The Sacramento History Alliance hosted the Burnett Awards on Oct. 10, at the 24th Street Theatre. The event is a benefit for the Sacramento History Museum and the Center for Sacramento History. The awardees were General Produce, Goodwin-Cole, Gunther’s Ice Cream, The Sacramento Bee, Teichert Construction and Vic’s Ice Cream.

Polanco Cantina’s VIP Grand Opening was on Oct. 21. The new Mexican-food restaurant is on the second level of Downtown Commons on K Street in downtown Sacramento, across the plaza from Golden 1 Center.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento held its annual Hard Hats & High Heels Gala at the Memorial Auditorium in downtown Sacramento on Oct. 5. The sold-out event was attended by  400 and raised $305,000 for the organization’s projects in Sacramento and Yolo counties. The event included a live auction, the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus and testimonials from Habitat families. 

The Sacramento Valley Chapter of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, held its annual Person of the Year celebration dinner in the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church’s courtyard Sept. 5. Sotiris Kolokotronis, founder of SKK Developments, was this year’s honoree for his vision and work in building urban core projects and commercial centers.

Access Sacramento’s seventh annual Power of Voice Award Gala Dinner was held at the Clunie Community Center in Sacramento on August 1. This year’s honoree was Beth Hassett, executive director of WEAVE, a nonprofit organization that supports survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault. 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of Anixter’s new Roseville facility took place on August 14. Anixter, an international technology company which brings approximately 100 jobs to the area with this location, then held an open house for attendees to tour the building. 

The Sacramento Walk of Stars unveiled its 2019 inductees on the sidewalk on L Street in Midtown Sacramento on August 28. The inductees included professional baseball player Dusty Baker, Corti Brothers owner Darrell Corti, mixed martial artist world champion Urijah Faber, and Olympic gold medalist and sports commentator Summer Sanders. Sacramento City Councilman Steve Hansen emceed the event, which was followed by the Walk of Stars Gala at the Memorial Auditorium.

Realtors Who Shrine hosted a VIP Night at Cal Expo preceding a Sacramento Republic Football Club match on August 7. The event celebrated Realtors Who Shrine real-estate agents who have raised $29,146 for Shriners Hospital for Children Northern California by donating a portion of their commissions in their clients’ names.

Comstock’s magazine celebrated its 30th anniversary at Downtown & Vine in downtown Sacramento on July 17. The event included wine, hors d’oeuvres and a raffle for guests.

Visit Sacramento hosted its State of the Hospitality Industry Luncheon on June 27 at the Memorial Auditorium in downtown Sacramento. The event celebrated the city’s tourism industry and highlighted future opportunities, including growing the festival business in the region.  

Shriners Hospital “Garden Tour of Love” was held on June 9 and the Fair Oaks home of Jerry and Sharon Haleva. The event raised donations and awareness for the Shriners Hospital for Children Northern California. The event hosted more than 100 guests and featured a tour of the Haleva’s unique gardens, as well as live music and ceremonial dove release.

The Capital Region Family Business Center celebrated its third annual Generations Conference Feb. 11-12 at the Sacramento Convention Center. More than 350 guests attended, representing over 75 of the region’s family-owned businesses. They gathered for networking, conversation and programming relevant to the successful transition of their family businesses.

GroundSwell Art presented Bethany Crouch and The Surface of Reality on Feb. 15 at the GroundSwell Art in Midtown Sacramento. The one-night event featured mixed media art, spoken word and live music by Bethany Crouch and Cherie deFer of The Surface of Reality.

Photos by Tia Gemmell

On Feb. 2, Casa Garden Restaurant hosted a special pop-up dinner with Chef Kurt Spataro, the corporate executive chef for Paragary’s. Chef Spataro’s team included Vivian Cheung, restaurant manager/chef, Casa Gardens; Laura Ferrell, chef/kitchen supervisor, Gasa Gardens; and Teresa Urkofsky, program chef, American River College.

The 2020 Women on Boards/Sacramento Campaign Committee held the 2018 National Conversation on Board Diversity – Sacramento on Nov. 15 at the Sutter Club downtown. The keynote luncheon panel was introduced by Comstock’s Editor in Chief Allison Joy and Clayton Blakley, VP/business development. 2020 Women on Boards is a national campaign to increase the percentage of women on U.S. company boards to 20 percent or greater by the year 2020.

