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Downtown Organization Awards Residents, Businesses

Release Date: March 11,2016

Nearly 200 community members gathered Thursday morning at El Paseo Restaurant for Downtown Santa Barbara’s annual awards breakfast. Since 1965, the downtown organization has advocated for business owners, S.B. city residents, and tourists. It has managed the city’s Downtown and Old Town Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) since they were founded in 1968 and 1976, respectively.

Headlining Thursday morning’s event was La Entrada developer Michael Rosenfeld. He spoke to the audience about his plans for the 114-unit Entrada de Santa Barbara hotel, currently under construction on lower State Street and replacing the former Hotel Californian.

The downtown organization and City Parks and Recreation’s Neighborhood and Outreach Services granted the Harriet Miller Youth Leadership Award to San Marcos High School senior Adam Childs. Mayor Helene Schneider honored Childs, who holds a 4.07 GPA and over 600 community-service hours, with the $500 scholarship.

Michael Jordan, Account Executive at insurance broker HUB International, received the 2015 George Gerth Volunteer of the Year Award for his service as an active Downtown Santa Barbara board member since 2010. For his branding and promotion of the Presidio Neighborhood, Margerum Wine Company’s Wine Club Manager Hugh Margerum was named the first-ever Downtown Business Champion of the Year.

To the Community Arts Workshop (CAW), the downtown organization presented the 2015 Citizen of the Year Award. Past Citizen of the Year, KEYT senior news reporter John Palminteri, and retired County Arts Commissioner Ginny Bush honored CAW reps Rod Hare and Leon Olson with the title.

-Santa Barbara Independent, by Léna Garcia