Through the fog lined streets of downtown Riverbank, some recent big events were bringing lots of smiles to residents in The City of Action.
During the Riverbank Chamber of Commerce Board Installation and Awards Dinner on Friday evening, Jan. 16, many familiar faces and a few new ones were celebrated as they received various honors. Beginning with the installation of the new Board of Directors, the program was filled with joy and excitement for the future of Riverbank. Five new Directors were introduced at the event: Arlene Morales, Ashton Fortuna, Francis Guevara, Elizabeth Uribe and Jennifer Davis.
From the new Board of Directors for the Chamber of Commerce to the honorees for Business of the Year, Youth of the Year and Citizen of the Year, the air was filled with anticipation and promise.
Nominees for Business of the Year were: Red Robin, Galaxy Theaters and Aemetis Properties. Francis Guevara, Manager at Red Robin, took home the trophy along with the respect and admiration of his peers. From hosting fundraisers at Red Robin to working diligently with Love Riverbank, Guevara is a man of action. He is a leader with more than 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry and noted, “I wouldn’t be here without all of the people that help me every day; family and friends and colleagues, they help every step of the way and I am very grateful.”
Youth of the Year nominees included: Giselle Fernandez, Gabriel Spezzano-Roy, Giselle Romo, Alejandro Cabrera and Arianna Sanchez. Each of these young folks brought a wealth of experience in community service as well as a strong commitment to those that they live and work with. Two were recognized on Friday night. Giselle Fernandez, one of the winners of the Youth of the Year Award, volunteers at local schools in addition to competing on the Riverbank High School cross country and track and field teams. Fernandez competed and won a D-4 Championship and also qualified for Nationals. Gabriel Spezzano-Roy also took home the honor of Youth of the Year and spends his time volunteering at the Riverbank Petco caring for the animals. Spezzano-Roy also spends time working with senior citizens and dedicating his time to documenting political movements through his photography and videography.
For the final award, Citizen of the Year, Darlene Barber-Martinez, a past Citizen of the Year honoree, introduced the nominees and shared some of their many accomplishments. Lynda Silva, Olivia Arambula, Francis Guevara and Sammi Martinez, the four nominees, were praised for their hard work on various community projects including but not limited to: feeding the community, fundraising, volunteering for various projects including Love Riverbank and Parks and Recreation and many more. Lynda Silva, founder of Riverbank Christian Food Sharing, took home the honor as Citizen of the Year and as she accepted the award, she asked her team of volunteers to stand up so that they, too, could be recognized for their efforts.
“This past year, we lost federal funding so we had to organize food drives to keep things going and the community came out to support us when we needed it and that is how we keep on going,” said Silva.
She went on to acknowledge all of the many folks that volunteer their time and services to help keep the Riverbank Christian Food Sharing in operation to feed local residents in need, noting her gratitude and praising the community which she is so proud to serve.
From the current Citizen of the Year to former award recipients such as Dominic Genaro, Citizen of the Year for 1968, there were many proud people from Riverbank on hand at the Friday night gathering. Several noted that the Chamber awards program is a way to honor the future leaders as well as the generous citizens that make Riverbank such a great place to live.
