San Benito Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau is set to honor Huboi, Sleznick, others at annual awards dinner Jan. 24.
This year’s winners of man and woman of the year, as chosen by the chamber of commerce board, are both creative types and transplants from other areas.
The San Benito County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau has announced its winners of the man, woman and ambassador of the year.
The winners this year are Hollister’s David Huboi as man of the year, San Juan Bautista’s Gayle Sleznick as woman of the year and Cindy Biesemeyer as ambassador of the year.
The chamber will honor the man, woman and businesses of the year at the annual awards dinner Jan. 24 at San Juan Oaks Golf Club. The organization announced the winners at this month’s Business After Hours event at St. Francis Retreat.
A group of 17 people chose winners of man, woman and ambassador of the year, said Juli Vieira, interim president and CEO of the chamber.
“It’s about a three-hour process to pick the man and woman of the year,” said Vieira, honored as woman of the year herself two years ago.
She said the man and woman of the year “have both done a lot.”
“They’re definitely well deserving of the nomination,” she said.
Huboi, an architect who is active in the community, recalled how he and his wife moved to Hollister 20 years ago.
“My wife was pregnant,” said Huboi, who grew up in Madison, Wis. “We were looking to buy a home to raise a family. And we couldn’t afford anything in the Bay Area so we came out to Hollister.”
They immersed themselves in the community, and Huboi Architectural Services became a go-to resource for many public and affordable projects, including the massive Veterans Memorial Building renovation done more than a decade ago.
“We were a small firm,” Huboi said. “When we got the veterans building project, it was a huge challenge for us.”
While Huboi has stayed busy with his architectural work—for which he has been lauded on the style and environmentally friendly sides—he has been active in community organizations, at St. Luke’s Church, or as co-host of the “Going Green” TV show on Channel 17 overseen by Community Media Access Partnership. He’s also a longtime Hollister planning commissioner.
Huboi has a particular soft side for the needy and that shows in his work. Most recently, he has been working on design work for a new Community Food Bank building on San Felipe Road.
“I’ve stated this before,” he said. “Once an old building is demolished or falls over in disrepair, all we have is a photograph.”
Sleznick, who grew up in Death Valley National Monument, also has an appreciation for preserving history. She and her husband Jim—the 2005 chamber man of the year—moved here about three decades ago so he could take a job at Pinnacles National Monument. They almost immediately immersed themselves in the local community.
Sleznick found a niche not only in the arts—being centrally involved in the arts commission, arts council, Oriana Chorale and open studios endeavors—but also in her participation with other nonprofit groups such as Hollister Rotary and the Community Food Bank of San Benito County.
“This is our retirement home,” Sleznick said of the Mission City. “It’s my first hometown. It was a perfect choice.”
Sleznick has used her passion for the arts to give back throughout her time in San Juan. She recalled helping to restore the 22 two-sided saint fixtures that hang throughout town during the holiday season. They rehung the saint fixtures in 2001, and they’re still in use today.
“We were always trying to get them up and get them stored somehow,” she said.
SAMPLING OF THEIR ACTIVITIES
Gayle Sleznick:
SBC Arts Council
SBC Arts Commission
Oriana Chorale
SJB Chamber
Community Food Bank
Community Foundation
David Huboi:
St. Luke’s Church
Hollister General Plan Steering Committee
Hollister Planning Commission
Homeless Coalition of SBC
Hollister Measure R/T committees
San Benito Chamber
Source: Nomination forms
IF YOU GO
WHO: Man, woman, businesses of year
WHAT: Chamber awards dinner
WHEN: 6 p.m. Jan. 24
WHERE: San Juan Oaks Golf Club
TICKETS: (831) 637-5315.
