Honoring the best

Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce presents regional awards

By CALEB BEEGHLY NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce celebrated the success of local businesses and looked toward the future during its Regional Business Awards ceremony Thursday.

“We are excited to be honoring these phenomenal organizations who contribute to a strong business economy and inspire quality of life in our communities,” said Kristen Miller, the chamber’s president and CEO.

During the ceremony at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort, a new board of directors was approved. The outgoing members were honored, and added members, such as Tyler Duncan (owner of Rusty’s Pizza) and Steven Janciek (general manager of The Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Goleta), were warmly welcomed.

Also, the former chair of the board, Trevor Large, “passed the gavel” to Joey Zumaya, whose call to action is for everyone in the community to “get involved.”

In addition to this, Mr. Zumaya revealed the Chamber of Commerce’s priorities for the year: housing, economic challenges on Santa Barbara’s State Street and hospitality. In closing, Mr. Zumaya stressed the importance of local businesses in Santa Barbara, noting that even though Santa Barbara is beautiful, its hospitality industry could not run for a day without its local businesses.

The chamber presented eight awards to local businesses and nonprofits.

The Large Business of the Year award was presented to Village Properties, which was nominated twice for this award.