Page 1 Pac Biz Times Honors Myra with Latino Business Award It was a big thrill for Ralph, Jim and Myron Harrison to accept the Pacific Coast Business Times Latino Business Award honoring their mother, Myra, on July 17 in Ventura. Myra, who co-founded Harrison Industries with her husband E.J. in 1932, passed away at age 99 in May. (L to R) Ralph, Lynn, Jim, George and All three brothers reminisced about their parents and growing Myron Harrison. up in Ventura when it was a very small town. They were joined at the ceremony by Ralph s wife Jenny and son Lynn, Myron s wife Sharon and son George, and me. Also there were Steve Madden and Steve Shinsky of City National Bank, who took out a full-page ad Jim, Ralph and Myron Harrison accept Harrison s Latino Business Award. At right is Pacific Coast in the event s program. Business Times Editor Henry Dubroff. The event, held at the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach Hotel, honored Latinos from finance, agriculture, economic development and other fields in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Myra was born in Ventura, one of 12 children of Francisca Moraga Velarde and Elias Velarde. It s astonishing that Myra was born in the shadow of the Crowne Plaza, on Meta Street. Her home was just blocks away, where Highway 101 now runs. Myra was proud of her Spanish heritage and her family. She was a direct descendent of Lt. Jose Joaquin Moraga, a member of the DeAnza party, which founded the San Buenaventura Mission. The entire Harrison family and would like to thank Pacific Coast Business Times Editor Henry Dubroff for this wonderful award honoring a wonderful woman. Goal of American Cancer Society Gala: Finish the Fight The Ventura Chapter of the American Cancer Society held its sixth annual gala Finish the Fight at the Air Force Commemorative Museum near the Camarillo Airport on Aug. 9. What a fun time, and what a unique setting! Agromin s Bill Camarillo and his wife Darlene joined Harrison Industries Vice President Jim Harrison and me at this wonderful Continued on page 2
Page 2 Goal of American Cancer Society Gala: Finish the Fight - continued from page 1 fundraiser that benefits so many cancer patients in our community as well as cancer research. In all, about 300 people, including a large number dressed in 1940s clothing, attended. There was a cocktail reception, dinner, live and silent auctions and tours of the museum. There was also a lot of dancing and you should have seen Jim on the dance floor with Ventura County Supervisor Jim Harrison, with Agromin CEO Bill Kathy Long (aka Rosie the Riveter) Camarillo and his wife Darlene. and Ventura Mayor Cheryl Heitmann. I think Jim will be hearing from the folks at Dancing with the Stars soon! Jim Harrison, on the dance floor making a pledge with County Supervisor Kathy Long (aka Rosie the Riveter) and Ventura Mayor Cheryl Heitmann. Jim also was one of many who stood up to Finish the Fight by making a contribution from the floor, with Kathy Long banging the gavel as auctioneer. Sandy Berg of the Ventura Chapter of the American Cancer Society reports the event raised about $170,000. Harrison Industries gladly sponsors this important fundraiser. To learn more about the American Cancer Society and its services, call 1-800-227-2345 or visit www.cancer.org. Fillmore Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary in Style It was a delight to attend the ceremony celebrating the 100th anniversary of Fillmore s incorporation on July 11. Residents proudly say Fillmore is the, Last Best Small Town in Southern California, and that s certainly the case. Harrison Industries President Ralph Harrison, his wife Jenny and Harrison Vice President Jim Harrison joined me at the festivities, highlighted by the burial of a time capsule that won t be unearthed until Fillmore s bicentennial in 2114. Inside the time capsule were photographs of Fillmore; the city budget; badges from the local police and fire departments; a firefighter s helmet; newspaper clippings from Fillmore s history; and letters from City Council members to their counterparts in the future. Mayor Manuel Minjares told the crowd of his love for Fillmore, a hearty city which has survived a number of catastrophic disasters over its 100-year history, including the 1928 St. Francis Dam collapse that killed hundreds, and the 1994 Continued on page 3 Fillmore City Council members (from left) Douglas Tucker, Manuel Minjares, Rick Neal, Diane McCall and Steve Conaway prepare to bury the time capsule.
