WATSONVILLE—A husband and wife duo, who together spent more than six decades in education and several more years in public service and volunteerism, has been given this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award by the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture.
Lowell Hurst, who has served three decades on the Watsonville City Council—and about the same amount of time as a horticulture teacher at Watsonville High School—receives the award along with his wife Wendy Hurst, who began her teaching career at E.A. Hall Middle School in 1978 and was one of the first bilingual teachers in Pajaro Valley Unified School District.
Third-generation Watsonville native and real estate juggernaut Renee Mello picked up this year’s Woman of the Year award. In a press release, the Chamber says Mello’s deep involvement in several community organizations helped earn her that title.
Ken Schwan, who ran Monterey Bay Caterers from 1982 until his retirement last year, has been named Man of the Year for spearheading numerous fundraisers and donating to multiple causes.
Driscoll’s berry company is the Business of the Year, while the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County is the Organization of the Year.
The comparatively young Santa Tour—first organized in 2020 to bring joy to a community in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, is Event of the Year.
Woman of the year
Raised on a Watsonville farm, Mello attributes her work ethic to the summers she spent picking berries, tomatoes and apples.
She has called South County her home her entire life, except for a stint from 1975-1994 while she worked in Silicon Valley as a salesperson.
Upon her return, Mello married her husband Bob Mello
She worked for a time at Bank of America and began her career in Real Estate in 2000. In January, she was named Realtor of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors.
“Renee is not only a very accomplished real estate agent and personal/professional coach, she is also dedicated to her community through her service as a member and past president of Rotary,” said Chamber CEO Shaz Roth.
Mello also served on the executive board of directors of Hospice of Santa Cruz County and as President of the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Foundation and the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture.
She is now President of the Watsonville Woman’s Club.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” she said. “When I came back to Watsonville, my commitment was to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. My work over the last 28 years was to do what I can to make Watsonville a good place to live.”
Mello says she has seen her home city change dramatically from a sleepy town of 16,000 to a city of more than 53,000.
“It’s a huge adjustment,” she said. “Instead of complaining about it, let’s do what we can to make it better.”
Lifetime Achievement
Lowell Hurst volunteered in the United States Peace Corps from 1976 until 1978 in Nepal, and taught science and horticulture at WHS from 1978 until 2010.
Hurst was elected to Watsonville City Council in 1989 serving as mayor three times over three stints on the board. He is nearing the end of his final term, when he will retire from that political arena.
In addition to her career in education, Wendy Hurst was a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for many years, and is active in Soroptimist International of Watsonville. She is also active in Girls Inc., an organization that encourages girls ages 5-18 to live an active and healthy lifestyle.
“Both Wendy and I love Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley, and we want only good things to happen here,” Lowell Hurst said.
Wendy Hurst said she was humbled by the honor, and at a loss for words.
As to the end of his considerable time on the council, he said he was looking forward to the break.
“I’ve been at this a long time, and little change will be good,” Lowell Hurt said.
Man of the Year
An avid motorcyclist, Schwan’s life was strangely bookended by two crashes, one about 30 years ago and the other in 2018, the latter of which took his leg.
But neither slowed him down. His business was both a tiny but much-loved noontime eatery and a cornerstone of Pajaro Valley’s epicurean scene, providing food for such notable events as An Evening of Wine and Roses, an event Schwan helped organize.
He has donated to local events, sports teams, fundraisers and charities, in addition to the Watsonville Senior Center. He was a big part of events for the Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust and helped start galas at Notre Dame and St. Francis schools.
In addition, Schwan did fundraisers for the Diabetes Foundation, Agricultural History Project, Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Pajaro Valley Historical Association, the Rogers House, the YWCA and the Watsonville Fly-In, among others.
His business employs teens and adults from nonprofits such as Teen Challenge.
“It’s cool,” Schwan said. “I’m honored, but it’s also weird.”
Schwan said his recent retirement “took me by surprise.”
“It’s good to be recognized before you’re dead,” he said.
He also helped raise money for prostate cancer through the Distinguished Gentleman Sidecar Ride, for which he drove his motorcycle down the coast—his dog, Rider, sitting in the sidecar—collecting donations.
“The number of hours he has worked for nothing in return is immeasurable,” Roth said. “From his own families’ weddings, friends asking for a favor and the community asking for his wisdom and knowledge, he has never given a second thought to helping. Ken is an amazing leader and our community is better because of him.”
Organization of the Year
Since its inception in 1982, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County has worked to help many hundreds of donors both small and large direct their charitable efforts to the causes closest to their hearts.
The foundation also works with organizations and charities to which donations go, assuring the needs of both donors and recipients are met.
The foundation manages more than $200 million in charitable assets and provides customized giving solutions that resulted in more than $24 million in grants in 2021.
More than $183 million in local grants and scholarships have been awarded locally.
CEO Susan True says that the organization has provided more than $10 million in relief during the pandemic, the majority in South County. This includes grants and loans to small businesses and rental assistance and other help for workers.
“We’re so honored, and we so much value being a part of the Pajaro Valley,” True said. “And there is so much more work to be done.”
Business of the Year
It is difficult to travel anywhere in the U.S. without seeing the ubiquitous Driscoll’s label on berry clamshells in grocery store coolers.
That the company got its start in the Pajaro Valley is a testament to the rich soil and hard-working people who live here.
And Driscoll’s has a long history of giving back to the community where it began.
The company works with Salud Para La Gente to offer Sunday hours for community members to have better access to health care.
Driscolls in 2021 offered a dollar-for-dollar match for donations to help renovate the athletic fields at Freedom Elementary School.
The company provides funds for the YMCA Watsonville Family Center, to help expand their summer camp activities in Pajaro Park.
Company employees donated their time to overhaul soccer fields along San Miguel Canyon Road.
Driscoll’s also teams up with Casa de la Cultura during the Christmas holidays for the Adopt-an-Angel program, providing gifts to as many as 400 children.
With a $1.75 million donation, Driscolls is also one of several organizations and companies that have contributed to help keep Watsonville Community Hospital open.
The company has also given money to efforts to expand broadband access in the Pajaro Valley.
“We’re honored to be recognized by the Pajaro Valley community and awarded Business of the Year,” said Driscoll’s Chairman and CEO Miles Reiter. “Driscoll’s is proud of the developments we have been a part of over the years and are grateful to the many partners who help make investments in the health and future of our community happen including our growers, employees, and nonprofit partners.”
Event of the Year
Organized by the Watsonville Parks and Community Services Department, the Santa Tour brings Jolly Old St. Nicholas and his elves to different areas of the city. It was created to bring joy to the community as Covid-19 restrictions put the kibosh on many holiday activities.
“Santa” kicked off the inaugural tour in 2020 by flying in from the North Pole to Ramsay Park in a helicopter, then joined his wife on an antique fire engine for the tour.
In 2021, the tour started when “Santa” rolled into the annual tree lighting ceremony at the City Plaza in the same antique fire engine.
The truck came with a Santa tracker on board so that he could easily be located via a dedicated webpage.
“(The) Santa Tour Event is an example of creativity, partnership, and community engagement at the heart of the City of Watsonville’s planning efforts to connect with our residents during one of the most isolated and difficult times of our recent history,” Roth said.
