December, 2002

LUANN MILLER, URC BOARD TREASURER,
IS 3RD DISTRICT WOMAN OF THE YEAR, 2002

Last March, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors' Commission for Women honored LuAnn Miller as the 3rd District's 2002 Woman of the Year. The County Commission for Women annually recognizes one woman and one young teen from each supervisorial district for their exemplary service and outstanding presence in the community as role models and leaders. This year's awards ceremony, held in March as part of Women's History month, was part of a regularly scheduled meeting of the County Board of Supervisors and was attended by Congresswoman Lois Capps, other local dignitaries, and friends and families of the honorees.

The Commission for Women praised LuAnn's tireless advocacy for affordable childcare, women, youth, and families. For the past 17 years, she has been the executive director of the Isla Vista Youth Projects, a nonprofit that provides affordable childcare, youth programs and social services in Isla Vista. Over the years, she has helped hundreds of low-income families overcome obstacles in their search for better jobs and better lives. Her commitment to creating family-friendly workplaces has improved the quality of childcare throughout the county. In addition to her work at the IVYP, LuAnn serves on the Child Care Planning Council, the IV Youth Task Force and the URC board of directors.

The Commission's citation of her accomplishments mentioned the passion and dedication with which LuAnn goes about helping women meet the challenges of being working mothers. In receiving the award, LuAnn said, "It is such a pleasure to be recognized for doing just what's the right thing to do. I am so privileged to have a job where I can put into practice what I believe. I wish everyone could have that." With Luann out there advocating for them, the working women of the 3rd district may just see that wish come true.

The Planning Committee has been working hard to develop a plan to guide the URC back to its historic mission as a vital link between the UCSB campus and Isla Vista communities. In September 2002 the Rev. Darcy Jensen presented a proposal to the Board outlining the Committee's recommended principles for program development, outreach, and building use. The theme, "Living and working meaningfully in a community (UCSB & IV) of diversity," was elaborated in terms of two basic principles: First, the URC should address religious pluralism by supporting interfaith dialogue and cooperation/action, especially among students. One way to do this would be to develop a relationship with the new Walter Capps Center for the Study of Religion and Public Life. Second, the URC should invest in community life and issues by responding in healing ways to community needs; i.e. race, student/non-student tensions. The URC's current involvement with the Faith Initiative of South Santa Barbara County as it works to bring together IV and Goleta clergy on issues of common concern is a good illustration of how we can accomplish this goal. Other examples include the ongoing rebuilding of our relationship with the SB Clergy Association and the deepening of our partnerships with the IV Youth and Family Task Force. The Board was enthusiastic about these principles and their promise for the URC's renewed presence in the spiritual life of the community.

The URC building is over thirty years old. Deferred maintenance and natural aging have finally caught up with it. The Board's planning and building committees are working to develop a long-range plan for renovations and repairs. Emilio Casanueva, an associate architect for facilities management at UCSB and an ardent follower of Miss Rumphius' advice that the secret to happiness lies in doing something to make the world more beautiful, is volunteering his time to assist the committees in their efforts. Emilio has already helped focus the discussion of what needs to be done and how to go about developing a plan that will allow the URC to obtain grants to fund much of the work.