SOCIALIZING SANTEE

The Santee Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Santee Heroes Celebration on Thursday April 27th at Carlton Oaks Golf Course. Santee Chamber President/ CEO, Kristen Dare, hosted the ceremony alongside Miss Santee titleholders, Chamber staff, Committee Chair Susie Parks (Santee Coffee Corner) and Board Chair, Melissa Dombo (Raceway Electric & Solar), as the organization welcomed over 125 guests. This event is a gathering of Santee Service Organizations, Local Educators, First Responders, Healthcare Workers, Community Leaders, and Elected Officials to receive recognition for their personal and group impact in our region and honor their contributions over the past year.

Starting the evening on the patio overlooking the course, acoustic guitar music was provided by Junior Miss Santee’s own grandfather, Ruben Delgado, adding a special touch as guests arrived. Moving inside, the tables impressed with centerpieces from Florabella, programs printed by The UPS Store, and a dessert bar by Crumbl Cookies, NatSweets and Baklava King. We started with our organization awards from the Santee’s Favorites voting program as we honored the winners for favorite Community Organization - Lions, Tigers & Bears, Non Profit Organization - Santee Food Bank, and Place of Worship - Pathways Community Church.

Continuing on, we proudly announced each community honoree from the previous year:

Santee-Lakeside Rotary - Club 2022 Rotarian of the Year Karen Fleck

Kiwanis Club of Santee - 2022 Kiwanian of the Year Jim Holman

Santee School District - 2022 District Teacher of the Year Tara O'Connell

Santee Fire Department - 2022 Firefighter of the Year Jeremy Carroll

San Diego Sheriff’s Department - 2022 Santee Deputy of the Year Detective Damon Chandler

Sharp Grossmont Hospital - 2022 Healthcare Hero Rachel Carry

Sharp Rees-Stealy - 2022 Healthcare Hero Julie Roth, D.O.

It was a huge pleasure to honor our past Board Director, Jim Peasley, as his family accepted a special award presented by Senator Brian Jones. I was able to announce the retirement of Dustin Trotter of TDT Construction who was also the title sponsor of the event. To close out the night, Dustin announced our most prestigious honor, our Person of the Year award, which went to the most deserving individual and local resident, Charlie Plavi. Charlie’s volunteer work has benefited so many people through all of the different groups he represents - he is always cheerful, has great planning skills and does all of this without wanting or requiring any thanks or recognition, earning his obvious nickname as “Mr. Volunteer”.

300 Site Campground

Rental Cabins

Fishing | Stocked Year-Round

Event Venues

Five Miles of Trails

Reservable Picnic Areas

Pedal Boats

Six Playgrounds | Sprayground

General Store

Angry Petes Pizza Restaurant