more articles like this

SB Honors
updated: Jul 16, 2012, 11:18 AM

By Greg Stathakis

There are a lot of people who help or have extended kindness or money to have Santa Barbara be the unusually fine place it is.

Who do you thank for helping make SB a better place?

My random thoughts of gratitude for locals include: the philanthropists who "gifted" East Beach to the city. The nurses, MD,s who provide care when we are vulnerable. Dr. Francheschi for his part in bringing trees and a park to SBA. There are many more - who comes to mind from Edhat readers?

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 298039	2012-07-16 11:27 AM
Helene Schneider and all the other liberals and progressives in this town.
COMMENT 298040P	2012-07-16 11:28 AM
The City workers who far too often take all the flak for others' issues. There are thousands behind the scenes who keep this City running, but few residents are aware of just how much it takes to keep SB looking and feeling great.
COMMENT 298042	2012-07-16 11:34 AM
all of our non-profits. Their volunteers help everything corner of our county. Children, animals, plants, adults, air, sea, trails. We are so blessed by a county of caring, giving people!!
COMMENT 298043	2012-07-16 11:39 AM
The tax payers who have made a choice to live here.
COMMENT 298045P	2012-07-16 11:47 AM
Pearl Chase for working to create the framework for the city including the park-like waterfront, and the visionaries of the 1970 and early 1980's who created the general plan and downzoned much of the city so we would live within our resources (although we are pushing the boundaries all the time.
COMMENT 298048	2012-07-16 12:00 PM
The Mexicans! Their food is da bomb!
COMMENT 298052	2012-07-16 12:05 PM
Max Fleischmann who built the Santa Barbara Harbor (for his yacht), the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and the Polo field. Wright Ludington, who gave the Santa Barbara Museum of Art the finest pieces in its collection. Alice Keck Park, who donated the land for the garden in her name. The old school activist/philanthropists like Kit Tremaine and art supporters like Ruth Schaffner and Pamela Auchincloss. The countless artists and bohemian spirits who made this place interesting starting in the late '50s. Architecture will never love you back. Rather, it's the spirit of the people that make a place magical. That spirit is pretty darn near gone now, but the memories linger.
COMMENT 298060P	2012-07-16 12:14 PM
Pearl Chase, and later CPA,
COMMENT 298062	2012-07-16 12:15 PM
The small business owners that create the businesses that make our town unique.
COMMENT 298066	2012-07-16 12:27 PM
I thanks Phil and his family...owners of the Sportsman Lounge. Since taking over a few years back they have totally renovated the inside, making it one of the best late-night places to go. Oh, and they ponied up the dough to recover their pool table with professional Simonis cloth too.
MTNDRIVER	2012-07-16 12:44 PM
I'm with 060P, Pearl Chase for sure, the CPA. EDC, Land Trust for SB County, Urban Creeks Council, More Mesa Preservation Coalition, Save Naples, Surfrider Foundation, people who go to Planning meetings!
COMMENT 298081	2012-07-16 12:48 PM
There's another Francheschi park, with trees, at the airport? I haven't been to the new terminal. Is it there?
COMMENT 298089	2012-07-16 01:00 PM
Non-profits, especially all of those that work with homeless animals.
COMMENT 298094	2012-07-16 01:09 PM
The late David Gebhardt, archictectural historian. He was dedicated to the preservation of Santa Barbara architecture.
COMMENT 298100	2012-07-16 01:28 PM
How about all our first responders...firefighters, paramedics, police, harbor patrol...etc. And I also like the parking attendants in the kiosks who always have a smile and a greeting. They have a hard job in small quarters breathing exhaust fumes and fending off robberies. I've never come across one who was ill tempered.
COMMENT 298105	2012-07-16 01:50 PM
I would definitely put Miss Chase at the top of any list and a present day person, Kellam de Forest, who chairs the preservation committee of the Pearl Chase Society.
COMMENT 298109P	2012-07-16 02:01 PM
The unsung heros. The day-to-day residents who are considerate and responsible, who clean up trash, prune trees & shrubs, plant flowers, help tourists, raise thoughtful children, smile at others, and generally make the world a better place, no matter where they live.
JOHN WILEY	2012-07-16 02:30 PM
A major unsung hero in my book is Peter Sklar.
COMMENT 298147P	2012-07-16 03:14 PM
052 - thank you for the reminders. Thanks for all the good additions shown. Almost daily I give thanks for the almost "unreality" of Santa Barbara.
