Mike and Mary Cox, husband and wife, have been named
”
Man and Woman of the Year
”
for 2008 by the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, the first time
the awards have been given to a married couple in the same
year.
Morgan Hill
Mike and Mary Cox, husband and wife, have been named “Man and Woman of the Year” for 2008 by the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, the first time the awards have been given to a married couple in the same year.
The pair will be recognized Jan. 26 at the annual Salute Morgan Hill Awards at the Community and Cultural Center’s Hyrum Morgan Hill room. The awards dinner and ceremony is sponsored by the chamber.
Other honorees include Sobrato High School teacher Tracy Murphy as “Educator of the Year,” Jeff Perkins as “Volunteer of the Year,” “Cal Color Growers as “Business of the Year” and Michele Dragoescu and Jonathan Baio as “Students of the Year.”
Chamber Executive Director Dan Ehrler said the annual dinner has been a part of chamber tradition for nearly 50 years and also marks the installation of new board members.
The award recipients are chosen by a committee who reviews a variety of nominations. On the committee are past award recipients, as well as community members. They choose all of the residents to be recognized, except for the chamber volunteer of the year, who is chosen by chamber members as someone who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to selflessly serve Morgan Hill.
“Mike and Mary are very generous with their time and resources in this community,” Ehrler said.
Mike and Mary Cox moved to Morgan Hill from Saratoga several years ago and have both become a vital part of the community, spending their time and resources to help in many different ways. Mary, laboratory manager at the Veteran’s Administration Palo Alto Health Clinic, is a member of many community groups, opening her home for a variety of events, while Mike, CEO of Anaerobe Systems, has been involved with the Youth Advisory Committee and the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill, among others.
As a microbiologist, Mike is more than just a scientist, he has been described as a “visionary.” He has spent more than 30 years of his life finding ways to create energy from commonplace items. For example, he has discovered a process in which anaerobic bacteria synthesize glucose from vegetable matter to create hydrogen – an element that can be burned for energy with no pollution. In layman’s terms, he uses bacteria to turn the sugar from garbage into energy.
Ehrler said Perkins is an obvious choice for the volunteer award.
“Jeff Perkins has contributed truly extraordinary amounts of time and genuine care to and on behalf of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, both over the years and especially this past year, and for that, the chamber is a much better organization and most grateful,” he said.
Perkins, who is senior vice president and regional manager of South Valley National Bank, has been a member of the chamber’s Board of Directors since 2002. He was treasurer for two years and a co-chair for the Taste of Morgan Hill also for two years.
All of the 2008 Salute Morgan Hill award recipients will be recognized at a dinner in their honor on Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. at the Community and Cultural Center. For tickets or for more information, contact Patti De La Rosa, special events director, at 779-9444 or pd*******@********ll.org.
2008 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SALUTE MORGAN HILL AWARDS
Man of the Year – Mike Cox
Woman of the Year – Mary Cox
Volunteer of the Year – Jeff Perkins
Educator of the Year – Tracy Murphy
Student of the Year, Live Oak – Michele Dragoescu
Student of the Year, Sobrato – Jonathan Baio
Business of the Year – Cal Color Growers
