The President of Mission Valley Bank was honored in July for her volunteer work as board chair for the Community Foundation of the Valleys (CFV), spearheading the organization through many challenges, the least of which being the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mission Valley Bank President Tamara Gurney was honored by the Community Foundation of the Valleys with a nomination for the Fernando Award for her volunteer work in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys since joining the board of directors as chair in 2009.
“Until March 2021, Tamara chaired the Foundation’s board for more than 10 years. She is a resilient, tenacious, generous and forward-thinking leader that has led our organization through many challenges,” read the nomination announcement.
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According to officials, the CFV seemed obsolete by 2016, in dire need of refinement and restructuring to be like other community foundations.
“Thanks to Tamara’s leadership, CFV emerged in 2017 with a new vision. During the pandemic, Tamara led the CFV Board in distributing COVID Relief grants to 20 smaller SVF/SCV nonprofits to facilitate their critical services. She led with the comment that ‘We need to ‘own’ the problems we have here and solve them,’” officials said.
Under Gurney’s direction, the CFV created a COVID Rapid Response Fund Campaign and was able to support nearly 20 local nonprofits that provide essential human services, including Santa Clarita Grocery and Hope of the Valley.
CFV’s mission is to inspire, encourage, and facilitate charitable giving for a lasting impact on those who live in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valley communities, officials said.
“We bring together the financial resources of individuals, families, and businesses to support effective local non-profits,” said CFV Executive Director Bridgette Loden.
Over the years, Mission Valley Bank advisors have partnered with thousands of local area business owners, providing unique financial solutions that help both clients and communities thrive, officials said.
Ed. Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Ms. Gurney is a nominee and not a winner of the award.
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