Chamber names more Celebrate awardees

The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce this week completed the announcement of the 2025 Celebrate award winners. 

Awardees announced this week are Volunteer of the Year Patty Skovron; Student of the Year Ethan Lai; Teacher of the Year Christopher DeMelo; Small Business of the Year Mainstream Boutique; Large Business of the Year MG Constructors and Engineers; Nonprofit of the Year Leadership Morgan Hill; and Legacy Award winner Ron Locicero. 

Skovron has volunteered countless hours as an ambassador for the chamber, and has spent many years helping at events for local nonprofits including Air for Paws, Operation Freedom Paws and the Morgan Hill Freedom Fest, according to the chamber. 

Lai is “a true leader always looking for ways to help his fellow students and his community,” says the chamber’s press release. “He is a hard worker whose curiosity, intelligence and determination have helped him to build quite the impressive resume. His interest in the medical field led him to being a committed member of miRcore, a nonprofit organization supporting genetic research related to disease etiology, where he attends weekly meetings and works with team research on neurodivergent diseases as well as helps build lesson plans and teaching materials around that research.”

Teacher of the Year DeMelo has been the drama teacher at Ann Sobrato High School since 2012. “According to his peers, Christopher is an educator who works tirelessly on behalf of the needs of his students,” says the chamber’s press release. “He advocates for student leadership and student voice and his classroom can always be found full of students who know that it is a safe space for personal and artistic expression.”

Mainstream Boutique is a women’s clothing retailer in Morgan Hill “that helps women find fun fashion they’re sure to feel good in,” says a press release from the chamber. Every year the community-minded store hosts a spring fashion show that benefits the Edward Boss Prado Foundation. 

Last October they hosted a fundraiser for another local nonprofit, Morgan’s Cove; and the store hosts annual “Sip & Shop” events to raise money for ALS and Susan G. Komen. 

Leadership Morgan Hill takes local residents through a nine-month course where they gain leadership and community service skills. “Every single leadership class makes a difference in our city before they even complete their course but the lasting impact of creating community minded leaders in Morgan Hill is something we couldn’t be more grateful for,” the chamber said. 

“Mark Garrison and the entire team at MG Constructors and Engineers love Morgan Hill and make it a point to give back in services, time and financial donations,” the chamber’s announcement said of the Large Business of the Year. “They support so many of our local sports organizations like the Live Oak Athletics program, Infinity Field Hockey and the Makos Swim Club.”

Chamber Legacy Awardee Locicero, a retired educator and real estate agent, has served Morgan Hill in numerous ways for decades. Alongside his late wife Shirlee, Ron opened the Magical Bridge Inclusive Playground in Morgan Hill. 

As someone who has served on the City of Morgan Hill’s Parks & Recreation Commission, Ron understands the importance of having the space to play and the importance of that space being open and accessible for all who want to use it, the chamber said. 

Additional Celebrate award winners, announced earlier this month, are Woman of the Year Peggy Martin and Man of the Year Joe Mueller.

All the chamber’s 67th annual Celebrate award winners will be recognized and celebrated April 6 at a dinner and auction at Guglielmo Winery. For more information and tickets, visit morganhillchamber.org. 

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