Soledad, CA – Vivien Lindley was recognized as the 2015 Agricultural Woman of the Year for Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties at an annual event hosted by Ag Against Hunger on June 5, at Paraiso Vineyards in Soledad.
This annual luncheon recognizes a woman who has contributed significantly to the success of the tri-county agricultural industry. The Ag Woman of the Year award is a surprise to all guests including the recipient. More than 250 people were in attendance to recognize Vivien Lindley.
The Agricultural Woman of the Year award seeks to honor women who demonstrate extraordinary acts of leadership while working within the local agricultural industry. These acts include creating systematic change for agriculture through production, public policy, consumer awareness and volunteerism, performing as a spokesperson for agriculture and encouraging community support.
This year, the committee made up of previous honorees and the Ag Against Hunger Board of Directors chose a woman who has worked to the great benefit of the local agricultural community, Vivien Lindley.
The 2015 honoree has volunteered countless hours with many organizations. Lindley is a member of the Gonzales Young Farmers, is a graduate of Leadership Salinas Valley and has showcased the Monterey County Wine industry at more than 100 events throughout the world. For the past 22 years, she has volunteered with California Women for Agriculture and with the California Rodeo Salinas. Lindley has given many hours to local fairs and served as a clerk and local buyer at the junior livestock auctions, raised funds for the Monterey County Friends of the Fair, and is a member of the Salinas Valley Fair Heritage Foundation. She was appointed to the Monterey County Fair Board by then Governor Schwarzenegger in 2011 and has since served as president.
Previous Ag Women of the Year include: Sharan Lanini (1994); Claudia Smith (1995); Karen Miller (1996); Susan Gill (1997); Betty Ichikawa (1998); Mary Hansen (1999); Elia Vasquez (2000); Connie Quinlan (2001); Kay Filice (2002); Dorothy Errea (2003); Nita Gizdich (2004); Mary Orradre (2005); Lorri Koster (2006), Margaret D’Arrigo-Martin (2007), Celeste Settrini (2008), Darlene Din (2009), Karen Antle (2010), Abby-Taylor Silva (2011), Mari Rossi (2012), Georgeann Cowles Eiskamp (2013) and Mikel Ann Miller (2014).
This year's keynote speaker was Ag Against Hunger founder and first president, Tim Driscoll. On the Central Coast of California, more fruits and vegetables are grown, packed and shipped than in any other region in the world. Yet, in the midst of this abundance there are many who are hungry. Together with the help of a $23,000 grant from the Harden Foundation, Tim Driscoll, Willy Elliott-McCrea of Second Harvest Food Bank in Santa Cruz, and Jess Brown of the Santa Cruz Farm Bureau started a program that evolved into what is known today as Ag Against Hunger. Currently, Ag Against Hunger provides nutritious, fresh, surplus produce to schools in the tri-county area and to 26 food banks which include 20 in California, but and one each in Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Oklahoma.
All proceeds from this event benefit Ag Against Hunger’s efforts to alleviate hunger. Since 1990, the generous donations of surplus produce from local growers and shippers have helped Ag Against Hunger bring 230 million pounds of produce to millions of hungry children, adults and seniors. In 2014, over 14 million pounds of fresh produce was donated to food banks and schools. For more information about Ag Against Hunger or to find out how to get involved, contact Executive Director, Lynn Figone, at (818) 755-1480 or view their website agagainsthunger.org.
Source: Ag Against Hunger