Comstock’s magazine held its quarterly client appreciation night Aug. 7 at Mayahuel in downtown Sacramento. Clients were treated to a pre-show dinner and reception before attending Mission Impossible 6: Fallout at Esquire IMAX Theatre.

photos: Tia Gemmell 

Beast + Bounty held a VIP preview of its new restaurant space on July 28 at the Ice Blocks in Sacramento. Attendees enjoyed appetizers, champagne and networking. Beast + Bounty the first restaurant to open in the Ice Blocks development?

Photos Tia Gemmell 

The Sacramento Biz & Tech for Women Meetup held their inaugural event Thursday, July 26 at Cowo Campus in midtown. The speaker series featured Silicon Valley entrepreneur and author Jenn LeBlanc who discussed her latest book, Changing Tides. Sacramento Biz & Tech for Women is an empowerment group for women in business and technology.

Photos: Tia Gemmell 

Startup Grind Sacramento hosted its 4th annual Startup Summer Party at Urban Hive coworking space on July 17 at The Cannery. The event featured 25 startups and with over 400 people registered for the free event.

The American River Bank Foundation employees, guests and community members enjoyed a barbecue and baseball game on July 3, in partnership with Court Appointed Special Advocates – a nonprofit that helps support foster youth in the court system and in life – at Raley Field in West Sacramento.

The Greater Sacramento Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society held its 2018 Man & Woman of the Year Grand Finale Gala on May 12 at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento. This annual black tie event culminated in the announcement of Man & Woman of the Year and Boy & Girl of the Year honorees.

The Association of Commercial Real Estate, held the annual Broker of the Year Awards at the Hyatt on April 5 in Sacramento. These distinguished awards are presented annually to brokers who have achieved outstanding brokerage results in eight categories: industrial, office, retail, investments (non-apartment), land, multi-family, rookie of the year, broker of the year and broker’s choice.

The Greater Sacramento Urban League held the Unity Ball at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento on April 26. The annual Unity Ball is a special event where community leaders come together to celebrate the Urban League’s accomplishments and impact while raising critical funds to support the important programs that help underserved youth and adults achieve economic self-reliance.

Social Venture Partners held the 2018 Fast Pitch event on March 8 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The event brought together over 800 business and community leaders from the Greater Sacramento region to hear 10 nonprofits pitch for for an opportunity to win over $30,000 in funding and in-kind support.

Power Inn Alliance held its 24th Annual luncheon on March 23 at Harper Alumni Center at Sacramento State. The luncheon featured a keynote address from Bill Gaines, founder of Transfer Flow, Inc. and one of the creators of the North State Grow Manufacturing Initiative and Directory, on the importance of manufacturing in the community and the role of the workforce.

American Sikh Public Affairs Association hosted its second Civic Engagement Dinner on Feb. 20. The event honored elected officials that have made a stand for civil rights. The American Sikh Public Affairs Association is a nonpartisan charitable entity that engages community members to participate in civic and public affairs.

The Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce held its 25th Anniversary Celebration on Feb. 22 at the Hyatt Regency in Downtown Sacramento. The Matsui family was honored as the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients.

Sacramento Commercial Real Estate Women held the the Women of Influence Dinner and Awards on Feb. 15th at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria in Sacramento. The event honored influential women in the real estate community.

Metro Edge held the Emerge Summit on March 1 at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento. The event featured keynote addresses from Bernadette Austin, associate director, UC Davis; John Bissell, CEO, Origin Materials; and Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs.

The High Powered Women Mixer was held on March 1 at the Girl Scouts Headquarters on Elvas Ave in Sacramento. The mixer was designed for business women to connect and network. Roughly 120 attendees were present.

The Sacramento Metro Chamber held it’s 123rd annual Dinner and Business Awards on Jan. 27 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Sacramento. The celebration included distinguished honors and awards for those in the community making an impact.

On Jan. 23 Downtown Sacramento Partnership held it’s 20th Annual State of Downtown Address at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento. Downtown Sacramento Partnership, executive director Michael Ault, Mayor Darrell Steinberg, and keynote speaker Tom Murphy reviewed downtown progress and inspired new revitalization initiatives for the year ahead.  

The Capital Region Family Business Center held its second annual Generations Conference at the Sacramento Convention Center on Jan. 29-30. The two-day event was attended by over 300 attendees and 57 family businesses.

The Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce held its annual holiday mixer on Dec. 5 at the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento. The mixer featured a showcase of food and beverages from local Metro Chamber member caterers and restaurants.

