Annual awards laud K
&
amp;S, Jim West and the HDA
The 10th annual Gavilan College Community Spirit Awards handed
out this week at the Hollister Downtown Association’s quarterly
breakfast had a local flavor.
Annual awards laud K&S, Jim West and the HDA
The 10th annual Gavilan College Community Spirit Awards handed out this week at the Hollister Downtown Association’s quarterly breakfast had a local flavor.
K&S Properties, local resident Jim West, and the HDA were all honored for contributing to their community.
“Every year we look around and provide some recognition for the people that do a lot, often unrecognized,” said Jan Bernstein-Chargin, Gavilan’s public information director. “It’s a tradition now in its 10th year. The goal is to make sure that as a member of the community, we [as a college] are engaging with the community. We want to recognize what people are doing – not at Gavilan or for Gavilan – but for their community.”
Three sets of awards are given each year in Hollister, Gilroy and Morgan Hill. In each community, an individual, a business and a nonprofit organization are selected by a committee at Gavilan.
K&S Properties, which owns a number of buildings throughout Hollister, was honored for being a “big and long-time supporter of nonprofits and youth athletics,” according to the nomination form.
“They donate countless gift baskets and bags each year to these organizations and also sponsor events downtown as well as providing security pro bono through the subsidiary K&S Security,” the nomination said.
West was called “a true servant leader” who has “made his mark on a number of organizations,” including the county Chamber of Commerce, the San Juan Bautista Rotary, the Hazel Hawkins Hospital Foundation, Leadership San Benito County, the local United Way and the annual Lights On Parade in downtown Hollister.
“He helps out in any way he can,” the nomination noted. “Whether it is setting up for a meeting, running skill-building sessions, or driving his antique cars in a parade.”
The downtown association was selected for recognition because it “organizes the events that bring the community together,” according to the nomination form. The HDA was lauded for putting on events such as the Lights On Celebration, the annual Farmers Market, the Downtown Street Festival, spring and fall clean-ups downtown and the free Movies Under the Stars event offered this past summer.
“There is a large amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to make it all happen,” the nomination said. “And that makes it possible for people to come together and celebrate their community.”
Last year’s San Benito County Community Spirit Award winners were Charles River labs, El Teatro Campesino and Peggy Huffstutler.
