Joyce Howerton of Lompoc has retired as executive director of Santa Barbara County Action Network (SB CAN), with the vacancy filled by Ken Hough, the advocacy organization announced.
Howerton, a former Lompoc mayor and recent candidate for 4th District county supervisor, worked for SB CAN for nearly three years, first as advocacy director and then as executive director.
“Joyce Howerton has been a political leader and activist in North County for decades,” said Joann Marmolejo, SB CAN’s board president. “... Joyce was a founding member of SB CAN and served as North County vice president for many years.
“Joyce says she would like to take a break for a while, but will soon return to community life. We welcome her continued involvement with SB CAN,” Marmolejo added.
When Karen Evangelista talks to young persons at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts and Education Center, she asks them if they know their heritage. She wants them to talk to their parents to learn their stories.
This was one message the executive director of the center in Guadalupe gave to attendees at the North County Looking Forward Awards Dinner put on by Santa Barbara County Action Network (SB CAN) May 19 at the Santa Maria Inn.
SB CAN member Joyce Howerton presented the awards to Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Bill Libbon, Judge Rogelio Flores, Mary Ellen “Marell” Brooks, Jan Martinez, Dan Mally and the Lompoc Co-op Development Project.