Every year, Morgan Hill’s Chamber of Commerce honors a select group of individuals for their dedicated service to the local community with the nonprofit’s annual Chamber of the Year Awards.
The 2017 honorees, who will be recognized during a Feb. 25 chamber awards banquet, are: Ron Woolf (Man of the Year); Kathy Sullivan (Volunteer of the Year); Emmanuel Calivo (Student of the Year); Jim Hemeon (Teacher of the Year); Mary Lou Conragan (Woman of the Year); and Mission Bell (Business of the Year).
The awards banquet and dinner will take place 6 to 10 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Community and Cultural Center, 17000 Monterey Road. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit morganhill.org.
Man of the year
Woolf, a second term trustee on Morgan Hill Unified School District’s board of education, has served on the Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras Board as their treasurer for 25 years. He also oversees the annual festival’s scholarship program as a coordinator.
Additionally, Woolf has spent six years as a board member for the Teachers Aid Coalition, where he is also on the planning committee for the annual Chocolate and Wine event to raise money for local teachers. For 11 years, Woolf, a retired educator with MHUSD, was the Associated Student Body Director at Britton Middle School.
Along with his wife, Peggy, Woolf gives out three personal scholarships, one to a senior from each of MHUSD’s three high schools.
Volunteer of the year
Sullivan, who served on the MHUSD school board for six years and as the district’s Personnel Commissioner since 2012, is also an ambassador for the chamber, where she assists with breakfasts, mixers, ribbon cuttings and other events.
As the Vice President of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, Sullivan helps out with other community gatherings such as the Moveable Feast, Ladies Night Out, Brew Crawl and Wine Walk. Sullivan is also an active member of the American Association of University Women and their annual Wildflower Run.
Student of the year
Calivo, a senior at Ann Sobrato High School, ranks in the top 1 percent of the senior class and has earned the title AP Scholar with Distinction by the College Board. Calivo, who has taken course in Spanish and French while at Sobrato, has earned the highest possible score on both AP exams after studying each for just two years.
Additionally, Calivo is the chapter president for Sobrato Future Farmers of America, which he has been a part of for three years. With all that and even more activities on his resume, Calivo maintains a 4.39 GPA.
Teacher of the year
Hemeon, a veteran science teacher at Live Oak for 37 years, has taught a variety of classes including Biology, Advanced Placement Biology, and Anatomy and Physiology. With a command of the subject matter, Hemeon has an innate ability to engage and teach students.
Hemeon regularly arrives well before 6 a.m. every day to prepare his lessons and hand-draws everything the students will see and use, from cross sections of the human body, to cells and microorganisms, animals and plant life, to his self-created activities and labs.
Woman of the year
Conragan has been a member of the Kiwanis Club since 2005 and served as its president for three years. She has been the leader and chair of the Holiday Lights Parade for countless years; Key Club Advisor at Sobrato High School; Turnaround Scholarship Committee Chair; Registrar of Voter Courier Chair; and the annual cioppino feed chair for two years.
Business of the year
Mission Bell, known for its architectural millwork, has a workforce of 240 employees. In 2016, the company was recognized with a “Great Place to Work” certification. It has also garnered an Innovator of the Year Award by the National Center for Employee Ownership.
At the forefront of sourcing reclaimed wood for integrating into building, Mission Bell has given back to the community. They built a play structure for a physically challenged young girl at her home; helped fund a new soccer field for the kids of East Palo Alto; and support Bike 4 Breath for people with asthma and COPD.
