Nominees Announced for Santa Clarita Valley Man & Woman of the Year

A record twenty-seven Santa Clarita Valley nonprofit organizations presented one man and one woman to the media at an invitation-only Paparazzi Party on March 6th held at the Canyon Theatre Guild. The selected honorees, one man and one woman will be revealed at the Man & Woman of the Year Recognition Dinner on May 3rd, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency, Valencia.
Volunteers have been nominated by their nonprofit organizations because of the enormous impact that person has had to the charitable mission of the organization and to the community. Not only have these volunteers donated their time, talent, and treasure to the nominating charity, but they have demonstrated a dedication to community service over many years and to many causes. Every nominee has made a difference to the quality of life in our valley. The judges for the coveted title have all been previously named Santa Clarita Valley Man or Woman of the Year. Said Gloria Mercado-Fortine, 2018 Woman of the Year and President of the committee, “As is the case every year, finding our special man and woman will again be a real challenge. This is an outstanding and large roster of nominees!”
Santa Clarita Valley Man & Woman of the Year is a title that was first instituted in 1964 by the Chamber of Commerce and is the longest running such recognition of volunteers in our community. The award predates Santa Clarita cityhood. Today, the Man & Woman of the Year Committee is an independent nonprofit organization made up of all living past honorees. The goals of the members are to highlight the importance of volunteerism in the development of an ideal community and to support the nonprofit sector of the Santa Clarita Valley through publicity, advocacy, and grants to the nominating organizations. Visitors to the organization’s website, www.scvmanwomanoftheyear.org, can click on the nominating charities and be linked to their websites for more information about the important work they do.
2023 Man of the Year, Don Kimball, and 2023 Woman of the Year, Jenny Ketchepaw, as current Chairs of the event, will host the May 3rd celebration. Said Kimball, “Jenny and I are excited to pass the baton to the next deserving volunteers. We have been honored throughout the year to represent SCV volunteerism. Our community is special in large measure due to the engagement of our people who support our nonprofits.”
Said Ketchepaw, “Santa Clarita Valley Man & Woman of the Year is the most prestigious volunteer award granted in our valley. It celebrates volunteerism and exemplifies our community’s love of service. The event is supported by city, county and national levels of leadership, and businesses and individuals have outstanding opportunities for sponsorship and advertising. All those interested in attending the gala and supporting the event committee, also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, are invited to visit the website for more information: www.scvmanwomanoftheyear.org.”

photos by Joie de Vivre photographie

(L-R) Back Row: Renee Berlin, Carolina Orozco-Hernandez, Teresa Ciardi, Pamela Verner, Shelby Elrashidy, Debbie Holbrook, Julie Benson Krumrine, Nicole Miller & Kim Kurowski. Front Row: Maria Slotsve, Mitzi Like, Pamela Ripling, Jackie Hartman, Meredith McGowan, Elizabeth Seipel & Laura Peach. Not pictured: Laura Kirchhoff