Petaluma Buzz: Rose Nowak is Veteran of the Year

Petaluma’s Rose Nowak receives proclamation as Veteran of the Year: Petaluma’s Rose Nowak has been recognized as the 2021 Sonoma County Veteran of the Year, a designation awarded by the United Veterans Council, which annual honors veterans who exemplify a spirit of service to their community and to other veterans. Last week, and official proclamation was presented to Nowak from the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, the document delivered by Supervisor David Rabbitt, a Petaluma resident.

Nowak served as a medic Airman Second Class in the U.S. Air Force from 1959-62. She is a member of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 563 and Petaluma American Legion Post 28 in Petaluma. She is president of Military Women Across the Nation Unit 77, which she helped to double in membership over just two years, saving the unit from disbanding. Nowak regularly volunteers with St. Joseph Hospice.

Light Up a Life returns: Hospice of Petaluma’s annual Light Up a Life event, after it was forced under a bushel by COVID-19 in 2020, will return to Walnut Park on Friday, Dec. 3 from 6-7 p.m. A Petaluma tradition for more than 35 years, the festive yet solemn event is hosted by St. Joseph Health Hospice Services’ Hospice of Petaluma, providing community-based hospice services since 1977. Light Up a Life is a community gathering, where all are welcome to gather in remembrance to celebrate the lives of those we have loved and lost. Hundreds of bright, clear lights will be placed into towering trees in the park, each one symbolizing the life, hopes and dreams of a loved one. In addition to attending the event on the first Friday of December, the community is invited to make a Light Up a Life donation in honor of the loved ones they will be thinking about during the gathering. Visit SonomaCountyHospice.org.

Creative Sonoma announces new round of arts grants: In support of local cultural arts activities that will occur in 2022, Creative Sonoma - funded by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors - a new round of Arts Impact grants has been announced. Available to nonprofit arts organizations, the grant will come from a $115,000 fund set aside to support the cultivation of the arts as a cultural and economic benefit to the community.

“The innovative spirit of our cultural arts nonprofit organizations has been on full display over these past two years, finding alternative ways to enliven our communities without gathering together,” Supervisor Lynda Hopkins was quoted as saying in a news release published last week. “These grants are an investment in that work to help bring meaningful creative experiences to all our residents.”

Grants will be awarded to nonprofits presenting activities that “contribute to the social cohesion of our communities countywide, in neighborhoods or with student populations.” Projects that advance community awareness of environmental issues are encouraged, and successful applicants will demonstrate “a commitment to providing equitable access ti and participation from communities of color and other traditionally marginalized communities.”

For information contact Samantha Kimple at samantha.kimpel@sonoma-county.org.

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