July 1st, 2010
The SLO Symphony team, Executive Director Brian Hermanson, John Baer, Music Director Michael Nowak and Music Education Director Andrea Stoner
Former talk show host Jenny Jones is no stranger to the Central Coast. She performed in SLO years ago as a standup comedienne on stage at the old William Randolph’s (now Holiday Inn Express). Her path crossed ours again recently when her “Jenny’s Heroes” Foundation surprised Arroyo Grande resident John Baer with a phone call and great news: a $4,000 grant to fund instruments for the SLO Symphony’s Music Van. The van travels the county to expose kids to the hands-on fun of music. Baer is a devoted Symphony volunteer … John Ewan and his team at Pacific Energy help with the juice that
Pacific Energy's installation at Cass Winery. While the field produces wine, the solar installation produces 45 KW per hour.
produces the juice at Cass Winery. A new solar array designed and installed by Pacific Energy is now keeping company with the vines … Two local photographers share their art in collections that will stir your home town pride. Tom Peck’s “The Fair” captures the many moods of California Mid-State Fairgoers in a month long show at Paso Robles’ Studios on the Park. And Chris Leschinsky’s talent for showcasing Central Coast landmarks and scenery can be enjoyed on his stock photo website, www.theCaliforniaArchive.com … Paso native son and much loved, fab-o media sales rep John Osman (his dad was the famous and equally well loved “Coach O” at Flamson Middle School in Paso for 38 years) has been on the sidelines battling a debilitating bout of Valley Fever for the last eleven months. John beat it back and has returned to work, tearing up the circuit for KPRL Radio in Paso Robles. Welcome back, Johnny-O … And kudos to local favorite and the just-wrapped Atascadero Wine Festival. Changing the event hours from mid day to 4-8 p.m. made for a perfect evening at the lake. 80 wineries and several thousand people agree.
July 1st, 2010
Congratulations to local architect George Garcia, whose ga&d firm nabbed three 2010 Design Awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in a competition held at Cal Poly State University. George brought home trophies for a small residential addition, an outdoor garden and terrace and a large scale mixed use complex … The Wallace Group, longtime local engineering, water resource specialist and a boatload of other disciplines firm, has also been honored recently with a total of six awards. If you know anything about engineering companies and their awards, you know there are waaaaay too many words and acronyms involved to plow through them all. We’ll just say congrats and read it for yourself … Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has stacked two more awards on the hospital’s shelves. The American Heart Association recognized the hospital with two gold performance achievement awards for the hospital’s work with heart patients. And speaking of the American Heart Association, welcome to the local chapter’s new exec, Emily Reneau.
June 17th, 2010
Tim Haley’s name is a familiar one in SLO County, and now his contributions as a military veteran have won statewide recognition. The Atascadero resident, former Marine and recipient of a Purple Heart Medal, led the campaign to create the recently dedicated SLO County Purple Heart Trail. Tim has been named 2010 Veteran of the Year for our 33rd Assembly District, an area that reaches from Lompoc to the Monterey County line, and includes 35,000 vets. Our warmest congratulations – and thanks – to Tim and other veterans and service members for what they do. If you’d like to acknowledge Tim, consider a contribution in his honor to support the Trail at www.purpleheartca101.org … SLO Seed Ventures, a great new program of the SLO County EVC, helps startup companies with that one all-important piece: finding capital. In addition, SLO Seed Ventures helps mentor and educate entrepreneurs. Kudos to organizers EVC exec Mike Manchak, venture capitalist Jo Anne Miller and program sponsor Gerry Frigon of Taylor Frigon Capital Management … We ran into John Shoals when he was wearing his Mayor-of-Grover-Beach hat, and he shared a boatload of great news: the city’s lodge and conference center proposal is making progress; the City is working to create a landing station for the Trans-Pacific Fiber Optic cable that goes through Grover Beach’s municipal network, and Grover Beach has moved up the ladder for Federal stimulus funding that, if secured, will help the city tie in to Digital West’s enhanced new Internet backbone. All that and Grand Avenue improvements. Go Grover … Cal Poly’s Orfalea College of Business offers a popular MBA program for fulltime students, and now the college is extending its program to working professionals in the Santa Barbara area. A new part-time MBA program launches this fall, with classes held at the popular Canary Hotel in downtown Santa Barbara.
May 6th, 2010
Major kudos to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center for being one of only eight hospitals throughout the United States to win the 2010 Tenet Corporation “Circle of Excellence” honor. The award is given for hospitals achieving the highest levels of quality, service and operational performance … A lot of words that add up to “top dog” – Framberger Employee Benefits and Insurance Services, Inc. owner Connie Framberger was named Lifetime Qualifier for the Golden Eagle Award for the Leading Producers Round Table. The award, given by the National Association of Health Underwriters, is the group’s highest achievable award … RRM Design Group’s Whittier Greenway Trail is something special. The project recently nabbed two prestigious honors: an Award of Excellence from the California Parks and Recreation Society and the Merit Award, the highest recognition extended by the California Trails and Greenways Conference.
Categories — Awards
March 25th, 2010
Christy Gabler of North Coast Engineering
Going green wins gold for the River Oaks Center in Paso Robles. Kudos to Dick Willhoit and team at Estrella Associates for the precertified LEED gold retail/office complex also being named “Best Light Commercial” project by ICF Builder … Engineering hot shot and supreme multi-tasker Christy Gabler, senior civil engineer at North Coast Engineering in Paso Robles, has added more initials after her name. The PE (Professional Engineer), is now also a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) … A Templeton residence created by Atascadero’s Madrone Landscape won the California Landscape Contractors Association State-wide Presidential Trophy Award for best residential entry … Madrone owner Rick Matthews creates beauty in many ways – KCBX listeners know him as the station’s Saturday morning jazz show host.
January 28th, 2010
Don Idler, right, with Atascadero Chamber Board Chairman Jack Porter
Anita Robinson, right, with Chair-elect Chuck Braun
It was a weekend of big honors for many and today we name a few. Hats off to Atascadero Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Don Idler (Idler’s Appliances), and Community Service Honoree Anita Robinson (Mission Community Bank).
John and Sandy Dunn
And there’s no doubt John Dunn’s SLO Citizen of the Year surprise was made all the sweeter by his wife Sandy’s successful surgery two days later … Atascadero-based Impact Absorbents has made big business out of spills and is now cleaning up for itself: the company has been named winner of a Pacific Coast Business Times’ “Family Owned Business” award. Impact Absorbents manufactures and distributes absorbent products used to clean up spills from milk-aisle mishaps to large scale industrial problems … Check out page 70 in this month’s Sunset Magazine for a burst of hometown pride. SLO photographer Chris Leschinsky shot a gorgeous photo at the home of Ed Thoma (Thoma Electric). The spectacular setting was designed by landscape architect Jeffrey Gordon Smith of Los Osos and planted by SLO’s Al Hummell and staff of Rainscape … Zazz Daniel’s StoryAD Network is integrating advertising imagery and personal stories in closed circuit broadcasts “now showing” at Kennedy Club Fitness locations and the Hearst Castle gift shop … And It’s in the Mail’s Rane Aguilar has joined forces with Poor Richard’s Press, combining the two companies into a direct mail powerhouse.
