The Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture will host its 61st annual awards dinner and auction on Friday, July 29, at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville.
Doors open at 4 p.m. For tickets, see pajarovalleychamber.com/2023-annual-awards-dinner/
Here are the honorees:
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Man of the Year
Dana Sales
Dana was the first person of Filipino heritage to be elected to public office in the history of Santa Cruz County, serving on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District board for seven years.
He was president of both school boards multiple times.
He has been a local realtor for 33 years and has been president of the Watsonville Board of Realtors and the Pajaro Valley Association of Realtors. He was recognized twice as Realtor of the Year.
He was founding president of the Pajaro Valley Jaycees, which ran the Watsonville Fourth of July Parade for 15 years.
He was the founding board president of the Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance for the first 10 years and chairman of the board of directors of Bay Federal Credit Union for three years.
Born and raised in the Pajaro Valley, Dana attended local public schools. At Watsonville High, he was on the track and field team, in the percussion section of the Watsonville Wildcatz band and elected Student Body vice president his senior year.
He received a congressional appointment from Shirley Chisholm of New York and attended the U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, where he participated in intramural track and squash. He also was in the Academy’s Drum and Bugle Corps.
Returning to Watsonville, he has been actively serving the Pajaro Valley for 43 years.
Dana has been on the boards of the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Watsonville Red Cross, the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County, and the Advisory Board of the Watsonville Salvation Army. He served on update committees of the City of Watsonville’s General Plan and on the Watsonville Planning Commission.
For 20 years, Dana has been the bilingual choir director and lead cantor for Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church.
He chaired the Education and Ambassadors Committees of the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Dana currently is on the board of the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors.
Dana and his wife, Lynn, have been part of the Watsonville Community band for 27+ years. He been president of the band, master of ceremonies and announcer. Dana also has been a member of the Pacific Brass Band and the Thirsty Nine German Band.
Dana has provided leadership and positive energy to all of these organizations, with enthusiasm and a “can-do” attitude. He is a self-starter with an indomitable spirit who encourages and motivates others to follow his example.
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Woman of the Year
Trina Coffman-Gomez
Trina Coffman-Gomez has a long history of leadership in the Pajaro Valley.
When she and her husband Tony raised their two children, she chaired the Watsonville High Grad Night for over 10 years, making the event an all-night flurry of games, activities, food and a safe place to celebrate with friends.
She has been an active Freedom Rotarian for over a decade and is serving for the second time as president. During her tenure , the club has nearly doubled in members, enabling the club to meet more community needs. Freedom Rotary sponsored its inaugural “Uncork Corralitos” event in October which had 400 people at Aladdin Nursery for an afternoon of enjoying local wines and beer. In partnership with K&D Landscaping, funds raised provided a play structure for Pajaro Valley Shelter Services. Trina is working behind the scenes with Rotary to help with Pajaro relief efforts.
As advisory board chair for the Salvation Army, Trina inspired donations at the Red Kettle Kick-Off luncheon to exceed their goal by $26,000.
Trina has done a remarkable job in her many leadership roles. She has served as a city planning commissioner, councilwoman for eight years and founding board member for Central Coast Community Energy. She has been a commissioner for the Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission, AMBAG, the Santa Cruz Metro. During her time as president of the Pajaro Valley Arts Council, Trina helped negotiate and coordinate the purchase of the Porter Building so the Watsonville community will have the long-term benefit of the arts. An artist, she loves to work with glass and wood. She has donated her handmade pieces to many different nonprofits. Trina’s commitment to the Pajaro Valley has been ongoing for decades and the future of the community will continue to be touched by her dedication.
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Lifetime Achievement
Guy George
Determination, drive, strong character and a love of the Pajaro Valley are just a few of the traits that earned Guy George the title of 2023 Lifetime Achievement from the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture. Guy has been a mentor a friend to so many young farmers through the years. He continues to actively farm in his 90s.
Guy served in the United States Navy, working as an aviation mechanic. Upon returning to Watsonville, he attended and graduated from San Jose State with a degree in business. The love of farming stayed strong during his college years and he began farming strawberries and fruit trees with his father.
In the 1960s, Guy sold cabbage under his own label, “King George,” delivering to wholesale markets in the Bay Area. For 20 years, he farmed cabbage and lettuces on the George Braycovich property and another 25 years farming vegetables on many individual properties throughout the Pajaro Valley. In the 1980s he turned to growing blackberries and strawberries and became a grower for Driscoll’s in 1998. He then formed an LLC known as Rancho Alitos and continues to grow strawberries and blackberries.
He serves on the Board of Directors for the Agricultural History Project where he volunteers many hours per week. He actively supports the Santa Cruz County Fair and the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau. In 2022, Guy was named the Farmer of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau. Even with a busy schedule of working and volunteering, Guy still finds time to spend on the slopes skiing several times per year.
