HELEN ANN THOMAS

Here’s the lowdown on the hoedown: It was hobnobbing with the hounds, and it was a hoot and a half.  Santa Maria’s celebrity canine, Targa, the Santa Maria Police Department’s new K-9 Unit police dog, made a guest appearance with her handler, Officer Steve Flick and Sgt. Duane Schneider.  The handsome black shepherd—trained in Germany—knows […]

Christmas in July” was a for-real event for a number of North County nonprofits. Filling in for Santa Claus, noontime Altrusa—also known as Altrusa of the Central Coast—gave away close to $30,000 on July 28 at 6 p.m. in the library’s Shepard Hall. Grants ranging in size from $500 to $1,500 were handed out after […]

It’s official. It’s on the way. Several years in the planning, a Santa Maria Valley Native Plant Garden is about to be installed—not all at once—around the Natural History Museum, the historic Hart House, on McClelland Street, across from the library. On Saturday afternoon, July 19, more than 40 museum board members, donors, docents, volunteers, […]

The Santa Maria Historical Society wants to make history. They will do this by initiating a brand new signature event—an All American Antiques Show—to be held Saturday, Nov. 1, at where else but the Historic Santa Maria Inn. Historical Society Board President Jim Zemaitis and Historical Society Museum Executive Director Cindy Ransick recruited Christine Gerber […]

Some things are like Topsy Turvy tomato plants—they just grow and grow and grow.  One such thing that has definitely grown is the Daniel Johnson Memorial Golf Tournament, held at the Santa Maria Country Club. This year’s tournament—the fourth annual—took place on Monday, June 16. “We had 128 golfers,” Country Club golf pro Mike Valdez […]

Some very happy hobnobbing took place on Thursday afternoon, May 29, at the poolside Cabana Room of the Santa Maria Inn. About 75 people, including prominent local educators, gathered at a reception held by the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara County. The reception at the inn immediately followed a scholarship awards ceremony at the First […]

Talented—and gutsy—Santa Marians sang, danced, and played musical instruments at the fifth annual Santa Maria Has Talent contest sponsored by the Rotary Club of Santa Maria South. Getting up on stage and performing can be scary and daunting, but a slew of contestants of all ages pulled it off in a three-day event held on […]

Hip hip hooray for the SMVHS Runway!  SMVHS is the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society, whose annual fashion show fundraiser, a “Four-Legged Affair,” was—dare I say it?—a howling success.  Yes, there were cute dogs strutting down the runway, their tails wagging like flags in a high wind.  And, yes, there were two-legged models, like former […]

Wow! Can you imagine raising more than $15,000 in less than 30 minutes? CALM—a local organization that deals with child abuse—did just that on April 3 at the Santa Maria Country Club from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The money raised came from on-the-spot donations, not from bids on auction items. “Ladies Get Loud for CALM” […]

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay! My, oh my, what a wonderful day!” These lyrics (from Disney’s Song of the South) perfectly describe the ninth annual “Fashion in Aktion” fashion show fundraiser held on Sunday afternoon, March 23, at the Veterans Memorial Hall in Santa Maria. This popular event was a roaring success, with sponsors galore, all tables full, […]

And the award goes to …  That wasn’t exactly the patter at the Women of Excellence Awards held on March 5 at the Santa Maria Inn, but you get the idea. Eleven women with outstanding personal and professional achievements had been nominated. This is a highly anticipated annual Women’s Network event.  Choosing four awardees is […]

The place was packed. Packed, I tell you! Apparently, no one wanted to miss the 11th annual OCAF Gala held on Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Santa Maria Country Club. Perhaps because the gala presented a tribute to the late Nat Fast, a beloved community artist, I did not see an empty seat at the […]