Santa Fe resident James G. Vaughan was the only recipient for the 2021 Life Member Award from the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. Vaughan moved to Santa Fe in 2014 after working as CEO of the Greater Waco (Texas) Chamber of Commerce from 2004-12. He also was CEO of the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Area Chamber of Commerce for 12 years in the 1980s and 1990s. Vaughan is the 63rd Life Member over a span of about 40 years. Vaughan is the past president of the Friends of the Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe. He has a bachelor’s degree in business from Florida State University.
Randy Grissom is the new chairman of the St. Vincent Hospital Foundation, with Gregory Edwards serving as vice chairman, Randy Hibben as treasurer and Rebecca Estrada as secretary. Outgoing Chairwoman Mary Macukas and Phillip Goldstone will serve on the executive committee. Grissom retired as president of Santa Fe Community College in 2017. Edwards is chairman of CASS Holdings LLC. Hibben is a retired chairman and CEO of Lake Forest Bank & Trust Co. in Lake Forest, Ill., and serves as president of the board for Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity. Estrada is the community outreach specialist for higher education and workforce at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Ed Gonzalez has joined True Health New Mexico’s provider services team as a network contract specialist. In a 30-year customer service career, Gonzalez worked eight years at Blue Cross Blue Shield New Mexico. He attended the College of Southern Nevada and DeVry University.
Toby Velasquez is the new director of the State Parks Division within the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. He previously was the deputy director. Velasquez has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from New Mexico Highlands University and he did graduate work in life sciences at Highlands.
Danyelle Means, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, is the new executive director at the Center for Contemporary Arts, which has not had a full-time executive director since December 2018. She previously was director of advancement at the Institute of American Indian Arts and the executive director of the IAIA Foundation. Means has overseen several exhibitions at the National Museum of the American Indian’s New York venue. She has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and French from the University of South Dakota and is completing a master’s degree in museum studies at Marist College/Instituto Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence, Italy.
La Fonda on the Plaza Vice President and General Manager Rik Blyth is the new one-year president of the Santa Fe Lodgers Association. He will lead the nine-member board of directors. Blyth joined La Fonda in 2017 after stints as general manager at the Hyatt Regency Newport Resort and Spa in Newport, R.I., and the Renaissance North Shore in Chicago. He also has been general manager at Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa in Jamaica, Biras Creek Resort in the British Virgin Islands and Caneel Bay Resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Blyth as a bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Kaune’s Neighborhood Market owner Cheryl Pick Sommer was given the Thomas K. Zaucha Entrepreneurial Excellence Award by the National Grocers Association for demonstrating “tangible examples of persistence, vision and creative entrepreneurship throughout the year.” The association especially noted her actions amid the coronavirus pandemic, specifically creating early shopping hours for those over age 60, opening on Sunday and providing free delivery for all customers. Sommer is the first woman to receive the Zaucha award, which was created in 2009. Sommer bought Kaune’s in 2003.
Taylor Reed has joined the integrated communications firm Sunny505 as a marketing specialist. She previously was in campaign management at Meow Wolf and was client services manager at MNTN (formerly SteelHouse). Reed has a bachelor’s degree in business of art and design from Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fla.
Peter Grendle in May became cinema director for the Center for Contemporary Arts, which operates the CCA Cinematheque and The Screen at the midtown campus. Grendle previously was general manager at Violet Crown Cinema from 2015 to this year, and before that he was manager of The Screen from 2008-15. Grendle has a bachelor’s degree in moving image arts from the College of Santa Fe.
Tim Morgan is the new vice president of economic development for the New Mexico Partnership. He previously was the economic development manager for Maple Valley, Wash. Prior jobs included chief of tourism and special events for the Charles County Tourism Office in Maryland, state tourism director for the Delaware Economic Development Office and director of sales for the Washington County Visitors Association in Oregon. Morgan has a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University and a master’s degree in administration from Ohio University.
Rebecca Ruddell is the new director of claims at True Health New Mexico. She previously has worked for Lovelace Health Plan, Presbyterian Health Plan, UNM Medical Group, Optum and Anesthesia Associates of New Mexico in contracting, claims, revenue cycle, provider services and operations. Ruddell has a bachelor’s degree in management from the University of Phoenix and a master’s degree in health care administration from Colorado State University.