The night was heavy and dark, but the 300 people attending the 89th Annual Installation and Awards Dinner at Elks Lodge No. 1538 could see nothing but the shining lights of the three award recipients on Aug. 13. The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor & Convention Bureau—along with major sponsor BreitBurn Energy—ignited attention for the new incoming board members and three recipients of special community awards.
The dinner is an annual event, held specifically to celebrate the Chamber’s success, reflect on the achievements of the past year, look forward to the year ahead, and honor the contributions of the business community.
“There were three choices for dinner: rib eye steak, chicken breast, and vegetable lasagna. Cheesecake was for dessert,” said Marcy Lariz, marketing and event coordinator for the Santa Maria Chamber of Commerce. Before the awards were presented, attendees were treated to a delicious dinner, coupled with entertainment by Pete Ruiz.
The fun continued throughout the evening with remarks given by Brooks Wise, the past chamber president for 2007-2008; Robert Hatch, chamber president and CEO; and Rob Buchanan, 2008-2009 chairman.
“Our new board member Rob Buchanan did this whole thing with sports. He bought all these sports hats and kept changing the hats depending on which person he was talking about. It was very funny,” Lariz said.
Receiving the Robert F. Grogan Award for Public Service was John Everett from Allstate Insurance. Twenty-six years ago, Everett opened his Allstate Insurance Agency in Santa Maria. He still finds time to be involved in the community: He’s on the executive board of directors of the Los Padres Council Boy Scouts of America, and is chairman of the Live Oak District. He is a founding member of both Young Educated Latino Leaders and the Future Leaders of the Central Coast.
The list doesn’t end there. Everett has many more accomplishments, including being recognized as the 2002 Hispanic Business Man of the Year and various titles and awards given by Allstate Insurance. Amazingly, he still has time for his hobbies, which include scuba diving, boating, camping, and hiking.
Toyota of Santa Maria was awarded Business of the Year. For twelve years, they’ve been named the Number One Volume New and Used Toyota Dealer in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties by Toyota Motor Sales, USA. Along with their accomplishments, they’ve managed to get involved with St. Joseph High School’s annual fundraising efforts by donating automobiles for raffles. Their generosity expands to include local youth organizations and community events.
The Elks Lodge itself was awarded Citizen of the Year. The Santa Maria Elks Lodge is dedicated to helping youth in the community, which they do by sponsoring bands, sports teams, school programs, local charities, veterans, scouting programs, and senior organizations. Along with the sponsorships, the lodge also gives out thousands of dollars of scholarships to the community.
The other highlight of the night was the installation of the new board members—and recognition of leaders past.
“There were two new members installed and three outgoing members,” Lariz said.
As for next year? It hasn’t escaped anyone’s attention that 2009 will mark the 90th year of the Annual Installation and Awards Dinner.
“I’m sure we will do something different. We’ve been doing a patriotic theme for the past three years, but we want to change it up next year,” Lariz said.
This week’s Community Corner was compiled by Intern Kathryn Leedom. Items for consideration should be sent to mail@santamarisaun.com.
This article appears in Aug 21-28, 2008.