Guy’s legacy can be found everywhere in the Pajaro Valley through the many farmers he has mentored along the way. He has been there to help during the good times and bad.
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Business of the Year
El Vaquero Winery
El Vaquero is a family-owned and -operated winery in Corralitos that specializes in producing small lot single vineyard designate wines from Corralitos, Santa Cruz Mountains, and neighboring appellations.
Daughter Alex took over as winemaker in 2015. Alex began making wine and working in the vineyard in 2013 while apprenticing under Mikael Wargin of Wargin Wines. Alex’s intuitive sense for wines and vines makes her integral to all facets of the business.
El Vaquero’s 2018 Merlot was given a score of 93 and awarded a Gold in the Los Angeles Invitational Wine and Spirits Challenge. El Vaquero also was awarded two double gold medals in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Their 2019 “One-Eyed Charlie” carignan earned double gold in the carignan/carignane category and its 2018 cabernet franc won in the cabernet franc $30-$39.99 category.
Bob and Dean’s son, Danny, joined the team in 2021. When anything isn’t running smoothly, it is his job to work with the team to come up with solutions.
Besides making wine, El Vaquero has become a lively part of the community, with trivia nights each Thursday, and live music on weekends.
Bob Prikazsky is an active member of the Freedom Rotary Club, hosting club meetings at the winery every other week. He was an integral part of planning the October “Uncork Corralitos” event, which funded a playground structure for Pajaro Valley Shelter Services.
They hosted two fundraisers for people in Ukraine, supporting World Central Kitchen and later, “Keep the Lights On in Ukraine” to provide generators for those without power in Ukraine. They have also held several fundraisers featuring the Alex Lucero & the Live Again Band, benefits for the Sand Bar in Capitola, devastated during recent storms. Project Purr, Birchbark Foundation and the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter have also been recipients of their fundraising generosity.
They have also donated their wine to many local organizations for auction or raffle.
El Vaquero has been the venue (free of charge) for: The Ruben Mejia Annual STEM Scholarship, the Fireman Scholarship – in honor of Bobbi Jo Palmer’s husband, Community Music School of Santa Cruz and Seniors with Dementia.
El Vaquero Winery is an outstanding example of a family working to bring the community together, create a fun atmosphere and give back in a positive way.
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Organization of the Year
Casa de la Cultura Center
Casa de la Cultura Center is a high-impact, grassroots organization which was founded in 1989 by Executive Director Sister Rosa Dolores Rodriguez. It is a heart that beats for the farm-working community, and is a hospital for the sick, a pantry for the hungry, and a haven for the weary.
Casa de la Cultura Center offers classes on literacy, music, computers, ESL, nutrition, cooking, sewing, and much more.
There are free clinics run by culturally competent practitioners offering general care, diabetes treatment, counseling, acupuncture, and Healing Touch. Their “Casita de Salud” program offers health education and screenings in the fields and community.
Casa de la Cultura also offers free fresh, healthy food to the harvesting community, as well as emergency financial assistance for rent, utilities, and other basic needs to families who are constantly working hard to be self-sufficient. Their clients sustain the berry, lettuce, grapes, celery, broccoli and artichoke industries in this region, and they are responsible for harvesting crops that reach all of our tables.
Casa de la Cultura Center provides emergency assistance to families who have been impacted by an expensive housing market, the pandemic, fires and most recently residents who have lost so much during the flooding in Pajaro.
Each year they organize Casa de la Cultura Center Christmas Posada, where businesses and community members come together to donate toys, food, and celebrate the wonderful and valuable community of Pajaro.
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When Sister Rosa was growing up, her family traveled to and from California as migrant workers. In 1966, she joined the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. In 1989, Sister Rosa responded to a call to serve the people of Pajaro after the Loma Prieta earthquake.
Sister Rosa began community organizing around infrastructure improvements and offering skills training to women in the community.
“I want others to be proud of who they are,” Sister Rosa said. “Their culture, their language, and to live their lives to the fullest.”
Learn more: casadelaculturacenter.org
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Event of the Year
Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Foundation Crab Feed
On March 4, the J.J. Crosetti Hall at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds was a flurry of folks eager to get together at the 19th Annual Crab Feed. After two years of the event being a drive-through, it went back to a live event, bringing smiling faces together.
More than 450 guests enjoyed all you can eat fresh crab, BBQ chicken, tossed green salad, garlic bread and clam chowder. This is an all-volunteer event with the same team working together to bring this awesome event to fruition each year. Renee Mello, chair of this year’s event, gives credit to the many volunteers who made this event a huge success.