J. Brian Sarvis, Ed.D. has accepted the position of chair of the Community Campaign for the county’s United Way. Sarvis, superintendent of the 16,000-student Santa Barbara School Districts, first participated with United Way 16 years ago in Modesto before he moved to the South Coast.

“United Way provides great opportunities to not only the charities it serves but also the people that serve United Way. It is a major force in building the capacity to serve the needs of our community,” Sarvis said.

UCSB chills, wins

For its efforts to become a carbon-neutral campus through energy conservation, UCSB was named a winner the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology “Chill Out” contest.
“If every campus, business and organization in the country followed the example set by the Chill Out winners, we would quickly lick the global warming problem,” said NWF Director of Campus and Community leadership Julian Keniry.

The result of a Bren School Master’s group project titled “Campus Climate Neutral,” UCSB’s efforts included procurement of third-party certification of the campus’ C02 emissions, lighting retrofits, motion sensors and other projects that lowered energy use as well as cut expenditures.

UCSB is one of eight winners of the contest.

Phetteplace electedElks Exalted Ruler

Harvey Phetteplace, a member of the local Elks Lodge since 1998, has been elected Exalted Ruler for the 2007-08 year. Others serving with Phetteplace as officers are Roger Mira, James Smitley, Ray Duarte, Jack Goldsworthy, Mark Sheldon and Wallace Johnson.

Phetteplace, a general contractor, will be leading the Santa Barbara Elks Lodge 613, founded in 1900, with a membership of more than 1,200 men and women.

Green Award Nominations

Nominations of schools, organizations and businesses for the county’s 2007 Green Awards will be open through June 22. Green Awards recognize voluntary activities resulting in measurable environmental benefits, including cleaner air or water, less waste, less traffic, conservation of energy and natural resources or reduced use of hazardous materials.

The program is under the auspices of the Green Award Consortium, consisting of five area agencies. Businesses or organizations may nominate themselves. Government agencies and individuals are not eligible.

Nominations may be submitted through the Green Difference website, www.greendifference.org.

Grand Jury applications

The deadline for applying to be a member of the Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury has been extended to May 11. Gary Blair, Superior Court Executive Officer, said that in order to be considered for service on the Grand Jury, applicants must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, of good character and have been a county resident for at least one year. For more information, call 568-3130. Applications may be obtained at the Jury Assembly Building, 1108 Santa Barbara St., or downloaded from www.sbcourts.org.