Thank You for Supporting Our 24th Annual Mother’s Day Luncheon
Thank you so much for joining us in celebrating two remarkable women who represent the ultimate caregivers in our lives. Honored Mother, Renee Grubb and Remembered Mother, Rosa Pace are women who have made a noticeable difference in the well-being of our Communities.
Close to 400 people, including 74 volunteers gathered at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort for the festivities. Dos Pueblos High School Theatre students performed Dancing Queen, with singing and dancing from their annual musical, Mama Mia, by the musical group Abba, who is a favorite of our Honored Mother Renee. Numerous tributes and comments by Renee’s brother and son-in-law shined a spotlight on her generosity in the community.
Remembered Mother Rosa’s grandsons, Tommy Gomez and Chris Stevenson, performed two Chumash songs, the first was a Welcoming Song to spirits from all 7 directions, and the second was a Woman’s Honoring Song. Erica Miller sang an a cappella version of Ave Maria, Rosa’s favorite, which inspired her throughout her life. Daughter Elise Tripp, Rosa’s youngest grandchild Olivia Pace, and oldest grandchild Kenneth Kahn spoke about the incredible work Rosa did for her community.
Georgia Lynn, Angel and Jace Speier, and Sheela Hunt shared moving stories about how VNA Health helped their loved ones, and emcee Andrew Firestone livened up the event with his wit and enthusiasm.
The funds raised by VNA Health’s Mother’s Day Luncheon go towards the charitable community programs and services that VNA Health offers our communities. These include Charity and Subsidized Care, Integrative and Expressive Services, Loan Closet, Bereavement Care, Vet-to-Vet Volunteer Services, and Community Education, and are dependent upon the generosity of our community.
Our Integrative and Expressive Services include Massage, Reiki, Music, Art, and Pet Therapy.
With gratitude and excitement, we invite you to save the date for next year’s 25th Anniversary of the VNA Health Mother’s Day Luncheon: Friday, May 8, 2026 at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.
Celebrating Mothers & Caregivers
RENEE GRUBB
Honored Mother
MENTOR
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER
COMMUNITY PHILANTHROPIST
Renee Grubb has owned Village Properties since 1996. She and her team built an independent agency committed to excellence, integrity, and community. She fosters a culture of collaboration, mentorship, and giving back, ensuring that Village Properties remains a cornerstone of the Santa Barbara community. Village Properties has proudly grown to four offices featuring 180 Realtors, achieving 14,500 closed sales representing $23.5 billion of cumulative sales volume since inception.
Renee’s passion extends beyond real estate. Having founded the Teacher’s Fund, she is a pioneer for philanthropic giving in Santa Barbara. Recognizing a need for local educational support, Teacher’s Fund directly funds grants to teachers to purchase supplies their school systems do not have the budget for. To date, over $2 million of grants have been distributed. Renee’s steadfast commitment to giving inspires her team’s involvement in over 30 different charities annually.
ROSA PACE
Remembered Mother
MATRIARCH
HEALTHCARE PIONEER
COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVER
The life of dignity, compassion, and grace that Rosa Margaret Pace lived is an inspirational example of the impact one person can have on a family and community. From a very early age, Rosa had an appreciation and love for others, and she developed this trait fully, empowering her family to love freely and unconditionally and to take care of others and themselves.
She was awarded a Daughters of the American Revolution scholarship to the Sage Memorial School of Nursing, and she later received specialized training in obstetrics at Los Angeles Presbyterian Hospital. For many years she was a nurse at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and Lompoc Community Hospital and served as head nurse at Santa Ynez Hospital. One of Rosa’s most important achievements was the founding of the Santa Ynez Tribal Health Clinic, the first health clinic on the Chumash Reservation, which sees approximately 25,000 patients and just celebrated its 50th Anniversary. She also started the first Urban Indian Health Clinic in Santa Barbara.
