This year, we mixed all the good things together for the Annual I Am I Can Awards. So many details went into that night, we don’t want them to be overlooked!
The Award Dinner was held inside one of the warehouses located in the Green Island Business District. Loch & Union is a new company in town that is producing some fantastic spirits. They moved to Napa Valley, specifically to American Canyon to be close to Napa wine barrels. Just to name a few of their titles, in 2018 they were named;
- California Distillery of the Year
- Gold Medals at the Artisan Awards for both their American Dry Gin and Barley Gin
- Golf Medal at the New York International Spirit Competition for their American Dry Gin and a Bronze Medal for their Barley Gin
- Gold Medal for their American Dry Gin at the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition
- Double Gold & Best in Class Awards for their American Dry Gin at the San Diego Spirits Festival
- Special Packaging Awards at the California Spirits Competition
Check out their website www.LochandUnion.com for a full list of awards, bios on all the team members including their pup Meera.
The Loch & Union Team served up 2 cocktails for the event, a classic Gin & Tonic and their special, the Bees Knees. You can recreate these cocktails at home! Loch & Union gin can be purchased locally at Bounty Hunter Rare Wine & Spirits in Napa.
Bees Knees:
- 1.5 oz L&U Gin
- Tsp Honey (we recommend using local honey from Marshalls Honey Farm)
- Tsp Lemon Juice
- 1 drop Elderflower Liqueur
- Shake, garnish with a lemon twist
Gin & Tonic (“L&U G&T”)
- 1.5 oz L&U Gin
- Fever Tree Tonic Water (to taste)
- 1/2 slice of lime
The guys did use local honey in the Bees Knees. Spencer Marshall of Marhsall’s Honey Farm, located in American Canyon, donated honey for the cocktail. The Honey Farm is open Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm. Our favorite honey blend is Honey I’m Home. The honey comes from the hives located at their property and is as local as you can get! www.marshallshoney.com
Our entertainment of the night came from local Napa Graduate, Tomas Alas. The Chamber President/CEO met Tomas at the Young Entrepreneur Business Plan Competition put on by Napa Valley College. Tomas created his own company, Magic Man Entertainment and can be reached at magicmantomas@gmail.com. He shocked our audience with card tricks, ball tricks, smoke effects and more!
Jenga was a theme of the night. Each guest received a piece of the game upon arrival, and everyone on stage added a large piece to our mega game. Each piece of the game symbolized each person & business, and their contribution to the community. As we continue to work together, our community will remain strong and will grow. Thank you Ted Stumpf, Realtor with Windermere Real Estate, Clarence Mamaril with Mamaril Law Office, Welcome Center Volunteer Laura Grimm and Beth Goff for letting us use your games!
The evening would’ve have been a success without our 2019 Chairman of the Board of Directors, Tom Phillips with Recology. Recology sponsored all of the tables, chairs and linens, which were rented from Chamber Member, Platinum Party Rentals. Recology also heated the warehouse with a portable blow heater rented by All Star Party Rental. www.pseventrentals.net
The wine served at the event was a collaborative donation organized by Bill Harper with Valley Wine Warehouse. The white wine was donated by The Boisset Collection (that has a location out on Green Island Rd) and the red wine was donated by G3 Enterprises.
Our dinner was catered by Chef 2 Go. Chef Daniel and his team knocked it out of the park with their yummy food! We highly recommend him! www.cheftogocatering.com
Lighting was done by Napa Lighting and really set the tone of the evening. They were a pleasure to work with. www.napalighting.com.
Stephanie Knight with SK Creative put together our slideshow seamlessly. We love working with Stephanie throughout the year on numerous projects. www.skcreativearts.com
Our most important helpers of the evening were our volunteers;
- Laura & Pickles
- Rosalynn & Her Husband Brian
- Vincent Lin
- Andrea
- Gina
- Mellissa
- Heidi
- Jeri
Our volunteers folded napkins, setup the stage, created the printed program, uncorked wine, helped cars park, placed solar lights, poured wine, worked check in and assisted with whatever they were asked.
The purpose of this event is to swear in our Board of Directors, celebrate our Members, and honor our Award Winners.
Welcome our 2019 Board of Directors;
- Tom Phillips, Recology (Chairman of the Board)
- Riita DeAnda, Farmers Insurance (Past Chairwoman of the Board)
- Pat Zuniga, Zeco Electric (CFO)
- Deb Castles, McGrath Properties
- Selwa Hamati, Hamati Bookkeeping & Tax Service
- Kathy Glass, Platypus Tours
- Ralph Andino, Law Office of Ralph Andino,
- David Griffis, Eagle Vines Golf Club
- Beth Goff, American Canyon High School
- Kenta Kamohara, Holiday Inn Express & Suites
- Bill Harper, Valley Wine Warehouse
- Chris Allen, Nelson Staffing
Congratulations to our 2018 Winners
Ambassador of the Year: Kaitlin Witting
Member of the Year: Bill Harper
Business of the Year: McGrath Properties
Awards Ceremony
Thank you to all who attend this event and celebrated with us! We look forward to serving our business community in 2019.
All photos were taken by the Chamber’s preferred photographer, Paul Hippauf.” http://paulhippaufphotography.com/