Women Nominations Sought

Nominations are being sought for our local National Association of Women Business Owners Foundation’s second annual Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards dinner May 11 at the Fess Parker DoubleTree Resort & Hotel.

NAWBO-SB award nominations close February 10. Proceeds from the dinner will fund student prizes through the Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Santa Barbara City College.

Santa Barbara County women entrepreneurs in eight categories will be recognized for their contributions to the community and the economy. The categories are: health, fitness and beauty; professional services; publishing, communications, and media; real estate and construction; science, technology, and manufacturing; tourism and hospitality; wholesale and retail; and “rock star,” a top-level woman entrepreneur or mentor in the county.

Any woman business owner in the county may be nominated, regardless of the size of the business. It is not necessary to be a NAWBO member to apply. A woman can nominate herself or someone else. Men can nominate women business owners.

The Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards nomination form is available to download or to fill out online at www.nawbo-sbfoundation.org.

More Scheinfeld

In May, the Scheinfeld Center will hold its New Venture Challenge, a two-tiered business pitch competition for SBCC students and area high school students to promote youth entrepreneurship.

Three student prizes will be awarded at both the college and high school level. Winners of both tiers of the New Venture Challenge Awards will be NAWBO-SB Foundation guests and receive their prizes at the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards dinner.

The Scheinfeld Center New Venture Challenge registration opens January 23. The challenge takes place on May 4.

“What’s New in SBA Lending for 2012” is a free workshop co-hosted by the US. Small Business Administration and Santa Barbara County Small Business Development Center, on January 26.

Jason Womack, executive coach to Fortune 100 Companies, will speak at SBCC West Campus Fe Bland Forum on February 3.

The Scheinfeld Center EnterpriseLAUNCH will start again February 10.

For more information on these events, see http://scheinfeld.sbcc.edu/scheinfeld_center_info.html.

Ireland to be Honored

The “Gutsy Gal” award will be presented to Santa Barbara’s top former super model, Kathy Ireland, at a VIP reception during the May 9 to 10 International Women’s Festivals, which has the theme “Live, Love, Learn.”

The fifth annual Women’s Festivals will be held on the Santa Barbara City College West Campus.

Speaking to a South Coast crowd in September, Ireland described herself as “the model from the last century.” She now works as chief executive officer of “kathy ireland Worldwide” (that’s with lower-case first initials).

Her $1.5 billion company designs and markets furniture, clothing, accessories, skin care products, real estate, music and publications worldwide.

Ireland is married to Santa Barbara emergency room doctor and lobster fisherman Greg Olsen. They have three children.

Ireland said she has made it from the beaches of Santa Barbara where she grew up to the corporate boardroom. However, most people remember her as a featured model in the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue from1984 to 1996.

Although she never landed a breakout role, she also has TV and movie acting credits including: “Melrose Place,” “Boy Meets World,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Muppets Tonight,” “Side Out,” “Mr. Destiny,” “Necessary Roughness,” “Mom and Dad Save the World,” “National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1,” “Once Upon A Christmas,” and the sequel “Twice Upon A Christmas.”

The International Women’s’ Festivals coincide with Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, which is March 8. Issues facing women are addressed, while providing a place for networking.

Lynda Weinman, co-founder of Carpinteria-based Lynda.com, is scheduled to speak at noon March 10. Other speakers include: Heidi Kuhn, founder of Roots for Peace, which helps remove land mines; Marilyn Tam, former Nike and Adidas executive; poet Lucia de Garcia; and Marsha Brown, author of “The Million Dollar Conversation.”

Business sponsorships are available. For more information, see www.womensfestivals.org.

The South Coast Biz Blog is a roundup of business news in the Santa Barbara area and is written by Ray Estrada, restrada_2001@yahoo.com, who has covered business in the region for numerous publications over the past couple decades. See more at independent.com/biz and wordpress.com/southcoastbizblog.