A ceremony and reception honored the members of Class 32 of the Focus Agriculture Program. (Contributed)
Class No. 32 of the locally-based national award-winning Focus Agriculture program was honored upon its graduation. A ceremony and reception was held Oct. 13 at the Pajaro Valley Historical Association’s Bockius-Orr house in Watsonville.
The members of the class:
Tony Balistreri, chief financial officer, Salud Para La Gente; Elissa Benson, assistant county administrative officer, Santa Cruz County Administrative Office; Yvette Brooks, councilmember, city of Capitola; Jim Brown, executive director, Arts Council Santa Cruz County; Erica Padilla-Chavez, CEO, Second Harvest Food Bank, Santa Cruz County; Virgilio Ricardo (Ric) de la Cruz, owner of Seasons Living LLC/Marketing & Sales Manager, Westwind Memory Care; Evan Ditmars, development review planner, Santa Cruz County Planning Department; Lynne Drummond, director of Quality & Patient Safety, Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center; Adrian Fischer, program director, CCOF Foundation; Darrie Ganzhorn, executive director, Homeless Garden Project.
Lillian (Lily) Gerrans, interior designer, Lillian Gerrans Design; Megan Goddard, senior program manager, Google Maps, Google; Elliot Grant, Central Coast Program associate, Sustainable Conservation; Kevin Heuer, director of engagement and impact, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County; Jennifer Merchant, executive director, Grey Bears; Anthony Pagliaro, chief philanthropy officer, Dominican Hospital Foundation; Krista Snelling, CEO and president, Santa Cruz County Bank; Phil Tavarez, bulk & fleet fueling manager, Sturdy Oil Co.; Darryl Wong, executive director, UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology.
District promotes two
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District welcomed Claudia Monjaras as assistant superintendent of elementary education and Mark Verch as director of transportation, according to a release from the district. Both Monjaras and Verch have served the community for many years. These appointments were approved at the Sept. 27 meeting of the board.
Monjaras has worked at PVUSD since 2001 and has served as academic coordinator, as principal and, most recently, as director of language arts and history, social studies. Monjaras has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UC Santa Cruz, received her teaching credential from Cal State Monterey Bay and her master’s degree and administrative credential from San Jose State.
Verch has worked for the PVUSD for more than 35 years in the district’s transportation department where he started as a bus driver, delegated behind-the-wheel trainer, state certified Instructor and most recently has served as the district’s transportation supervisor.
Bay Fed raises $6,735
Bay Federal Credit Union raised $6,735 for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation during an eStatement campaign promoting electronic statements and environmental protection. The credit union ran similar campaigns in 2021 and 2022, which generated $20,360 for the foundation, totaling $27,095 in donations over three years.
From Aug. 1-31, more than 1,340 members made the switch from paper to eStatements. The incentives? An opportunity to protect our environment, the chance to win cash prizes, and a $5 donation to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation on behalf of every member who opted in.
“We are deeply grateful to Bay Federal Credit Union for their remarkable commitment to both our environment and our community,” said Ginaia Kelly, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation chapter director in a prepared release.
SCORE honors three
At its year-end recognition event, SCORE Central Coast recognized Rich Petrowich of Scotts Valley as the Sam Badawi Volunteer of the Year; and David Harken and Joey Tuttle, both of Aptos, with Lifetime Achievement Awards for continued excellence in service for more than 12 years.
Education
Thomas Dachs, of Santa Cruz, was named to the summer 2023 dean’s list at Palmer College of Chiropractic’s West Campus in San Jose.
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