ANNUAL BUSINESS STAR AWARDS

 

SANTA BARBARA REGION CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Presents Annual Business Star Awards

January 2010

Awards to be presented at the January 29 Annual Lunch

This award is made to a chamber businesswoman, who through her actions is a role model for the local community. Past winners have been: Renee Grubb, Karen Chakel, and 9 others.

Janet began her banking career over 30 years ago with Security Pacific Bank, now Bank of America. She is currently the President of Montecito Bank and Trust. She is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School and holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from California State University Northridge. Garufis is currently working to complete her Ph.D. from the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, UC Santa Barbara. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Santa Barbara Symphony and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Sansum Clinic and a director and officer of the Chamber of Commerce.

Janet is a role model for all academics and business people in demonstrating how expertise from both fields can be practically merged to benefit the community.

This award is made to a chamber businessman, who through his actions is a role model for the local community. Past winners have been: Ed Heron, John Indrieri, Michael Towbes and 50 others. .

Ron Werft is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cottage Health System. The 600-bed Cottage Health System is today the largest private employer in Santa Barbara County, caring for more than 20,000 inpatients each year at its three facilities. Mr. Werft is the driving force behind the nine hundred million dollar construction and seismic retrofit that is in progress at this time. Ron has served as chair of the united way campaign and served for 20 years on the Partners in Education Board.

While serving as President and CEO of both Cottage Health System and the Cottage Foundation, Ron always finds the time to support all important community events and issues.

This award is made to a chamber business member making a significant contribution to the quality of life and economic vitality of the Region. Past winners have been: Montecito Bank and Trust, Tim Marquez Venoco, Yardi Systems, and 50 others.

Randy is everywhere. He is at Grand Openings, movie premieres, ribbon cuttings and birthday parties. He is giving money to Unity Shoppe, Transition House and the Girls Clubs. He attends so many non-profit events that many think he is the Mayor. But he is more than a great community affairs director; he is a great human being. Here is how Matt Kettman of the Independent described one of Randy's "acts of kindness" It was a chance encounter that turned into so much more. One Friday afternoon earlier this year, Randy Weiss, vice president of community relations for Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, happened to walk by Katherine Pinedo, a senior teller at the bank's main branch. Weiss, one of the most forthcoming personalities you'll come across (think fist bumps with everyone he sees), asked Pinedo how her day was. "It would only be better if I had a kidney," she responded, an uncharacteristic reply from her normal self.

Pinedo has been living with lupus, a disease that goes after the body's immune system, since she was six. The disease eventually invaded her kidneys, and shut them down in recent years, forcing Pinedo to undergo dialysis treatments most every day. She also added herself to the organ donor recipient list.

But her answer to Weiss's question that day quickly put an end to her need for an organ transplant. "It was an easy decision," said Weiss, who immediately offered his, and within days went to get tested. He never doubted they'd be a match, and they were. His surgery took place on a Friday, June 12, 2009. Weiss was back to work by Tuesday. The recovery period was longer for Pinedo -she was out until September- but she, too, is now back to full strength and with a brand new kidney. "She's the real hero," said Weiss, who said he hoped their story would break down perceived walls on being a donor. "She's gotten through it, has hope, and has prospered."

 

Innovation: Dr. John Weimann, Vice Chancellor, UCSB, retired.

This award is traditionally presented to an individual who has made a significant innovative contribution to positively impacting our world. Past winners include university chancellors, Nobel laureates, architects, researchers and inventors.

John M. Wiemann (Ph.D., Communication, Purdue University) is the retired Vice Chancellor, Institutional Advancement, and Professor in the Department of Communication at UC Santa Barbara. His areas of research interest include Interpersonal Communication, Communicative Competence, Intercultural Communication, and Dynamics of Interpersonal Relationships. He has been very active in the International Communication Association and the National Communication Association, a member of many journal editorial boards, and a Fulbright-Hays Senior Research Scholar, and winner of the Alpha Chi Omega UCSB Outstanding Professor Award. The Vice Chancellor's Office oversees the division's wide range of programs and activities designed to achieve broad levels of support: "financial, political, and public support" for the goals and priorities of the campus. John is the first Chamber board member accorded lifetime board status.