National Agriculture Day Spring Luncheon

A record crowd attended the National Agriculture Spring Luncheon held Wednesday, March 16 at the Santa Cruz County Fair Heritage Hall in Watsonville. The Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau and the educational organization Agri-Culture coordinate the annual event. At the luncheon, the 2016 Al Smith Friend of Agriculture award was presented to the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County for its strong support of local agriculture. The award was announced by Ceil Cirillo was the 2015 award recipient.

2016 Al Smith Friend of Agriculture

This award is named after Al Smith who was the founder of Orchard Supply Hardware and who donated 3,000 acres (Swanton Pacific Ranch) on our north coast to Cal Poly. The ranch has row crops, timber and even a one-third-scale railroad, which was Al’s hobby. The award is on a piece of redwood with a train depicted on it. It is presented annually to an individual, business or organization not involved in production agriculture but has done much for the industry.

Jimmie Cox Memorial Scholarship

The 2016 Recipient was announced and presented by John Pisturino, Vice-President, Agri-Culture. This year’s recipient of the 2016 Jimmie Cox Memorial Scholarship is Maya Capurro-Frosch. She is currently a senior year at Aptos High School where she is team captain of both the Varsity Golf and Basketball teams. She has received the “Distinguished Student Award” for the Social Studies Department, and received the AP Scholar Award.

Maya was accepted into four different universities, and it appears that she has selected California Polytechnic State University — San Luis Obispo, where she will be pursuing a career in Agricultural Business.

2016 National Ag Day Poster and Poetry Contests

Also presented at the luncheon were the winners of the 2016 National Ag Day Poster and Poetry Contests. Quinn Porterfield, from Mission Hill Middle School in Santa Cruz, won the poster contest. Joel Burchell, from Creekside School in Santa Cruz, won the Poetry Contest and read his poem at the event.

Master of Ceremonies for the event was Farm Bureau President David Van Lennep. Lance Linares, CEO, Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, was the featured speaker, speaking on the topic of “Growing Now, Giving Forever — Agriculture: Invested in the Community”

Other notables in attendance include County Supervisor Zach Friend; Driscoll’s President Miles Reiter; California Certified Organic Farmers Executive Director Cathy Calfo; Bill Codiga; City of Watsonville Mayor Felipe Hernandez and Scotts Valley Councilmember Stephany Aguilar.

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2016 Contest Winners:
 National Agriculture Day

Poetry Contest Winners
1st Place and Overall Winner
Joel Burchell
8th Grade, Creekside School, 
Santa Cruz “A Santa Cruz County Bee”

2nd Place
Kaitlyn Rivera
7th Grade, Monte Vista Christian School, Watsonville (MVCS) “Santa Cruz County Berries”

3rd Place
Erik Lauta
7th Grade, MVCS “Pajaro Valley’s Berries’’

Honorable Mention
Kevin Galloway, 7th Grade MVCS • Lucas Corum, 7th Grade MVCS • Gregory James Feeney, 11th Grade St. Francis Catholic High School, 
Watsonville • Analise Porta, 7th Grade MVCS

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Poster Contest Winners
1st Place
Quinn Porterfield
6th Grade Mission Hill Middle School, Santa Cruz

2nd Place
Coral Pardoe
5th Grade Santa Cruz Waldorf School, Santa Cruz

3rd Place
Gabriel Rodriguez
4th Grade Radcliff Elementary School, Watsonville

Honorable Mention
Anthony Toriz, 3rd Grade Linscott Charter School, Watsonville • Gustavo Gutierrez, 5th Grade Calabasas Elementary School, Watsonville • Jennifer Montanez, 3rd Grade Linscott Charter School • Miette Kealey, 5th Grade Santa Cruz Waldorf School • Niko Contraras, 3rd Grade Linscott Charter School • Raquel Arrizon, 5th Grade Moreland Notre Dame, Watsonville