Company of the Year Honoree Mission Wealth President and Partner Dannell Stuart, SCB&TA Committee Co-Chair, Event Emcee, and Sponsor Raymond James VP and Branch Manager Matt Rowe, Rising Star Honorees Dimer Instruments Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Michael Larkin and Co-Founder and CEO Stephen Minne, SCB&TA Committee Co-Chair, Event Emcee and Sponsor Bartlett, Pringle & Wolf Partner Danna McGrew, Entrepreneur of the Year Honoree ChipAgents Founder and CEO William Wang, Excellence in Service Honoree UCSB Dept. of Technology Management Entrepreneurship Program Director Dave Adornetto, and Scholarship Foundation Interim President and CEO Tim Dougherty | Credit: Gail Arnold
With more than 600 attendees, 64 corporate sponsors, and more than $200,000 in net proceeds for the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, this year’s South Coast Business & Technology Awards (SCBTA) was quite the celebratory, networking, and fundraising event. Held June 23 at the Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort, the event honored top local businesses and leaders, as well as UCSB’s Department of Technology Management. Since 2001, the annual event has raised more than $3.5 million for the Scholarship Foundation.
All net proceeds go to the Scholarship Foundation, which this year awarded more than $8.4 million to 2,288 students. Roughly equal amounts went to students in the North and South County. The foundation manages more than 500 scholarship funds, for which it charges no administrative fees. Funds are available for undergraduate, graduate, and vocational studies. The foundation also provides free financial aid advising services, which generate significant additional funds for students.
The Department of Technology Management at UCSB was lauded for playing a crucial role in launching many of the region’s high-tech ventures. Based on the premise that companies need people who both understand technology and business, it teaches how to use technology to create both products and businesses. It offers an undergraduate certificate to more than 2,000 students from more than 50 majors each year and has a masters and a Ph.D. program. It operates the New Venture Program, which provides hands-on workshops that culminate in its annual New Venture Competition, the catalyst for more than 70 startups in the region, including Apeel Sciences, Inogen, and Next Energy Technologies.
The Entrepreneur of the Year Award went to ChipAgents Founder and CEO William Wang; Company of the Year Award to Mission Wealth; Executive of the Year to AppFolio President and CEO Shane Trigg; Pioneer Award to Carey Group President Trudi Carey, and Rising Star Awards to Dimer Instruments and to Unwrap.
This article was adapted from a piece originally written by Gail Arnold for the Santa Barbara Independent. For the full story and list of awardees, visit the original article here.