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Please join us in honoring outstanding community leaders

by becoming a sponsor of our

2012 North County “Looking Forward” Awards Dinner,

or by placing an ad or greeting in our Tribute Book.

 

2011 Award Winners Jackie & Fidenzio Brunello

 

 

2012 North County “Looking Forward” Awards Dinner

April 29 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Santa Maria Inn, 801 S. Broadway, Santa Maria

 

Click here to sign up online

 

Each year SB CAN honors individuals, businesses and organizations for their

outstanding contributions to the community. 

 

Our guest speaker this year is Dr. Herb Kandel, a doctor of Chinese Medicine

practicing for 25 years in Santa Maria and recipient of the 2009 Environmental

Achievement Award from the San Luis Obispo County Foundation. His passion for

both healing and community service have translated into effective and joy-filled

action. He calls community service “a gateway drug for building a sustainable

planet.” His talk is tentatively titled: “The Great Purpose is Right Down the Street.”

 

This year’s award recipients are:

 Luis Escobar, Santa Maria Valley Open Space, “Looking Forward” Award, for

Leadership and Vision

 Marian Medical Center, Santa Maria, Environmental Protection & Sustainability

Award

 Chuck & Barbara Arnold, Lompoc, Social Justice Award

 Good Samaritan Shelter, Santa Maria, Working Families Award

 Carla Frisk, Santa Ynez, Giving Back to the Community Award

 

Your sponsorship will reflect your commitment to the community and to those

who have served it so selflessly. You will also benefit from significant publicity

through our invitations, media promotions, public acknowledgements and Tribute

Book, helping to connect you with our friends and members throughout the county.

SB CAN is a countywide, grassroots organization, dedicated to creating sustainable

communities by promoting social and economic justice and preserving our

community’s environmental and agricultural resources.

 

Please click here for suggested sponsorship levels as well as information

about advertising in our Tribute Book honoring the award recipients.

 

Please respond by April 16 to be in the Tribute Book.

Tickets are $50/person. Sponsorships and Ad prices vary.

 

Click here to sign up online

 

Thank you for your considering a sponsorship or ad this year.

Sincerely,

Joann Marmolejo

SB CAN Board President

 


 

Celebrate Selma!

A community event to celebrate the life and legacy of our dear friend Selma Rubin

 

Thursday, May 3, 2012

4:00 p.m.

Congregation B’nai B’rith

1000 San Antonio Creek Road, Santa Barbara

 

For additional information, please email Jan Keller at jkeller2002@msn.com or call 735-1408.

 

 

SELMA RUBIN - YOU WILL ALWAYS BE IN OUR HEARTS

 

March 8, 2012

 

Selma Rubin was a founding member of SBCAN. She was active the entire 10 years of the organization and we are indebted to her for her contributions. She is pictured here from our Oscar Party on February 26, 2012.

 

 

SBCAN Board President Joann Marmolejo had this to say:

 

Today with the passing of Selma, SBCAN, Santa Barbara County, and even the environment and the earth lost a truly wonderful person.

Many of you knew her better than I did, but none respected or admired her more than I did. As we go through life, we’re truly fortunate if we know just a few people that do so much for so many as Selma did.

I for one will miss her friendship, wisdom and guidance, but I will take comfort in knowing she spent several years sharing that with me, and now it’s time for her to share it with others.

What a lovely lady that touched all our lives.

 

The Santa Barbara Independent wrote about Selma. Some excerpts are below, or you can read more at http://www.independent.com/news/2012/mar/09/selma-rubin-passes-away/. 

 

Representative Lois Capps issued this statement about Rubin’s passing:

“Today, Santa Barbara lost one of its true heroes, and I have lost a dear friend and mentor. Selma was a shining example of a woman with the enthusiasm and passion to excel and the vision to turn her dreams into reality. Her tireless efforts have made our community a better place to live, work, and raise a family. I know of few people who gave as much to their community as Selma did. Her lifetime of service — fighting offshore oil drilling, preserving the Gaviota Coast, or encouraging women to get involved in their government — will live on for generations in the countless people she helped along the way. I will deeply miss her friendship, her wisdom, and her enthusiasm for life.”

Dave Peri, one of Rubin’s longtime friends and confidants, said she was an “amazing woman” who had the ability to meet common ground with anybody. “People who were close to her had just as much respect for her as those she worked with,” he said.

Since news broke of her passing, people have called Peri nonstop to offer their condolences and ask what they can do, he said. His best answer, explaining she was never a fan of cut flowers, is to donate to an organization Rubin felt passionately about and was most recently involved with, Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN). The memorial service date will be announced soon.

Click here if you'd like to donate to SBCAN in Selma's name. Just check the box that this is a contribution "in memory of" and write in Selma's name. 

Hannah-Beth Jackson's thoughts upon hearing the news:

“I have been blessed with the opportunity to honor Selma on several occasions with a few of the numerous awards she received during her lifetime. To try to capture the fullness of her work and the expanse of her reach was virtually impossible. From the numerous organizations she founded, to the boards on which she served tirelessly for well over half-a century, to her constant vigilance on issues of fairness, equality and justice, Selma was the essence of everything that our progressive world view embraces.

“Selma was unwavering in her beliefs about preserving our environment, protecting civil liberties, aiding those less fortunate than most, demanding equal rights, justice and opportunity for all, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or any other potential barrier that we, as humans, create to keep others from being treated with respect and dignity.

“Her tools were simple: You simply didn’t want to cross Selma. The glare could be wilting, but the sharp admonishment was never in doubt. Simply put, Selma was a force of nature; one who lived by example and set the bar high. But she never asked more of anyone else than she did of herself. She entered every cause with passion and complete commitment. If you didn’t have that to give, then she wasn’t interested. Justice was a full-time effort, even if it meant getting arrested — which she did, for sticking to her principles and protecting the earth that she so studiously protected.”


 

This year SB CAN celebrates 10 years of community activism and advocacy on behalf of you, your friends and neighbors. We are asking for your financial support to continue this important work.

 

Our lives are affected by what happens at each level of government in our county, but most local government hearings and decisions occur while you are at work, and there’s no way that most of us can make our voices heard in the many arenas that matter.

 

Who can represent the progressive view that decision makers need to hear? SB CAN can!

 

We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished this year:

  • Our “Bailey Avenue” lawsuit achieved protection of precious agricultural land in Lompoc;
  • We led the SUN (Sustainable University Now) Coalition’s effort to achieve major community serving changes in UCSB’s long-range development plan;
  • We lobbied at every level to support workforce/low-income housing, renters’ rights, public transit, and safe routes to school;
  • We helped raise awareness about fracking and other oil-related environmental threats;
  • Our regular columns in north county newspapers make sure that progressive perspectives are going where they haven’t been heard before;
  • We’ve promoted ongoing community coalitions in north and south counties through our H.O.T. (Housing, Open Space and Transportation) Committee meetings and other networking;
  • Our annual banquets in the north and south honor our community leaders and nourish the spirit of activists in hard times.

 

We need your help to strengthen our efforts in the coming year. The larger your contribution, the less time we’ll have to spend on fundraising. With your help, we hope to build our staff work in the south coast area, improve our online capacity for outreach and information, and strengthen the watchdogging, education and advocacy that is our hallmark.

 

Click here to make an online contribution.

 

Click here to download a contribution form you can print and mail to us.