Call for nominations - 2012 Napa Valley Community Awards
Napa Valley Community Awards recognize the everyday heroes among us!

Is there a better place to live and work than Napa? From world-class wine and food to unparalleled hospitality venues, Napa Valley is recognized for its visitor appeal. But it is the everyday heroes – the teachers, healthcare workers, business people, community boosters and volunteers – who make Napa the kind of community people want to call home.

These are the people that the Napa Valley Community Awards “Celebrating Community” program will honor for the sixth straight year at the heartfelt luncheon on Thursday, May 24th at the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel and Spa. This highly-anticipated event provides an opportunity to pay tribute to our everyday heroes for their outstanding leadership, contributions and achievements.

The awards are co-sponsored annually by the Napa Chamber Foundation and Mechanics Bank. Mechanics Bank has been involved from the beginning, dedicating staff and resources to build the event into a wonderful community expression of appreciation. Coreen Pinney, VP/Sr. Relationship Manager at Mechanics Bank says, "Napa Valley is a very special place filled with extraordinary people. The Napa Valley Community Awards gives the public the rare opportunity to recognize and celebrate those special unsung heroes among us. It is the best gift you can give someone – the gift of recognition. Every nominee is a winner in our book!"

Everyone who lives in Napa can play a part in giving the gift of recognition by nominating an outstanding “Napa Hero” in the six categories of Community Booster, Healthcare Professional, Napa Valley College Student, Hospitality/Tourism Professional, Nonprofit Employee and Nonprofit Organization.

Nominations will be accepted through Monday, March 12, with winners announced on April 6 on KVON 1440 AM’s “Today in the Wine Country” radio show. Additional awards will recognize the Outstanding Teacher and Outstanding Public Safety Person of the Year.

This sixth anniversary luncheon will also include some unique community appreciation surprises. Last year the event recognized the four past winners in the Nonprofit Organization category with acknowledgement and a special donation.

Nomination forms are available here for download as well as an online nomination process... NVCA Nomination page

For more information, call the Napa Chamber at 707-226-7455.

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The Best of the Napa Valley in 2011 - A look at this year's event winners...

The art advocate whose collaborative creations include a popular downtown sculpture tour and the inaugural Napa Valley ARTS festival. The Latina student – first in her family to attend college – who lifts others up by helping direct a youth leadership academy and the Napa Valley Dream Act Coalition. The hospice nurse, also a co-facilitator of a “Bosom Buddies” breast cancer support group, whom many of her patients know as “Saint Adele.”

These are the caliber of people who make the Napa Valley not merely a place, but a thriving and genuine community. And they are among the ordinary yet extraordinary heroes being honored by “Celebrating Community,” the fifth annual Napa Valley Community Awards luncheon co-sponsored by the Napa Chamber Foundation and Mechanics Bank.

This year’s winners were:

·      Outstanding Public Safety Person, Omar Salem, a Napa police officer who specializes in English and Spanish community outreach – and who also founded and organizes the annual “Hoops to Stop Youth Violence” fundraiser basketball playoff between city police and firefighters.

·      Outstanding Hospitality Tourism professional, Clay Gregory, president and CEO of the Napa Valley Destination Council, who succeeds at promoting the valley as a place visitors should savor in the off-peak season as well as Sundays through Thursdays. 

·      Outstanding Community Booster, Chuck McMinn, head of Vineyard 29, who has plunged into civic engagement with organizations such as NapaLearns – and transformed every nonprofit he has led.

·      Outstanding Nonprofit Employee, Kristina Young, executive director of Arts Council Napa Valley, who not only pushed innovative ways to link the arts with the community but also secured grant funding to turn her vision into reality.

·       Outstanding Napa Valley Community College Student, Karla Gomez, a local activist who was one of 22 Latina youth selected for the “Latinas Learning to Lead” program of the National Hispana Leadership Institute in Washington.

·      Outstanding Healthcare Professional, Adele Cotter, veteran RN and “nurse navigator” at Queen of the Valley Medical Center who now brings her calm and empathetic care skills to patients through Napa Valley Hospice & Adult Day Services.

This year’s winners for Outstanding Teacher and Outstanding Nonprofit Organization of the Year* will be announced at the event.

The 2011 Awardees will be honored at a luncheon on Tuesday, May 24 at the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa along with the 2011 nominees and past winners. The event is from 11:30 – 1:00 p.m. and costs $55 per person. To purchase tickets or for more information, contact the Napa Chamber at 707-226-7455 or online at napachamberfoundation.org.

*Outstanding Organization of the Year will be announced at the event. Nominees are below in alphabetical order:
  1. Boys & Girls Club of Napa Valley
  2. Ciudad de Paz Centro Familiar Cristiano
  3. Community Action of Napa Valley
  4. Connolly Ranch Education Center
  5. CyberMill Technology Center
  6. Kiwanis Club of Napa
  7. Legal Aid of Napa Valley
  8. Loving Animals Providing Smiles
  9. Moving Forward Towards Independence
10. Napa Valley Food Bank
11. NapaLearns
12. ParentsCAN
13. Puertas Abiertas Community Resource Center
14. Rotary Club of Napa (noon)
15. St. Helena Community Food Pantry

Thank you to our Event sponsors!
Mechanics Bank
The Wiseman Company
Napa Valley Balloons, Inc.
Comcast
T.J. Salsman Photography
Penelope Jane - Designer Cakes & Truffles
Schramsberg Vineyards
Sage Marketing
Sunshine Foods

Media Sponsors:
Napa Valley Register
KVON/KVYN
Marketplace Magazine
Napa Valley Life
Cronicas

Download Press Release HERE

Download English Award Results flyer HERE!
Download Spanish Award Results flyer HERE!