COMMENT 298171	2012-07-16 03:41 PM
I agree with John Wiley! I'd sing, but I can't carry a tune, so a simple unsung, Thanks, Peter!
PETER SKLAR	2012-07-16 05:26 PM
Thank you! And thank you to everyone who contributes to Edhat.
COMMENT 298223	2012-07-16 05:49 PM
BUNS, Blue Skies Animal Sanctuary, ASAP, K9 PALS, Res Q Cats, DAWG, Care 4 Paws, and all the others I'm forgetting the names of. Love the animal organizations here.
COMMENT 298240	2012-07-16 07:19 PM
My appreciation goes out to the Coastal band of Chumash Indians...who have taken care of the spirit of this land for many thousands of years & who still do balancing ceremony, "under-ground" without assisstance & even in the face of cultural & ethnic resistance...& ask nothing in return.
COMMENT 298242	2012-07-16 07:36 PM
Neal Graffy who remembers all that happens in S.B.
SMARTYPANTS	2012-07-16 08:13 PM
The smart and considerate drivers who use thier turn signals while driving.
COMMENT 298257P	2012-07-16 09:33 PM
The realtors who now rarely post their open house signs in front of the SB Mission - thank you for honoring our beloved icon.
HATTIE	2012-07-16 10:34 PM
john wiley beat me to it! a huge thank you to peter & sue & molly & everyone on team edhat--including ed, of course. :-)
COMMENT 298271P	2012-07-17 12:40 AM
Hospice and visiting nurses who make this town special for the terminally ill and their families during their greatest hour of need. CALM who are there for children who have no voice. Guide dogs for the blind and the Braille institute. ART and Wildlife Care Network who are tireless in their efforts to care for injured and abandoned wildlife as well as the veterinarians who work with them, often for a minimal or no charge. The Land Trust for purchasing and preserving our most treasured open spaces. And the countless philanthropists who donate millions to these non profits!
FLICKA	2012-07-17 07:31 AM
Vie and her late husband, George, contributed long hours and much effort to preserving trails and the culture of our city. They pushed to get the Obern bike trail, a real asset to our community. Both were friends of Pearl Chase and carried on her work.
COMMENT 298303P	2012-07-17 08:02 AM
What a nice thread! Thanks for giving us an opportunity to recognize so many good things and people.
COMMENT 298326	2012-07-17 08:46 AM
All of The Carpinteria Valley Association members for quietly and effectively manning the walls and guarding the southern gate of our special county from LA /Oxnard style developement.
COMMENT 298333	2012-07-17 08:50 AM
the Elings family
COMMENT 298346	2012-07-17 09:09 AM
Me for not telling others when I travel what a beautiful place this is and how lucky and fortunate I am.
COMMENT 298358	2012-07-17 09:26 AM
How refreshing that the posters gave thoughtful and appropriate comments (rather than snarky or "humorous" responses to honest questions). Thanks to everyone for reminding us why this is such a special place.
COMMENT 298390	2012-07-17 10:06 AM
I want to thank the many kind people who restore my faith in humanity through my wildlife work. Recently a young man spent an hour in the Ralph's parking lot helping me chase and capture a beautiful Cooper's Hawk with a broken wing. The bird is doing fine now. He had seen her hours earlier and I couldn't find anyone who could get out there quickly. These birds can run nearly as fast as they fly, and it was not an easy task capturing her. I have a knee disability, but together we were able to corner her and get her to safety. For every person who does not care, I find an unexpected angel like Justin. I want to thank all of you who are willing to assist us in our heart's work, whether you transport the animal to us yourself, or leave a donation at the vet's office, we are a group of dedicated volunteers who welcome any assistance we can get.
COMMENT 298394	2012-07-17 10:21 AM
All the people who worked to save the Wilcox property as open space. Those who are dedicted to keeping a cap on ugly growth in SB, surfrider foundation, and those who pick up other people's trash when leaving the beach.
DRBUD	2012-07-17 04:00 PM
You can thank yourself if in every way possible you act in ways that will keep Santa Barbara what it should always be!!
COMMENT 298666	2012-07-17 07:18 PM
Virgil Elings as well as Lester A. and Viola S. Girsh Park (I really have no idea where one of their names stops and the other starts but you know who I'm talking about). They have quite a legacy for our amazing community park and ball fields.

39% of comments on this page were made by Edhat Community Members.