Valley People

Red Cross volunteer helps storm victims
A Felton man is one of 10 volunteers from the American Red Cross Santa Cruz County Chapter who left Friday, Aug. 24, for Miami and Tampa, Fla., to help with recovery efforts associated with Hurricane Isaac.
Howard Yancey of Felton will work in shelters for those who have been evacuated from their homes. He is scheduled to stay in Florida for two to three weeks, helping staff the dozens of Red Cross shelters in the state.
The volunteers were trained locally.
The Red Cross welcomes additional volunteers.
For information: www.redcross.org or 800-733-2767 (800-RED-CROSS).
 
Mount Hermon woman turns 90
A surprise 90th birthday party was celebrated June 30 for Marge Gunn of Mount Hermon.
The party, at the Gunn residence, included her daughter Katy Crawford and family from Louisiana, who made arrangements for the 27 guests who attended.
The guest list included nieces Judy Gunn from Panama, Pam Uhienberg from North Carolina, Tammi Szenyes from Arizona and Diana Gomez from Sunnyvale, Marge Gunn’s 96-year-old sister Erma Mustar from Sunnyvale, her son Gary Gunn from Concord, and many longtime friends.
Two years ago, Crawford planned a similar celebration in Mount Hermon for her father, Gil Gunn, on his 90th birthday.
The Gunns have lived in Mount Hermon for 32 years.
 
Railroad employee elected to visitors council
Joanne Hirasaki, the director of sales and marketing for Roaring Camp Railroads was elected to the Santa Cruz County Conference & Visitors Council on July 1. Hirasaki joined the Roaring Camp staff eight years ago and has 30 years of experience in tourism, marketing and development field.
She joins the 24-member board for a two-year term.
 
Local graduate named athletic director
Scotts Valley High School alumnus Nick Borough has been hired as the athletic director of Spring Hill School in Santa Cruz.
A Santa Cruz native, Borough lettered in football and baseball at Scotts Valley High.
He served six years in the U.S. Navy and attended the Monterey Defense Language Institute, graduating with a degree in Mandarin Chinese.
While in the Navy, Borough was the captain of several championship teams, including the Navy 2008 RIMPAC championship team, an International Soccer competition featuring 64 teams representing 20 countries.
Spring Hill teams compete with other private schools in the area. Teams include co-ed flag football, girls and boys basketball, co-ed soccer and girls and boys volleyball.
 
Music college honors student
Kyle Poppen of Ben Lomond earned placement on the dean’s list at Berklee College of Music for the spring semester of the 2012 academic year by maintaining a GPA of at least 3.4. The Berklee curriculum focuses on practical career preparation for the music industry.
 
Student makes dean’s list
Bonny Doon resident Roma Dmitriyev, a biochemistry major, earned a 3.7 GPA and was named to the dean’s list at University of the Pacific. Dmitriyev attended Bonny Doon Elementary, Mission Hill Middle and Santa Cruz High schools. His parents are Bob Sohl and Angela Dmitriyeva.
 
Artist selected to show in exhibit
Tom Scleich of Scotts Valley was chosen to display his pieces at the Filoli estate in Woodside as part of an art exhibit titled “Handcrafted and Through the Lens.”
The exhibit is juried by Jan Rindfleisch, former executive director of the Euphrat Museum, and Lucy Cain Sargeant, an art instructor at San Jose State University and former assistant art director of Sunset magazine.
Works will be displayed through Oct. 21 at Filoli, 86 Cañada Road, in Woodside.
 
Local seaman completes training
Navy Seaman Kevin T. Fillhouer, a 2007 graduate of Scotts Valley High School, recently completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill. During the eight-week program, Fillhouer completed training that included classroom study and practical instruction in naval customs, first aid, firefighting, water safety and survival, and shipboard and aircraft safety.
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