Honoring the heroes in our community

By Deborah Brasket/Looking Forward

Each year, SB CAN and the Santa Barbara Council on Research and Education honor community heroes in the northern part of our county who have made significant contributions to the community.

This year’s winners, to be honored at an awards dinner on April 19 in Santa Maria, are particularly impressive:

Buellton Is Our Town (BIOT) will receive our Looking Forward Award for strong leadership and vision in community building and civic engagement.

This all-volunteer advocacy organization mounted a block-by-block grassroots campaign to put an urban-growth boundary initiative on the ballot in Buellton last November. They won an overwhelming victory, with 69-percent voter approval.

BIOT is presently engaged in producing a grassroots democracy handbook for use by other community organizations.

Minga and Raul Ceja from Santa Maria will receive our Social Justice Award for promoting equality, respect and compassion for all people in our community.

Minga and Raul have spent a lifetime serving the underserved. In her community outreach work with the county and local schools, Minga helped troubled youth and struggling families resolve problems, and as a volunteer with Restorative Justice Project, she’s helping young offenders turn their lives around.

In Raul’s long career in local labor union activities and his involvement with numerous human-rights organizations, he has fought hard for workers’ rights, equal pay for equal work, and a living wage.

John Evarts and Marjorie Popper of Los Olivos are receiving our Environmental Protection and Sustainability Award for exemplary leadership in preserving our natural resources and promoting sustainable agriculture.

They have done so not only through their work as small farmers producing honey and raising organic vegetables, but also as founding members of the Santa Barbara Farmers Market and the Santa Ynez Natural History Society, as members of the Sedgwick Preservation Committee and the Santa Ynez Valley General Plan Advisory Committee, and as publishers of the Cachuma Press, dedicated to educating the public about California’s native flora.

Betty Biggs from Lompoc will receive our Giving Back to the Community Award. Cultural kinship is the theme underlying Betty’s work as a nationally acclaimed artist, and also as a volunteer who has helped to promote and celebrate diversity.

She has done this through her work with the county’s Affirmative Action Commission, through her promotion of Black History Month, and, for the past six years, by creating special artwork depicting scenes from West Africa, which have been auctioned off in support of the North County Rape Crisis Center, assisting local women in crisis.

Herb Asbury from Santa Maria will receive our Working Families Award for helping to improve the quality of life for working families through the creation of affordable housing.

In 1995, Herb spearheaded the creation of the Habitat for Humanity of Northern Santa Barbara County. Since then, housing for eight low-income families has been created and 14 potential building sites acquired.

Herb served as chairman of the steering committee, president, executive director, board member, and now as a “volunteer extraordinaire” helping to raise additional funds for new projects.

At the awards dinner, guest speaker Drew Sugars will address “The Media’s Role in Creating Healthy, Dynamic Communities.”

Drew is best known for co-anchoring the local news for KCOY-TV with his wife Nerrisa.

Now he is working as a liaison with the local media for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.

This year’s major sponsors for the awards include the Sierra Club, the Fund for Santa Barbara, Sara Miller McCune and the Guadalupe Cultural Center.

For more information or to reserve seats to the recognition dinner, call 722-5094.

Brasket is executive director of the Santa Barbara County Action Network (SB CAN). She can be reached at Deborah@sbcan.org, or 722-5094. Looking Forward runs every Friday, providing a progressive viewpoint on local issues.