On Jan. 26, more than 200 people attended Junior Achievement of Northern California’s 19th annual Monterey Bay Business Hall of Fame at the Inn at Spanish Bay, Pebble Beach, honoring Morty Cohen, Sandi Eason, Tom Gray and Gayle Ortiz.
Honorees are selected based on accomplishments in business excellence, courageous thinking and actions, vision and innovation, inspirational leadership, and philanthropy.
Erin Clark, co-anchor of KSBW-TV, was emcee.
Meet the honorees:
Gayle Ortiz
co-founder and co-owner, Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria (Capitola)
She learned the art of baking while working in the restaurant business in Santa Cruz. After studying with mentors in the San Francisco Bay Area and learning from master bakers in Europe, she began a home-based croissant business in the 1970s.
In 1978, she and her husband Joe decided to open a small bakery nestled above the quaint little village of Capitola.
It began with 800 square feet, serving 10 items. Five years later, the Rosticceria, an Italian deli with a beautiful rotisserie was added. Today, Gayle’s Bakery is a thriving 10,000-square-foot food emporium with two successful cookbooks and 180 employees.
It is a landmark business and community hub, having served generations of Capitola community members and visitors. Gayle is a community leader in Capitola, having served on the board for the Capitola Historical Museum, the Planning Commission, and the Capitola City Council (including a term as mayor). She played a vital role in raising the funds for the beautiful new Capitola Branch Library.
As campaign chair, her efforts secured more than $500,000 needed to complete the project. She has supported the Community Foundation for Santa Cruz County, Friends of the Foundation Fund.
She lives in Capitola with her husband and business partner, Joe.
Morty Cohen
founder and CEO, SunRidge Farms (Royal Oaks)
He grew up in New Mexico. From the age of 5 and through his high school years, he worked in his family’s retail drug store chain business, where he first developed an interest in business and entrepreneurship.
The seeds of SunRidge Farms were sown in the early 80s, while Mr. Cohen worked as manager at Staff of Life, a natural foods retailer in Santa Cruz. He lived on and co-owned an organic fruit farm, selling produce throughout the country. In 1982, Mr. Cohen co-founded an organic and natural food distributing company named Falcon Trading Company, Inc.
The business was launched from his home garage, using the family station wagon for deliveries to stores throughout the Bay Area. In 1985, he created the brand SunRidge Farms, and Falcon Trading became both a manufacturer and distributor.
The first SunRidge products were trail mixes, made and mixed in his home kitchen. Today SunRidge Farms manufactures and distributes high quality organic fruits, nuts and snack mixes sold in major retail chains throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The company operates a 200,000-square-foot home facility in Royal Oaks.
Sandi Eason
COO, Pacific Valley Bank (Salinas)
She is a banker with a career of 40+ years. She joined Pacific Valley Bank in 2020 as executive vice president and chief operating officer. She spent 29 years with Wells Fargo before becoming president and CEO at Coast Commercial Bank.
A fourth-generation resident of the Monterey Peninsula and graduate of Pacific Grove High School, she has a lifelong connection with the Monterey Bay Region. She recently retired after 9 years on the board of United Way Monterey County, the last two years as board chair.
She is in her sixth year on the board and third year as president of IMPOWER, a Monterey County organization supporting women’s initiatives and scholarships.
Sandi is on the executive board of The Living Breath Foundation, providing financial support to those living with Cystic Fibrosis.
She was recognized in 2023 as a National Volunteer ‘hero’ for JDRF, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, for her work over 20 years. Sandi was honored this past November at the National Philanthropy luncheon for her work on the United Way Monterey County Board.
She currently serves on the Board of Monterey Bay Economic Partnership. Previously she was on the Board of Councilors, Division of Social Sciences for UC Santa Cruz, the board of Second Harvest Food Bank co-chairing the Holiday Food Drive twice, United Way of Santa Cruz County and many other local nonprofits. She has three adult children, all graduates of Pacific Grove High School, and four energizing grandchildren.
She lives in Carmel Valley with her spouse, Kat.
Tom Gray
real estate developer, conservationist and philanthropist, Santa Lucia Preserve (Carmel Valley)
He is co-founder of the Santa Lucia Conservancy. He and his late partner Peter Stocker first saw the land that would become the Santa Lucia Preserve in February 1989, envisioning a conservation community of private homes and protected land. Before his preservation work, he was a senior executive at Wells Fargo & Co. and ran two of Wells Fargo’s real estate subsidiaries.
He was the managing principal partner in developing the Santa Lucia Preserve community. Beginning in 1990, he led the transformation of the historic Rancho San Carlos into the “Santa Lucia Preserve” a development where 297 private home-sites are interwoven throughout 20,000 acres of open space, 90% of which is protected in perpetuity through the Santa Lucia Conservancy, which was endowed with $25 million from the developer.
He was a member of the CSU Monterey Bay President’s Council and led the capital campaign for the university’s Chapman Science Academic Center, the first new building erected on the campus. He is past board chair of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monterey County. His work helped establish conservation and environmental education programs through the Preserve, which are offered free to local schools and nonprofits.
Tom and his wife, Alayna, live at the Santa Lucia Preserve.
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About 20 students from Watsonville attended as part of their participation in JA’s high school entrepreneurship programs. One student-run company, “Rosever,” makes and sells “forever” flower bouquets made from satin ribbon. During the networking hour, attendees bought out their entire inventory.
“This event celebrates the very best of our local business community while directly inspiring and empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs and community leaders, our JA students,” said JA NorCal CEO Cristene Burr.
Top Photo (from left): Gayle Ortiz, Tom Gray, Sandi Eason, and Morty Cohen • Photo Credit: Tatiana Scher Photography, Carmel