Page 3 Fillmore Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary in Style - continued from page 2 Northridge earthquake that severely damaged downtown and the old City Hall. But today, Fillmore thrives, and I felt compelled to speak to the audience. I offered to them congratulations on behalf of the Harrison family and said we are committed to continue to support all that makes Fillmore and its quality of life so great - and that is its residents, city organizations and community service groups. Happy 100th Anniversary, Fillmore! Harrison, Gold Coast Recycling and Agromin Videos Are Must-Sees Ever wonder where your trash and recyclable materials go after they re collected curbside by Harrison Industries trucks? If so, I recommend you visit www.ejharrison.com, and you ll find videos on the daily operations of Harrison Industries and our strategic partner, Gold Coast Recycling & Transfer Station. Look under the heading What s New and click on to Check Out Our Videos. There are 90-second and nine-minute videos on our daily operations as well as a 90-second spot on Gold Coast Recycling. Also check out an impressive six-minute video that actor LeVar Burton made on recycling for his Reading Rainbow app. Harrison Industries and Gold Coast Recycling are featured in it. Scroll down and there s a two-minute feature by KEYT Channel 3 News on how Harrison s food waste program has made the California Avocado Festival in Carpinteria a Zero Waste event. If you know what happens to the grass clippings, tree branches and leaves you place in your tan yard waste container, go to our strategic partner Agromin s website at www.agromin.com, and you ll see a four-minute video by KEYT on its operations. All videos are interesting as well as educational. Also, tell your friends about them so together we can move toward our goal of Zero Waste. Surf Rodeo at Pierpont Beach Offered Waves of Fun What happens when you mix surfing, music and cowboys? You get the Surf Rodeo, a unique summer celebration that was held July 12-13 at Ventura s Pierpont Beach. The Surf Rodeo consisted of surfing competitions, of course, but it also featured music from 19 bands, lots of food, a wide range of vendor booths, two beer gardens and a Cowgirl Bikini Contest. Continued on page 4
Page 4 Surf Rodeo at Pierpont Beach Offered Waves of Fun - continued from page 3 Harrison Industries was a sponsor of the event and donated a roll-off bin, trash/recycling bags and boxes. Proceeds from the event s prized raffle item a restored 1977 Volkswagen bus went to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Ventura, the Girls Empowerment Center of Thousand Oaks and A Walk on Water, a Newbury Park nonprofit that offers surfing therapy for special needs kids. Carpinteria Triathlon to Have 17th Run on Sept. 28 Harrison Industries encourages everyone to rise bright and early on Sunday, Sept. 28, and cheer over 1,000 dedicated men and women of all ages who will be putting their swimming, bicycling and running skills to the test in the 17th annual Carpinteria Triathlon at Carpinteria State Beach. The fun begins at 7:30 a.m. Proceeds from this special community event go to the City of Carpinteria s Parks and Recreation youth programs, including After School at the Pool, Aqua Camp and Junior Lifeguards. The Carpinteria Triathlon requires the assistance of more than 170 community volunteers. There are many opportunities to help with this fun event. For more information or to sign up, contact Ann Meyer at annm@ci.carpinteria.ca.us, or call her at 6845405, ext. 432. Camarillo Fiesta in Old Town Had Something for the Entire Family Old Town Camarillo was filled with music, food and a lot of family fun when the city celebrated its golden anniversary with the 50th Camarillo Fiesta & Street Fair. Harrison Industries is a proud title sponsor of this wonderful community event that drew about 35,000 visitors from near and far and raised over $25,000 for local charities and schools. There were more than 200 craft and food vendors, carnival rides, a farmers market, and the Rotary Beer Garden. Special activities included a Carnival Special Dollar Day on Thursday night when all rides cost just $1 and a Friday night car cruise of classic automobiles and a classic car show on Sunday. There was music for everybody, from rock n roll, jazz, country, blues and bluegrass to mariachi, reggae, funk and even punk! In addition to being a longtime sponsor, we also collected trash and recycling from the Camarillo Fiesta & Street Fair, and most of the material we collected, we recycled!
