May 2025

Your Life May Depend On Them!

Wednesday, May 14:

Bennett Valley Community

Town Hall / Open House

Keeping Bennett Valley Safe: Emergency Preparedness Awareness and Resources

• 6:00pm - 7:30pm at Bennett Valley Grange, 4145 Grange Road, Santa Rosa

• FREE Community Event - No RSVP required

• Light snacks and refreshments will be served

Our prior first responder’s evening was a great success—let’s reprise it!  Meet our great first responders who reliably keep Bennett Valley safe. Learn about protocols for evacuation and emergency preparedness as well as new resources. This is a great opportunity to ask any questions and provide any feedback or ideas you may have about Bennett Valley safety and support.  This year the format will be an informal open house with ample opportunity to interact with our first responders and meet your neighbors.

First responder and community resource participants include:

• CAL FIRE Division Chief

• California Highway Patrol Captain

• Emergency Prep Help for Seniors

• HALTER Project - (animal disaster prep)

• PG&E

• Sonoma County Emergency Management

• Sonoma County Fire District Division Chief

• Sonoma County Radio Amateurs

• Sonoma County Sheriff

  
  

  Brought to you by your BVCA and Bennett Valley Grange volunteers, and with financial donation support from Pacific Gas &Electric for Grange Hall operations in 2024 and 2025

Photo(s) of the Season!

Craig’s backyard visitors—

…See more here

Frank LaCombe (1944 - 2025)

We lost our valued friend, neighbor, and community leader

Frank Lacombe on April 8, 2025.

…Read more

April 30th SoCo General Plan Workshop

Neighbors join together to contribute ideas and concerns about future development in Bennett Valley...

…Read more

Antonio Peracca: A Bennett Valley Dairyman

Many of us pass by Peracca Road on our daily travels—here’s the story of the man behind the sign, written by a new neighbor

…Read more

Sunday, June 1:

152nd annual Founders BBQ & Picnic

11:30am – 3:30pm

Enjoy fun for the whole family while supporting the Grange Building Preservation fund: great food, live music by The Music Club, and of course, the famous Cherry Pit Spitting Contest. Lots of silent auction offerings, too. The BBQ chicken and fixins’ is a country-style tradition!

$23 per person in advance, $28 at the door—and kids 12 and under are FREE!

Back by popular demand: Our BVCA partner is again generously helping to sponsor the adorable All About A Farm petting farm experience!

BVCA Mission

The primary purposes of the Bennett Valley Community Association (BVCA) are:

1) To promote and preserve the rural residential character and natural environment of Bennett Valley, as outlined in the Bennett ValleyArea Plan (BVAP);

2) To serve as an open forum for Bennett Valley community participation; and

3) To provide a bridge for communication between government agencies and the Bennett Valley community.

Minutes from previous meetings of the BVCA Board are typically posted on the BVCA website soon after they are approved. You can find an archive of meeting minutes here.

BVCA BOARD:

Moira Jacobs, President | Moiraajacobs at comcast.net

Chris Gralapp, VP and Editor | cgralapp at gmail.com

Kristin Merrihew, Secretary | merrihew.k at gmail.com

Matthew Davis, Treasurer | Matthew.Davis at morganstanley.com

Jennifer Beer, Director | jennifernbeer at gmail.com

Bill Sirvatka, Director | billys95404 at yahoo.com 
Robert Stephens, Director | rstephens1 at gmail.com

The Bennett Valley Community Association, founded in 1970, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. (Federal Tax ID: 94-2198044).  We are entirely volunteer-based and we use donations to fund events and programs that are designed to benefit the community.

You can reach us at info@bennettvalley.org or just reply to this email.