Rotary Honors Honored Members

Laura Benson was recognized as a Woman of Distinction on September 23 by the Girl Scouts, Santa Barbara County for her contribution to the community and her personal embodiment of the Girl Scout experience. Benson has been a Girl Scout member for 29 years, has served on the Board, and was a member of the transition team for the council merger to Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast. She is a vice president and private banking relationship manager for Northern Trust N.A., with more than 30 years in banking and more than 18 years in the private banking area. Benson is also involved with the University Club of Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara Associates, Domestic Violence Solutions, and the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise.

40 Under 40, Pacific Business Times’ profiled the forty up-and coming business leaders under 40 years of age in the Tri-county business community with a special edition on September 24. Winners will also be celebrated at an awards reception and dinner at the Topa Tower Club in Oxnard on October 18.

Nominees were judged on business accomplishments, civic and volunteer engagement, and outside validation of accomplishments. Dana Goba has been the Community Health Coordinator with the Cottage Health System for the past four years overseeing community outreach and external grant programs. Previously she was involved in community outreach at the local United Way. Dana was vice president of the Rotaract Club of Santa Barbara, a club for 18-30 year old young professionals which is affiliated with Rotary International, and is now a member of the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise.

Darren Doi is Assistant Vice President, Commercial Banking Officer, at the American Rivera Bank in Santa Barbara. He has been in the banking business since 2004 and is a Member of the California Coastal Loan Committee and the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise.

Elizabeth Werhane is the Internal Communications Manager at Citrix Online where she is responsible for employee volunteerism, charitable events, nonprofit sponsorships, employee communications, and edits the company magazine. Before joining Citrix, she was managing editor of the Business Times. She is involved with more than a dozen nonprofits including the Nonprofit Support Center, Special Olympics, she was the founding president of the Rotaract Club of Santa Barbara, and recently joined the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise.

Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise meets at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday at the Santa Barbara Club, 1105 Chapala Street.