10th Annual Friends of the Santa Maria Valley
Railroad Dinner Gala and Fundraiser
Railroad Dinner Gala and Fundraiser
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The 10th Annual Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad Dinner Gala and Fundraiser was held on Saturday, May 17, 2025 at the Edwards Barn in Nipomo. The event was the most successful gala to date with over $11,000 raised. Over $10,000 was raised to fund restoration projects and preservation of historical documents. $1,000 was raised for the Betty Himoto Memorial Scholarship Fund. This year’s G.A. Hancock History Preservation Award was presented to Shelley Klein, the curator for the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society and Museum. Shelley completely revamped the Santa Maria Valley Railroad display at the museum, changing it to a more informative display with a timeline. Shelley and the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society and Museum also hosted the reception for the 100th Anniversary of Captain Hancock’s purchase of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad in February. Presenters for the G.A. Hancock History Preservation Award were Jeff Karsh, Chairman of the Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad and Jane Brennan, Great Grand Daughter of G. Allan Hancock. Photo at right from left to right, Descendants of Captain G. Allan Hancock, great grandson Steve Brennan, great great granddaughter Brenna McGovern, great granddaughter Jane Brennan, and Curator Shelley Klein. The Santa Maria Valley Railroad’s Public Safety Award was presented to two freight customers this year. The award is given to individuals or organizations who promote local railroad safety. This year it was decided to award two honorees who exemplify safety throughout the years. The individual honoree was David Iliff (photo right) from Santa Maria Valley Crop Service. David has been a rail coordinator for over 40 years starting with the family owned NH3 Services, later AGRX and now Santa Maria Valley Crop Service. Through the years David has overseen thousands of rail cars safely through their facilities. David commented that “It takes a team to operate safely and efficiently and always had excellent teams through the years. It is the people who operate safely.” The company honoree is Viper Railcar Storage. A customer since 2012, Viper has become the railroad’s largest customer, routing thousands of railcars safely to us over the years. Viper has high safety standards, and has provided additional training to the Santa Maria Valley Railroad’s employees which exceeds current federal requirements. Presenting the award was Santa Maria Valley Railroad President Rob Himoto and Assistant General Manager Belinda Popovich. Accepting the award was Jared White from Viper Railcar Storage (photo right). Thank you to our title sponsor Santa Maria Valley Railroad and program sponsors Community Bank of Santa Maria and Sunset Honda.  |
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