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The Art of Giving 2005 Awards

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While San Diego Magazine acknowledges the outstanding efforts of all charities, cultural institutions, social service groups and individual philanthropists featured throughout the Registry, it is our honor to recognize in particular those organizations and individuals whose outstanding work continues to benefit the San Diego community. Here, we recap last year’s committee-selected honorees in four categories: Community Volunteer of the Year, Nonprofit Organization of the Year, Philanthropic Business of the Year and Philanthropist of the Year. May they inspire one and all in their efforts to give back to San Diego.

Linda Katz, Community Volunteer of the Year

Linda Katz is the founding president and former board member of the San Diego Women’s Foundation. She has served as board chair of Planned Parenthood of San Diego & Riverside Counties, Senior Community Centers, LEAD San Diego and Children’s Hospital Auxiliary. She has chaired many of San Diego’s high-profile events, such as the San Diego Foundation’s 25th-anniversary celebration, and has also cochaired the San Diego Symphony’s New Year’s Eve gala with Joan Jacobs. Katz and her husband, Mel, together with cochairs Marilyn and Doug Sawyer, turned the Children’s Hospital 90th-anniversary Charity Ball into a two-day affair, bringing in entertainment talent Bobby Short.

san diego national bankSan Diego National Bank, Philanthropic Business of the Year

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, San Diego National Bank (SDNB) has helped many local businesses while consistently increasing its bonds with the greater San Diego community. The strength behind the bank’s tag line, “We Know San Diego,” is found in its staff. SDNB’s energetic employees renew their commitment daily to making San Diego great through their involvement in more than 250 countywide community organizations. Additionally, they annually return 3 percent of the bank’s profits to the citizens of San Diego in charitable contributions.

They have spent the past 25 years growing along with San Diego and make it a point to know and focus on the specific needs of their customers and the community. The next decade will set the course of this community for generations to come, and SDNB intends to play a major role in the region’s efforts to achieve global prominence as an idyllic place to live, work and play.