Local residents had the red carpet rolled out, literally, for the 2013 SCV Man and Woman of the Year nominees, as they were announced Wednesday at the home of Jeri and Carl Goldman, who are past recipients of the award.
Seventeen were introduced to the community Wednesday as candidates for the 47th annual award.
“Tonight is for the nominees who are volunteers who have worked for many years in the (Santa Clarita Valley). They have all meant something to the organizations,” said Myrna Condie, recipient of the 2012 SCV Woman of the Year. “The nominees are volunteers who (the nonprofits) determine are very valuable to their organization.”
In the nearly 50 years the award has been around, it’s evolved from a recognition for those who attracted business or made significant contributions to the SCV, to its modern incarnation, which recognizes those who make significant contributions to local nonprofits, said Tony Newhall, the 1985 recipient of the SCV Man of the Year.
“Over the years, we decided we would start honoring people who did volunteer work, and that’s what it’s turned into,” Newhall said.
The following names were announced as nominees for Man of the Year: Robert Benjamin, Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Health Foundation; Alan Ferdman, Samuel Dixon Family Health Centers Inc.; Skip Henke, Santa Clarita Elks Lodge; Carl Kanowsky , Santa Clarita Valley Boys & Girls Club; Taylor Kellstrom, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles; Rick Patterson, SCV Facilities Foundation; Cary Quashen, Action Parent & Teen Support Program; and Steve Sturgeon, who was nominated by two organizations, the Child & Family Center Foundation and the Rotary Club of SCV.
The following names were announced for the 2013 Woman of the Year: Sue Endress, Rotary Club of Santa Clarita Valley; Cheryl Gray, Santa Clarita Valley Boys & Girls Club; Karen Henke, Santa Clarita Elks Lodge; Debbie Heys, Child & Family Center Foundation; Elizabeth Hopp, Michael Hoefflin Foundation for Children’s Cancer; Kris Hough, Santa Clarita Facilities Foundation; Gail Pinsker, WiSH Foundation; Elizabeth Seipel, Circle of Hope; and Susan Reynolds, who was nominated by two organizations, the Domestic Violence Center and the Soroptimist International of Greater SCV.
There are more than 80 nonprofit organizations that are eligible to nominate individuals for the award.
The award is voted on during three rounds of voting, which takes place in April. The winners are voted on by past recipients of the award. Newhall said there were about 45 members who are expected to participate in the voting.
Condie and Tom Dierckman, who was the 2012 SCV Man of the Year, will co-chair the dinner held for the winners.
The official winners will be named at the 47th annual Recognition Dinner on May 3, in the Grand Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Valencia.
The candidates were nominated by Santa Clarita Valley service clubs, nonprofit organizations, and foundations. They are being honored for their contributions to the community through voluntary service. Some have been doing charity work for more than three decades.
Naming an SCV Man and Woman of the Year dates back to 1964, when a historian was named SCV Man of the Year. Over the years, many prominent Santa Clarita Valley persons have been honored, including: Historian A.B. Perkins (1964), Bill Bonelli, Jr. (1966), Reverend Samuel Dixon (1973), Connie Worden-Roberts (1975), Jo Anne Darcy (1984), George Pederson (1997) and Don and Cheri Fleming (2004).
To see the complete list, [click here].
Those who would like to attend the May 3 event are asked to contact Myrna Condie or Laura Chavez at (661) 257-2900 or Laura@condiewood.com, for reservations.
