Harringtons are Yuba's Family of the Year; Deweys honored for Sutter

The Mike and Lori Harrington family of Browns Valley in Yuba County and the Bruce and Julie Dewey family of Yuba City in Sutter County were honored Thursday night during the annual Family of the Year event at Boyd Hall in Yuba City.

The event, in its 16th year, honors one family each in Yuba and Sutter counties for their strong family values, achievements and community service efforts.

Sixteen families — six in Yuba County and nine in Sutter County — were nominated for the award.

The annual event also honored three high school students in an essay contest that drew a record 62 entries from both counties.

Essay contest winners were, first, Noah Bugayong, ninth-grader at Wheatland High School; second, Teah Kautz, ninth-grader at Wheatland High; and third, Tiffany Hendricks, 11th-grader at Faith Christian High School.

Families nominated for the 2012 Family of the Year award included:

Yuba County — Ken Bredeson and Eva Tillerson, Gary and Leslie Cena, Robert and Stacia Denison, and Shawn Fontaine and Alison Abner, all of Marysville; and Michael and Kasia Vang of Browns Valley.

Sutter County — Bob and Susan Burky, Carole Gresham, Rahul and Vineet Gupta, Robert and Sally Mowers, Peter and Julie Sprague and Truth Snow, all of Yuba City; Lakhvir and Amarjit Ghag of Live Oak; and Mike and Judy Sanchez of Sutter.

The Family of the Year, sponsored by businesses, service clubs and churches, is part of National Family Week held the last week of November.