2016 Community Awards

Presented by the Aptos Chamber of Commerce

The following individuals and organizations will be honored for their contributions to the community in 2016 at the Aptos Chamber Annual Dinner and Awards Night on Friday, November 4, 2016 at the Seascape Beach Resort. Please call (831) 688-1467 for reservations.

Man of the Year
Steven Allen, Allen Property Group, Inc.

Woman of the Year
Kate Minott, Santa Cruz County Parks

Small Business of the Year
Kiss Catering

Sustainable Business of the Year
S. Martinelli’s Co.

Organization of the Year
Friends Cure Cystic Fibrosis

Lifetime Achievement
Sam Farr

Community Heroes
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department & California Highway Patrol

Outstanding Achievement
Aptos Mural Committee

•••

Man of the Year
Steven Allen

Steve Allen is a third generation resident of Santa Cruz County who graduated from Aptos High School in 1992, Cabrillo College in 1994 and California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo in 1997. His career in Real Estate began with Grubb & Ellis Company in San Francisco. He was a top-producing agent at Coldwell Banker for 10 years before forming the Allen Property Group in 2008. In 2009 he was voted Realtor of the Year. He served as a board member for the California Association of Realtors from 2008 until 2015 and as the President of the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors in 2010. Currently his firm manages over 450 rental units including the Rio Sands Hotel in Aptos, the Venetian Hotel in Capitola, and three hotels in Morro Bay with the Allen Property Group named the Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce 2015 Business of the Year.

Steve’s activities include board member of Visit Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz County Business Council, Dominican Hospital Foundation, and the Santa Cruz, Aptos and Pajaro Valley Chambers of Commerce.

The many accomplishments Steve has include a Community Enhancement Award in 2012 for his work in remodeling the Rio Sands and in 2014 for playing a pivotal role in implementing the Aptos railroad trestle murals. He has also provided the unofficial home of the Rio del Mar Improvement Association for over a decade.

Steve lives in Seascape with his wife Amanda and three children, Sophie, Gavin and Derek.

Woman of the Year
Kate Minott

Kate Minott is very effective public parks and land use law activist in the Aptos community. A fifth generation Californian and third generation Aptos resident, Kate earned her B.A. in Psychology from UCSC. While completing her Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from San José State University, Kate traveled and studied historic urban and recreational park policy and design in China, Cuba, Europe and Canada.

Kate was appointed by SC County Supervisor Zach Friend to continue advocating for Santa Cruz County parks on the SC County Parks and Recreation Commission, a Commission on which Kate has served since 2000.

During the late 1990s, Kate organized a coalition of Aptos neighborhoods to form Seacliff Needs A Park, a bi-partisan campaign that resulted in the construction of the wildly popular Seacliff Village Neighborhood Park.

Along with the Neighborhood Park campaign and at the direction of the SC Planning Commission, Kate and her Seacliff neighbors formed the Seacliff Village Plan Committee. Approved by the Coastal Commission in 2003, elements of the Seacliff Village Plan will begin construction in 2017.

Kate is a member of the American Planning Association and currently serves as President of the non-profit, Friends of Santa Cruz County Parks. Kate lives in Seacliff.

Business of the Year
Kiss Catering

Scott & Sandy Dexel have owned and operated Kiss Catering since 2001. They give back to the community several times a year with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Regatta fundraiser, job fairs at Capitola and Santa Cruz, the Leukemia Cup benefit, the Jane benefit for battered woman, contributions to the Aptos History Museum and the “Worlds Shortest Parade” Pancake Breakfast.

Kiss offers excellent catering; “We think our detail to service and making food delicious, like our homemade soups, sauces, grilled meats, appetizers, and our freshly baked desserts help set us apart from the competition,” say the Dexels.

Sustainable Business of the Year
S. Martinelli’s & Company

S. Martinelli & Company has been in business for 148 years in Watsonville, California. Since Martinelli’s first gold medal in 1890, the company has received more than fifty gold medals for product excellence at state, national and international expositions. Distribution of Martinelli’s gold medal products are sold in every state in the US and in several other countries in North and South America, the Caribbean, Asia, and the Middle East.

Organization of the Year
Friends for Cystic Fibrosis

Friends Cure CF found its beginnings in 1998 because Danny & Sydney Altano’s first daughter, Gianna, had Cystic Fibrosis. As they dealt with the realities of the disease, they realized that there was not enough money being directed to research on CF. Together with a group of close friends, they started a BBQ booth after the 4th of July parade in Aptos. The money raised by that BBQ, and many after, went to Cystic Fibrosis Research Inc. (CFRI), a primary agency working to find a cure for CF.

Many with CF cannot afford the hospital visits, medications, and other costs, and so their lives are put in jeopardy. In 2012, Friends Cure CF partnered with The Living Breath Foundation that helps the local CF community with expenses that they otherwise could not afford.

Friends Cure CF helps others through their “Surfs Up” dinner and auction each year. Between 10 years of BBQ’s and 8 years of their “Surf’s Up” dinner, this group has raised almost half a million dollars for research and financial assistance for children and young adults with this disease.

When Gianna passed away one day after her 23rd birthday while waiting for a double lung transplant, the Altano’s learned the need for funding memorial services and celebrations of life. The Friends Cure CF group also promotes awareness of the importance of organ donation as part of their program. Breathe Easy!

Lifetime Achievement
Sam Farr

Congressman Sam Farr has represented California’s Central Coast for 23 years in Congress. On November 12, 2015, he announced his retirement from Congress after the 2016 elections.

He first entered public service in 1964 as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia. During his career in public service at the local, state, and federal level spanning over five decades, Sam has been an advocate for California agriculture, a champion of the oceans, and authored legislation to establish Pinnacles National Park.

First elected to Congress in 1993, Sam Farr serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, is the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Food and Drug Administration, and is the longest serving Democrat on the Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. He also serves on the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch.

Prior to serving in Congress, Sam Farr was in the California State Assembly for twelve years and spent six years as Monterey County Supervisor. He graduated from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, attended the Monterey Institute of International Studies and the University of Santa Clara. Sam was raised in Carmel, California, is married to Shary Baldwin Farr. The Farrs have one daughter and two grandchildren.

Community Heroes
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department & California Highway Patrol

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has a proud history of aggressively attacking crime in a proactive, timely, and sensitive manner. Their mission is to ensure public safety in Santa Cruz County through open communication and collaboration with the community as well as continuous professional development of staff to address crime and promote innovative corrections solutions.

The California Highway Patrol of Santa Cruz Area strives to provide the highest level of safety, service and security to the community, protecting hundreds of thousands of residents, commuters, and tourists along the Northern Monterey Bay. The California Highway Patrol offers a number of traffic safety programs and services aimed at keeping all of us safe on our roads and highways.

Outstanding Achievement
Aptos Community Mural Committee

The Aptos Mural Project was a community beautification project funded and supported by local businesses: the mural itself was painted by local artist Arturo Thomae. The committee, spearheaded by Marry Russell, Steve Allen, and John Hibble, was able to raise the necessary funds to beautify, preserve and showcase the history of Aptos through this original and enduring work of art.