WATSONVILLE — This year will be one for the history books.
The City of Watsonville is celebrating 150 years since the town was incorporated, and is also joined by the Pajaronian and S. Martinelli & Co., which are both commemorating their sesquicentennials.
The Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture will kick off the historical year with its annual awards dinner on Saturday at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds.
“As the City of Watsonville, Pajaronian and Martinelli’s are celebrating 150 years, the chamber is excited to carry the theme ‘History in the Making’ throughout the evening,” said Shaz Roth, president/CEO of the chamber.
While the trio will be recognized during the dinner, the main stars of the evening are the chamber’s annual award winners.
Mary Bannister and Harry Wiggins will be recognized as this year’s woman and man of the year. They will be joined by the Organization of the Year Pajaro Valley Historical Association and Business of the Year Pajaro Valley Printing.
Fire in the Sky, one of Watsonville’s newest happenings, was named event of the year.
Agricultural History Project CEO John Kegebein received the chamber’s lifetime achievement award.
“It’s truly an honor to celebrate the people, organizations and businesses who have given their time and talent to make the Pajaro Valley such a wonderful place,” Roth said.
Bannister retired as general manager in 2016 after 17 years with the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency. She is involved with the Santa Cruz County Fair, and leads the Clydesdale horses with the Agricultural History Project during the fair and at special events.
A Boy Scout leader for 17 years, Wiggins has mentored dozens of young men, many of whom have become Eagle Scouts. He was named Veteran of the Year in 2012, and was named to the Watsonville High School Hall of Fame in 2005.
During its 77-year history, the Pajaro Valley Historical Association has served as a hub for Watsonville’s memories, where volunteers spend hours categorizing and storing memorabilia such as photos, vintage clothes, newspapers, yearbooks and hundreds upon hundreds of other items.
For more than 25 years, Pajaro Valley Printing, located on the corner of Freedom Boulevard and South Green Valley Road, has provided a variety of digital printing, offset printing and other services. It provides services for a number of local nonprofits, such as giving permanent signage to Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services, printing out the local Veterans Day program pro bono, and providing sandbags for seniors in Bay Village.
More than 6,000 people filled the Watsonville Municipal Airport on the Fourth of July for the inaugural Fire in the Sky event. In the hours leading up to the 20-minute fireworks show, Fire in the Sky included formation flyovers, a screening of the film “Angry Birds,” food trucks, aircraft displays and more.
Kegebein, who grew up on a dairy farm in Crystal Lake, Ill., now serves as the CEO of the Agricultural History Project, and was one of the founding members of the organization more than 30 years ago. He was also named Man of the Year by the chamber in the mid-1990s.
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“The Pajaro Valley: History in the Making,” the chamber’s annual awards dinner, takes place Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 East Lake Ave. in Watsonville. Admission is $100.
For tickets and information, call 724-3900 or email [email protected].
