S.H.A.K.E. receives North Bay Leadership Council Awards

On Friday, October 19, 2007 Grayson James (Petaluma Bounty’s Executive Director) joined other local institutional, nonprofit and business leaders to receive the 2007 North Bay Leadership Council Awards for their contribution to Petaluma’s S.H.A.K.E. group (Support Healthy and Active Kids in Education). S.H.A.K.E., an innovative collaboration between parents, school employees, and the health care and business community, was founded three years ago to improve children’s health, with particular emphasis on nutrition awareness and fitness.

The S.H.A.K.E. award, in the “community building” category of the competition, was celebrated at an awards ceremony luncheon at the Doubletree Hotel in Rohnert Park, at which former U.S. Congressman and U.S. Chief of Staff Leon Panetta gave an inspiring keynote speech. The award was one of five “Leaders of the North Bay” awards in different leadership categories that also included:

• Mary K McEachron, for her work to establish the Buck Center on Aging;

• Codding Enterprises, for its green Sonoma Mountain Village project;

• Goodwill Industries of the Redwood Empire, for its electronic waste recycling program; and,

• Alma Martinez Velasquez, for her work in Novato schools to empower Latino families

Petaluma Bounty has been a community partner with S.H.A.K.E. through its school / community garden programs at McKinley and Elementary Schools.