Thank You To Our Generous 2025 Mother’s Day Luncheon Sponsors
PRESENTING SPONSOR
LEGACY
Bui & Herb Simon
TRUSTED
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
Chris Toomey
HEART
The Angels
Roberta & Stan Fishman
Anna & David Grotenhuis
Morrie Jurkowitz
HEALING
Ginny & Tim Bliss
David & Louise Borgatello
Charley Kearns & Frank Chin
Jane & Norm Habermann
Val & Bob Montgomery
Dennis Morelos
Sharol & Wayne Siemens
Katina Zaninovich
COMPASSION
Marcia Constance & Sharon Bradford
Vince Caballero
Renee Grubb
Pamela Dillman Haskell & Chris Haskell
Coriander Stasi & Kieran Shah
Trudy Smith
CAREGIVER
Margaret Wilkinson & Bob Andrews
Vangie Herrera & Al Anglin
Judith & Mario Borgatello
Ann & Ed Brady
Victoria Hines & Dr. John Buster
Louise & Tim Casey
Adrianne & Andy Davis
Christie Glanville
Francie & Ken Jewesson
Perry Gibson & Ken Kraus
Patty Marshall
Lorraine McDonnell
Diane Meyer Simon
Jodi Fishman-Osti & Darren Osti
Helen & Ben Phillips
The Rona Barrett Foundation
Leslie Meadowcroft-Schipper & Frank Schipper
Adrienne Schuele
Dr. Kathy Chung Thrash & Dr. Christopher J. Thrash
Anne Smith Towbes
Judy & George Writer
HOSPITALITY
Invitation Sponsored in part by
2025 Mother’s Day Luncheon Host Committee
Stacie Anthes
Marcy Bazzani
Vince Caballero
Natalie Grubb-Campbell
Jessica Carballo
Kimberly Ferrarin
Jodi Fishman-Osti
Christie Glanville
Jane Habermann
Pamela Dillman Haskell
Victoria Hines
Sheela Hunt
Dianne Johnson
Maggie Mabuchi
Lailan McGrath
Easter Moorman
Judy Murphy
Angelina Speier
Jennie Strait
Marie Ann Strait
Susan Tarlow
Katina Zaninovich
History Of Honorees
With love and appreciation for the following women as we continue to remember them each year.
2024 Honored Mother
Leslie Person Ryan
2024 Remembered Mother
Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree
2023 Honored Mother
Rona Barrett
2023 Remembered Mother
Dame Olivia Newton-John
2022 Honored Mother
Keiko Dunham
2022 Remembered Mother
Marcella Rinehart Parker
2021
Celebrating all Mothers and Caregivers for the
20th Anniversary of the Mother’s Day Luncheon.
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2020 Honored Mother
Sue Birch
2020 Remembered Mother
Adelle Chris Dyer
2019 Honored Mother
Sharol Siemens
2019 Remembered Mother
Rebecca Riskin
2019 Remembered Mother
Marilyn Ramos Benitez
2019 Remembered Mother
Josie Gower
2019 Remembered Mother
Faviola Benitez Calderon
2019 Remembered Mother
Alice Mitchell
2018 Honored Mother
Jelinda DeVorzon
2018 Remembered Mother
Sally Fordyce
2017 Honored Mother
Jane Habermann
2017 Remembered Mother
Leni Fe Bland
2016 Honored Mother
Kate Firestone
2016 Remembered Mother
Debby Davison
2015 Honored Mother
Sally Hall
2015 Remembered Mother
Mercedes Eichholz
2014 Honored Mother
Jill Levinson
2014 Remembered Mother
Barbara Ward Rollerson
2013 Honored Mother
Barbara Ireland
2013 Remembered Mother
Laverne Browning
2012 Honored Mother
Susan Bridges
2012 Remembered Mother
Annie Schipper
2011 Honored Mother
Maryan Schall
2011 Remembered Mother
Connie Toomey
2010 Honored Mother
Regina Venegas
2010 Remembered Mother
No Remembered Mother
2009 Honored Mother
Jorgia Bordofsky
2009 Remembered Mother
Anne MacDougall
2008 Honored Mother
Peggy Borgatello
2008 Remembered Mother
Molly O’Daniel Danielson
2007 Honored Mother
Irma Jurkowitz
2007 Remembered Mother
Georgiana Porter
2006 Honored Mother
Anne Smith Towbes
2006 Remembered Couple
Edna & Harold Zimmer
2005 Honored Mother
Anne Douglas
2005 Remembered Mother
Yetta Rubinstein
2004 Honored Mother
Jane Thomas
2004 Remembered Mother
Patty Whalen
2003 Honored Mother
Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree
2003 Remembered Mother
Jane Crandell
2002 Honored Mother
Dorothy Bacheller
2002 Remembered Mother
Virginia Lee Burton
