaping public policy and communications strategies on behalf of executive level business and political leaders.
He has built and led government affairs and communications teams, served as a spokesperson for multiple presidential campaigns and advised executive level business and political leaders on communications strategy, messaging and narrative development. He has extensive experience in crisis communications and speech writing and has acted as a global spokesperson on a multitude of high profile issues. He has counseled startups and Fortune 500 companies in crisis management, government affairs, public policy and messaging. Zach has served at the highest levels of government and has extensive experience shaping and enacting local, state and federal legislation and regulatory policy. He has served in the White House Council of Economic Advisers, U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives and at the local and state level in elected and appointed capacities. For over a decade, Zach served as a county-level elected official in California. He chaired and served in leadership capacities on local, state and national commissions on health care and health access, artificial intelligence (AI), higher education and the University of California system, transportation, technology policy and broadband, criminal justice and law enforcement, environment and land use, California coastal regulatory policy, economic development and the film and television industries. He has extensive experience advocating at, and testifying before, local, state and federal legislative bodies. Zach has a Masters degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University and a BA with Honors in History from the University of California, Santa Cruz. |