Page 5 Carp-A-Cabana Benefits Carpinteria s Schools Since it was established in 1993, the Carpinteria Education Foundation has raised more than $2.3 million for Carpinteria Unified School District schools. One of its major fund-raisers is the lively Carp-A-Cabana. The 22nd annual Carp-A-Cabana was held Sept. 6 at Lions Park on Casitas Pass Road. It featured live and silent auctions; beer, wine and tasty Mojitos; a wine raffle; delicious hors d oeuvres served by students in Carpinteria High School s Culinary Arts program; and music by the Dusty Jugz, a popular local country and western band. Western wear was the sartorial choice of many who attended. The featured item of the live auction was a western-themed 16 x 20-inch painting by Carpinteria artist John Wullbrandt entitled Carp-A-Cabana Round Up. Harrison Industries is happy to be a sponsor of the Carp-A-Cabana. Harrison President Ralph Harrison and his wife Jenny attended and said they had a great time! Camarillo Chili Cook-off Spices Up Labor Day Weekend For thousands of locals wanting to get away for the Labor Day weekend but not that far way and for visitors wanting to get away from the heat, Camarillo Ranch was a great place to be on Aug. 31 for the 6th annual Camarillo Chili Cook-off and Music Festival. The festival offered much more than just delicious chili. The Pleasant Valley Lions Club held a barbecue with plenty of beer, wine and soft drinks. Guests also enjoyed a Classic Car Display and Texas Hold Em Poker Tournament as well as a special fun and games zone for the kids. And, of course, there was great music featuring the UnUsual Suspects, the Hodads and St. Pepper, a Beatles tribute band. Harrison Industries is a proud Gold Sponsor of this fun-filled community event that raised about $65,000 for Camarillo Hospice, a volunteer hospice and grief support center dedicated to the dignity of life by providing care, comfort, support, and counseling to individuals and families facing a life-limiting illness and/or grieving the loss of a loved one. To learn more about the great work being done by Camarillo Hospice, visit www. camarillohospice.org.
Page 6 Zero Waste is Goal of California Avocado Festival The 28th annual California Avocado Festival is coming to Carpinteria on Oct. 3-5! Harrison Industries is a Gold Sponsor of this magnificent community event held on Linden Avenue that attracts over 100,000 visitors from near and far. They re treated to food plenty of food, most of it, of course, involving avocados and 75 musical acts performing on four stages over the three-day festival and just plain good times. I love this year s festival poster. It features an avocado turned into a guitar combining the festival s outstanding music with Carpinteria Valley s favorite fruit. And for the fourth year in a row, we and the members of the organizing committee are working together to make it the greenest festival in the world. Our goal is Zero Waste. That means we ll place recycling barrels around the festival grounds specifically for disposed food waste and paper products. They ll be the barrels with the yellow lids, and materials will be delivered to our strategic partner Agromin, which is undertaking a pilot food waste program. The barrels with the blue lids are for recyclables such as aluminum cans, glass bottles and plastic materials along with non-food trash. These materials are sorted at our other strategic partner, Gold Coast Recycling & Transfer Station. We achieved Zero Waste last year, so let s do it again! Do your part by placing your food waste and recyclables in the right barrels. It s the right thing to do. All of the money raised is returned to non-profit groups so it really is a multi-community event. Come and have fun and help our local non-profits! Sincerely, email: nand@ejharrison.com phone: 805-701-9809 Nan Drake, Harrison Industries web: http://www.ejharrison.com