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“Gidget,” American Surfing Icon Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, Chairs “Life is Good at Garden Court",
Special Event to Benefit the Garden Court Endowment
Thursday, February 25, 2010

Garden Court honors the 40th anniversary of the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara,
Event to benefit frail, low-income seniors 

Photo: Ernest Lenart

Santa Barbara, CA, February 4, 2010 – Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, the real “Gidget,” surfs into Santa Barbara to help low-income seniors this February.  On Thursday, February 25th, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at The Canary Hotel, Garden Court, an independent living community for frail, low-income seniors will present “Life is Good at Garden Court.” Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, the real “Gidget” is honorary event chair of this special surf-themed event benefiting the Garden Court Endowment and honoring the 40th Anniversary of the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara.

The event will feature Master of Ceremonies, Rick Longpre, President of Latitude, Inc., and KEYT-TV Senior Reporter, John Palminteri as auctioneer, and guests will be treated to cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, buffet and wine bar. Live auction items feature an amazing Maui surf adventure package, private home vacation in Todos Santos, and more. Music will be provided by the “Locals”, featuring selected vintage surf boards from the private collection of Roger Dahlen, as well as Woodys from the local Woody Club.

“Life is Good at Garden Court” will benefit the Garden Court Endowment which is dedicated to assisting frail, low-income Santa Barbara seniors to live independently for as long as possible by providing grants for housing and support.   

“Garden Court is a model community that residents can truly call home and continue to live an active and fulfilling lifestyle,” said Kathy Kohner Zuckerman.  “I am proud to help raise awareness of this important resource for seniors and to encourage everyone to maintain an active lifestyle for as long as they can.”

“We are thrilled to have Kathy Kohner Zuckerman as our ‘Life is Good at Garden Court’ honorary event chair,” said Tim Durnin, Executive Director, Garden Court.  “Ms. Zuckerman is a fantastic example of living life to the fullest, and as an American icon her message of successful aging resonates near and far.” 

Media Advisory

WHO:              Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, the real “Gidget,” and honorary event chair; Rick Longpre, Latitude, Inc.; John Palminteri, Senior Reporter at KEYT-TV; representatives of honoree organization the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara; Garden Court Endowment board members; Garden Court special guest residents; invited guests

WHAT:           “Life is Good at Garden Court,” a benefit for the Garden Court Endowment; vintage surf theme event

WHEN:           Thursday, February 25, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.

WHERE:        The Canary Hotel, 31 West Carrillo St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Tickets are $100.  For tickets, please call (805) 884-0095.  For more information about Garden Court and the Garden Court Endowment, please go to www.gardencourt.org.  

Residents of Garden Court are the people in our community who worked all their lives in Santa Barbara to make it a better place, as laborers, nurses, business owners, teachers and others, who deserve to be able to enjoy their golden years as an active part of the community they helped to shape and tend. Some residents have moved to Santa Barbara in more recent years, to be closer to their families who live here, and to enjoy those relationships without ‘becoming a burden’. Some are people who never imagined they would be without options; and others who struggled throughout their lives at extremely low income levels and are now able to fully enjoy life for the first time.

Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, the real “Gidget,” Honorary Event Chair

As a teenager in the summer of 1956, Kathy Kohner headed down to the beach in Malibu and discovered from a group of fun-loving beachcombers, a new hobby and soon to be passion – surfing.  As one of the lone females involved in the fresh new sport of surfing in the 1950’s, Kohner was dubbed “Gidget” or “girl midget” by her male counterparts.  The sport was rare enough in California during the time, yet Kohner mastered both being a pioneer and the waves.  Kohner’s real life story was shared with the nation, when her father, Frederick Kohner penned a book about a young, independent girl surfer he called Gidget.  The book was a smash and later became a movie, which prompted Gidget mania throughout the country.  Since then, Gidget has been a household name and a cultural phenomenon.

Today, Kohner is still passionate about keeping an active lifestyle and continues to be very supportive of the surfing community.  She is an avid lecturer and has spoken at various universities and organizations nationwide on her life’s adventures and about the importance of “successful aging.”  She has also been featured in the media worldwide. 

The “Life is Good at Garden Court” event is generously sponsored by Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, Merrill Lynch JJD Group, and Brown & Brown Insurance, Texas.

The Garden Court Endowment

The Garden Court Endowment is dedicated to assisting frail, low-income Santa Barbara seniors to live independently for as long as possible by providing grants for housing and funded support.  Money raised through the Endowment assists extremely low-income seniors in paying rent and costs of medical emergencies, purchasing medical supplies and clothes, and helping meet other essential needs.  The Endowment will also support an initiative to fill one of the most critical housing and service gaps in our community through the creation of an assisted living facility for low income seniors in Santa Barbara.  In the past year, the Garden Court Endowment has supported over 150 low-income, frail seniors in critical areas of health and well-being, including crisis intervention for mental health, providing assistive devices for visually impaired residents, emergency medical treatment for beloved pets of residents, on-site health and wellness programs, ongoing support for housekeeping and companionship and funding a needed eye-surgery for one resident, and other critical needs that Garden Court residents could not otherwise afford.

 
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