






Erik Gregersen, revealed at his Ballard Canyon household, is the Santa Ynez Valley’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner. He has put in the previous 20 several years volunteering with corporations invested in preserving the natural beauty of Santa Barbara County by preserving open place (Santa Barbara Land Belief and many others) and its record (Elverhoj Museum).







Members of the Solstice committee, Esther Jacobsen-Bates, Artwork Kaslow, Lisa Pedersen, Erik Gregersen, Glenda Madrid, and Debbie Laroche, collect at the start of the evening’s festivities in 2016.







Brothers Hans, still left, and Erik Gregersen, were the grand marshals for the Solvang 4th of July parade in 2016. Their grandfather was just one of the a few first founders of Solvang.
Via a lifestyle of global travel, corporate marketing and entrepreneurial accomplishment, Santa Ynez Valley served as Erik Gregersen’s anchor.
It was house to his grandfather, Solvang co-founder Rev. Jens M. Gregersen, whose Rancho San Carlos de Jonata has been Gregersen’s rock through the shifting sands of time. So when retirement headed his way in 1998, his closing household and long run targets ended up crystal clear.
“I want to go on accomplishing things that will gain the inhabitants of this place simply because it is a quite, pretty special location that we enjoy. A good deal of persons who are living in this article their full life really do not know how blessed they’ve been,” Gregersen stated.
More than 20 several years on, the 2020 Santa Ynez Valley Lifetime Accomplishment Award honoree continues to serve on a number of boards with exclusive emphasis on Santa Ynez Valley heritage and land preservation.
“I’ve always liked this aspect of the country. I desired to do some factors that will hold it a appealing place to are living. We want to do issues like preserve the land to retain it wonderful,” Gregersen mentioned.
Born in Pasadena, Gregersen put in his principal school several years in Denmark right before returning to the United States for substantial school in New Jersey and school at Cornell College and Harvard Company Faculty. He studied engineering and organization, and embarked upon a career in foodstuff and agricultural professional equipment. He worked in the U.S., England and South Africa ahead of moving to the Central Coastline.
In 1998, Gregersen and his spouse, Sandy Gregersen, began creating their have dwelling on the spouse and children ranch up Ballard Canyon.