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GOLETA, CA, October 24, 2024 – The City of Goleta is proud to announce that on October 17, 2024, it received the prestigious 2024 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence in the category of Enhancing Public Trust, Ethics, and Community Involvement through its LEAD Goleta Bilingual Community Academy. LEAD stands for Learn, Empower, Advocate and Discuss. The City was honored with the award at the League of California Cities annual conference held in Long Beach this year. The League of Cities played this short video clip at the conference highlighting the program.
Mayor Paula Perotte and Goleta City Manager Robert Nisbet had the honors of going on stage at the General Session attended by hundreds of representatives from cities across the state to accept the award.
Mayor Paula Perotte could not be prouder. She said, “We view our LEAD Academy as a strategic investment that is already paying big dividends. This program is providing increased participation, leadership and inclusivity that will also continue far into Goleta’s future.”
Established in 1982, the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence, given annually in 12 categories, recognizes outstanding achievements made by California’s 483 cities. The purpose of the award is to promote innovative solutions by city governments. This is the third Helen Putnam Award for the City of Goleta. The first one was awarded in 2005 for the City’s role in preserving the Ellwood Mesa and the second one in 2014 for an Emergency Preparedness Program.
The City of Goleta, at the direction and encouragement of City Manager Robert Nisbet, submitted this time for its LEAD Goleta Bilingual Community Academy. LEAD Goleta is a free, interactive six-week class that gives community members an opportunity to learn how the City is run in an intimate setting of 30-35 participants. The purpose of the Academy experience is to give community members a front row seat to their local government so they in turn feel connected and empowered to get involved and be part of the decision-making process.
The first LEAD Goleta Community Academy was held in 2019, and since then there have been four total academies including more than 115 people. The last two (in April/May of 2023 and January/February of 2024) were bilingual. This meant translation of all the class materials, simultaneous interpretation at each class, and outreach to the Spanish speaking community in Goleta to garner participation.
A booth displaying the program was on display at the League of California Cities Expo floor and was put together by the City’s Community Relations Division (Kelly Hoover, Jaime Shaw and Marcos Martinez) which also puts on the LEAD Goleta Community Academy each year.
The City would like to take a moment to congratulate our fellow 2024 Helen Putnam award honorees for their exceptional work. Click here to see a list of recipients.
The League of California Cities will do a Helen Putnam Award Presentation at the next Goleta City Council meeting on November 19, 2024.
If you are interested in being a part of this award-winning program, the City will begin accepting applications soon for its next LEAD Goleta Community Academy which starts in January of 2025. Stay tuned for details and visit www.CityofGoleta.org/LEADGoleta for more info.