Visit the Santa Ynez Valley team wins Low Net honors at Santa Maria Country Club

Staff Report

Winners of the first annual EconAlliance Cross-Industry Challenge Golf Tournament were announced Aug. 23 at an awards reception after a full-day of friendly cross-industry foursome competition at the Santa Maria Country Club. 

An event benefiting EconAlliance’s science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and workforce development programs, the tournament featured 19 foursomes across eight industries. Shred2You was the tournament event sponsor, with Allan Hancock College, the Santa Ynez Chumash tribe, and Southern California Gas as other key sponsors. 

The inaugural event featured two tournament-winning teams, with bragging rights secured by team names to be placed on the EconAlliance Cross-Industry perpetual plaque. Pacific Premier Bank (Brooks Wise, Alan Brand, Jeremy Moreno and Hank Opalinski) took Low Gross honors, with Visit Santa Ynez Valley (Shelby Sim, Michael Brugelli, Dieter Kronje, and Buddi Kazali) taking the Low Net overall award. Each member of the winning foursomes received two bottles of local wine and four EconAlliance-etched glasses.

In addition to tournament overall winners, EconAlliance recognized one winning team from each participating industry. Industry foursomes recognized included:

  • Agriculture — Beachside Produce (John Jackson, Ryan Arensdorf, Glenn Davis)
  • Development/Construction/Real Estate — Urban Planning Concepts (Laurie, Jeff, Jason Tamura, Brian Deile)
  • Energy — Exxon/Plains (Steve Greig, Bryan Anderson, Chris Collier, Greg Wallis)
  • Finance — The Hunstad Group (Michael Hunstad, Jeff Hood, Ryan Monie, Jeff Meyers)
  • Manufacturing — Safran Cabin (Sakonh Souphantharong, Neptali Salinas, John Simko, Michael Smith)
  • Retail — Fun w/Bill Brown-Duplicated Business Solutions (Bill Brown, Ty Ford, Steven Funkhouser, Jason Harris)
  • Space — (Vandenberg players Julio Cano, Frank Fisher, Matt Sobczak, Anthony Vicich)
  • Wine/Tourism — Chumash (Mike Stoker, Rhett Delozier, Rob Roy, Chris Wiesen)

A 501c3 nonprofit organization, EconAlliance drives positive impact through strategic initiatives, unique partnerships and creative programs. The organization champions Northern Santa Barbara County communities and the key industry sectors that fuel these communities and inspire regional economic vitality.