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This week’s listings on the back page
Chamber of Commerce honors local business
Nusil wins Large Business of the Year
Curtis Studio of Dance wins Small Biz of the Year
Just about the time that Citizens for the Carpinteria Bluffs was scratching every penny together it could find to purchase and preserve the Carpinteria Bluffs, business began humming at Nusil Technology. Nusil, which was founded in 1979 in Carpinteria and really hit its stride in the mid-1990s, opened its wallet for the cause and started what has been a long and steady relationship of giving back to the community. This year, Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce recognizes Nusil, the largest single employer in Carpinteria Valley, as its Large Business of the Year. “We’re thrilled,” commented Steven Bohn, Director of Marketing and Commerce. “The company was born here over 30 years ago. We’re a quiet custodian of our local environment, and have always taken care of where we are but haven’t trumpeted what we’ve done.” The silicone manufacturing and processing plant employs around 400 people at its sevenbuilding campus on Cindy Lane off Via Real. Silicone developed in Carpinteria is used in myriad applications all over the world and even in space travel. Silicone breast implants get a lot of attention, but Nusil silicone could as easily end up under the hood of a Ford F150 or engineered into aerospace electronics as it could get implanted
Bonnie Curtis looked baffled when questioned about the moment she realized dance was her calling. “It’s just in the blood,” she replied simply. Having slipped into her first ballet shoes in the early 1950s, Curtis can’t remember a time when dance was not part of her life. hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Carpinteria children similarly cannot remember life without dance or life without Curtis Studio of Dance, a local institution since 1973. The studio, which spent its first year in Casitas plaza before moving to its long-time home at 4915 9th Street, was founded by Bonnie’s mother Mary Lou Curtis, who, as a girl, was advertised as a child sensation and, as a young woman, danced in the USo during World War II. Bonnie grew up in a small Florida town, where her mom worked as a dance teacher at a local studio. She walked from school to the studio every afternoon, where she took classes into the evening. Mary Lou and Bonnie took a motherdaughter dance act on the road, too, performing at festivals and in shows all along the East Coast. a few years after Bonnie moved west, her mother and father followed. and the rest is Carpinteria history. Mary Lou retired in 1987, turning over her studio to Bonnie, who had already
By Peter Dugré
NUSIL continued on page 4
By LeA BOyD
EVELYN CERVaNTES phoToS
Bill Mahlke and Bonnie Curtis, owners of Curtis Studio CURTIS continued on page 4 of Dance, are delighted to be recognized as this year’s winners of the Small Business of the year award at the Jan. 25 Community Awards Banquet.
Of the around 400 employees at Nusil technology many call Carpinteria home. For its community commitment, Nusil will win this year’s Large Business of the year award at the Community Awards Banquet.