On Dec. 15, Punch Bowl Social Sacramento held its VIP grand opening celebration in downtown Sacramento. Over 500 attendees were treated to complimentary food and drink and were given the opportunity to explore two virtual reality gaming parlors. Sacramento is the chains 11th location, and the first in Northern California.

On Nov. 30, The Urban Hive held a Ribbon Cutting and Launch Party at The Alhambra Cannery in Sacramento. The event featured the work of 20+ local artists and more than 100 people present for the ribbon cutting. The new flagship coworking space is more than double the size of the original location. 

The Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce 32nd Annual Installation and Business Awards luncheon was on Dec. 1 at Hilton Arden Way. Business Awardees included: Lori Okamoto, business outreach & engagement at SMUD and Larry Lee, president/CEO, Sacramento Observer.

The State of Sacramento County address was held Nov. 3 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento. The Sacramento Metro Chamber, in partnership with Sacramento County, presented this year’s premier forum focused on the Sacramento County Airport System with guest speaker John Kirby, vice president of capacity planning, Alaska Airlines.

On Nov. 15, during Global Entrepreneurship Week, Sacramento State hosted The City of Sacramento’s Innovate Sac conference along with the launch of the Sacramento Urban Technology Lab. 150 people turned out to explore the exhibits of regional innovators and hear from civic leaders and technology thought-leaders about how to leverage emerging technologies and transform Sacramento into an innovation hub.

On Nov. 9 the Association of Commercial Real Estate and NAIOP held the 18th annual Developer Showcase at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento. The showcase is a networking event and trade show for the commercial real estate industry.

On Nov. 8, 2017, Association of Fundraising Professionals California Capital Chapter hosted the National Philanthropy Day Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento. Honorees were awarded for model leadership, selflessness and a vision for a better future. Comstock’s awarded the American Red Cross Gold Country Chapter $10,000 as part of its annual raffle.

Neary 1,700 people gathered at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium for the 2nd edition of Le Dîner en Blanc Sacramento, on Oct. 7th. Created in Paris nearly 30 years ago, this global phenomenon takes place in more than 70 cities and 25 countries around the world. The 2017 event was supported by local partners Nugget Markets, Land Rover Rocklin and Sacramento, and the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel.

Three hundred people gathered at Eskaton’s Beyond Imagination event at the home of Drs. Janak and Nalini Mehtani to celebrate seniors on Oct. 6th. Guests experienced a perfect Sacramento evening with Bollywood dancing, Jazz by Brias and friends, and a tour of the mansion — which was originally built for Ronald and Nancy Reagan.  

The Center for Land-Based Learning hosted their second fundraiser dinner on Oct. 8, at the Barn in West Sacramento. The evening featured a cocktail reception, dinner and live auction. The Center for Land-Based Learning works to create the next generation of farmers and teaching California’s youth about the importance of agriculture and natural resource conservation.

The National Association of Women Business Owners, Sacramento Valley Chapter held the Annual Outstanding Women Leadership Awards on Oct. 19. Established in 1997, the OWL Awards celebrate exemplary women leaders in the business community, and recognize achievements of female entrepreneurs and corporate leaders in entrepreneurial excellence and community leadership.

On Sept. 14, The Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 15th anniversary at the Dante Club in Sacramento. Honorees included Steven Walker of Fast Break Tech, Jason Russell of Russell CPAs, Lori Okamoto of SMUD, and nine additional students who received Rainbow Chamber Foundation scholarships. Proceeds of the live and silent auctions benefit the Rainbow Chamber Foundation Scholarship Fund.

On Sept. 9, The American Cancer Society held the 9th Annual Hope Gala at the home of Nancy and Alan Brodovsky honoring cancer survivor Brandi Rhodes and Ralph de Vere White M.D. Emeritus Director, UC Davis Cancer Center. The fundraiser featured a silent auction, a strolling dinner from Elaine Bell Catering and live music.

Breathe California Sacramento Region celebrated its centennial gala on Oct. 21 at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. The event featured a silent auction and special guest speakers Congresswoman Doris Matsui and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg. Since 1917, Breathe has built a legacy of fighting for clean air, healthy lungs and smoke-free living.

On Aug. 1, the American Leadership Forum – Mountain Valley Chapter, held their“All Access” reception at The Firehouse Restaurant in Old Sacramento, welcoming Gary May, the new chancellor of University of California, Davis. ALF-MVC “All Access” events are designed to connect individuals with the region’s newest leaders. May was previously the engineering dean at Georgia Tech and was appointed as the 7th chancellor of UC Davis, earlier this year.