By Staff Report Thursday, May 11th, 2023

Jason VanWees, the vice chairman of Teledyne Technologies since October of 2021, will be the keynote speaker for Ventech’s second event of the year.

Ventech will be hosting the event at the Cabrillo Pavillion on May 17 with a networking hour from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. followed by VanWees’s speech from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Teledyne, a technology and defense conglomerate based in Thousand Oaks, is the third largest publicly traded company on the Central Coast, holding a market capitalization of $19.3 billion as of May 9, trailing only The Trade Desk ($30.1 billion) and Amgen ($125.2 billion).

VanWees’s talk will consist of some of Teledyne’s current and ongoing projects including talking about its sensors onboard the James Webb Space Telescope, resources dedicated to planetary mapping of Earth and Mars, efforts to explore more of the ocean with autonomous underwater systems and more.

Those interested in registering can go to ventech.org/upcoming-events to learn more. Additionally, Ventech will also be hosting a ‘fast pitch’ segment for just the second time ever right before the panel begins.

Startups who sign up will have five minutes to pitch their strategy to all attendees, many of which are in the venture capital space. Those who are interested in signing up can go to ventech.org/upcoming-events.

COMMUNITY WINNERS

Allan Hancock College will celebrate three notable community leaders who have made a beneficial and continuing impact throughout their lives and careers at the college’s inaugural “Hancock Honors” ceremony. Set to take place on Sept. 9, Hancock will be celebrating Patricia Boyd, a beloved piano teacher in Santa Maria who passed in 2013, Ann Foxworthy Lewellen, Hancock’s third superintendent/president and Tommy Soulati Shepherd, a graduate of Hancock who won a Grammy this year.

CORPORATE CHALLENGE

Come play and network with other business professionals in the pickleball corporate challenge, hosted by Grennier Law. Held June 10 and 11 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., sponsorship packages are currently up for grabs with a four-tiered system, including platinum, gold, silver and team sponsor options, at $500, $250, $100 and $200 respectively.

MUSIC SERIES RETURNS

Vintners Frank Ostini and Gray Hartley of Hitching Post Wines announced the 2023 season’s lineup for their concert programming, a two-hour live performance featuring musical guests from the Santa Ynez Valley. Beginning Mother’s Day, May 14, live performances are planned every Sunday through July 9. Hours for entertainment are 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. during which Hitching Post Wines will extend a 10% discount to all bottle sales during performances.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

The National Association of Women Business Owners Santa Barbara’s May advocacy event, hosted at Workzones in the Paseo Nuevo mall from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on May 17, provides small business owners the chance to ask questions about the city’s leaders and people of influence. Pia Beck, NAWBO-SB advocacy chair will moderate the panel and small business professionals are encouraged to submit their questions beforehand.

CAL POLY FORUM

The Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s May Forum will feature Kate Somerville, known for her luxury skincare line. The discussion will be helmed by Cal Poly’s own CIE alumnus and founder of Pashion Footwear, Haley Pavone. The evening will conclude with Cal Poly’s most promising entrepreneurs pitching their startups before they begin building out their programs in the Summer Accelerator Program.

GRANTS AVAILABLE

A county grant program, administered by the Santa Barbara Foundation, was further extended so that Santa Barbara County residents who were self-employed or ran small- or micro-businesses during the pandemic can now apply through June 7. Each grant is $2,500, does not need to be repaid and is intended to help those who ran small businesses in 2019 and took at least a 10% hit to income in 2020 due to pandemic mitigation measures. There are around 60 grants remaining.

ANIMAL LOVE

In 2022, 20,426 animals received affordable veterinary care from the Santa Barbara Humane Society, a 78% increase from 2021. With their expanding efforts, the Humane Society facilities should grow as well. As such, they will be erecting story poles at their Santa Barbara campus for the next week or two to showcase the work they’ve done to support a new era of animal welfare.

NEW CHARGE

The Santa Barbara Community College District Board of Trustees announced Dr. Erika Endrijonas as the next superintendent and president of SBCC. Her contract is expected to go before the Board of Trustees at their June 15 meeting and Endrijonas is expected to take on the role by August 1.

WINE AND ART

The Downtown Santa Barbara Organization will be hosting the 2023 Live Art & Wine Tour on May 18 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Held annually for going on 20 years, the event is one of the city’s most highly anticipated. The night includes a wine glass and map guiding participants through 8 venues as well as local bites and a silent auction. 

GREEN PLANS

Congresswoman Julia Brownley delivered a check of $375,000 to support the Port of Hueneme Reducing Emissions, Supporting Health Plan, meant to assess and address emissions, air quality requirements and goals, in addition to looking at future growth scenarios.

DONATION FOR SBCC

The Rotary Club of Montecito is awarding $12,500 in career technical scholarships to SBCC students. In partnership with the SBCC Foundation, the Rotary Club will hand out 10 $1,250 scholarships to stand-out SBCC students pursuing studies in a career technical education program.

FINAL SCENES…

PARTY TIME: The San Luis Obispo Greek Festival returns this June 3 and 4 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Hosted at the Madonna Expo Center and featuring Greek food, dancing, pastries, live music and entertainment, a portion of the festival’s proceeds will be donated to the Noor Foundation and SLO Food Bank.

MUSEUM CURATOR: The Museum of Ventura County announced the hiring of their Chief Curator Carlos Ortega, who started the position on May 1. Ortega brings two decades of museum experience to the Museum, where he plans to help connect the present and future through exploration and appreciation of the past.

NEW HIRE: CommUnify, a nonprofit in Santa Barbara, announced the addition of Monica Logan, joining the team’s executive suite as the new chief operating officer.