Emily Kay Tillman of Fancy Feet Dance Studio, The Yogurt Shoppe and City National Bank will receive annual awards presented by the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce at its Installation Dinner on June 14 at the Riviera Country Club. Kay, a graduate of Palisades High, has been chosen to receive the Mort Farberow Award, presented to a local business person who exemplifies the three values that the late deli owner held dear: community, Chamber and children. ’Emily was chosen because the community has been enchanted with her since 1991, when she was crowned Miss Palisades,’ said Chamber President Greg Wood. ‘We have followed her career through school, through her film and television career and as the proud owner and program director of Fancy Feet. We have admired her love for the arts. We admire her perseverance as a businesswoman. ’Mort has been gone almost 10 years, but he would be proud to know that we are honoring the young girl he knew with the burst of energy,’ Wood said. The Chamber established the award in memory of Farberow, who was a local business owner for over 25 years (Mort’s Deli), Chamber president and generous community supporter. Winners thus far have been Bob Benton, Bob Sharka, Roberta Donohue, Cheryel Kanan, David Williams, Sam Lagana, Bob Ryan and Susan Carroll. ’I am honored to be receiving the Mort Faberow Award,’ Kay told the Palisadian-Post. ‘I have lived in Pacific Palisades since I was two years old. I remember eating at Mort’s Deli as a child with my family and feeling I was part of an intimate community. Whenever we visited Mort’s, Bobbie or Mort were always ready with a hug. Now, as an adult, there are so many things I have grown to appreciate about our wonderful community. ’I appreciate the Chamber of Commerce, knowing that there is an organization committed to maintaining the unique qualities of the businesses here in the Palisades. I love the feeling that has been upheld over the years. Now when I walk down the street with my husband and my three daughters, we are constantly greeted by the generations of families I’ve gotten to know over the last 20 years at Fancy Feet. This is the true sense of community I grew up with.’ o o o The Yogurt Shoppe, which opened at 873 Swarthmore in February 2011, has been named Best New Business by the Chamber board of directors. The owners are Palisadian Kevin Sabin and Clive Lewis. ’When a business bursts on the scene, people take notice,’ Wood said. ‘The Yogurt Shoppe gets it! They have figured out how to open a new business, get quickly involved in the community, and at the same time give their patrons a great product. The owners have indeed created a yogurt experience.’ Last August, Sabin and Lewis started an ongoing Happy Hour fundraiser in support of local schools, sports teams and nonprofit organizations, donating 15 percent of the net sales from yogurt purchased from 5 to 7 p.m. every day. The store has thus far distributed almost $5,000 through this program. The Best New Business criteria: The recipient must be a new, stable business that is needed in the community; been in business at least one year and not more than 3 years; and actively involved in the Chamber and the community. o o o City National Bank, located at 1012 Swarthmore, will receive the Chamber’s Beautification Award, presented annually by the Rotary Club and given to a business that has renovated and/or beautified its exterior and/or grounds, thereby contributing to the overall beautification of the community. City National’s building, which formerly housed Wells Fargo Bank, was gutted in early 2011 and then underwent a five-month renovation before opening on May 23. ’We started from scratch because we wanted to bring the building up to the standards that are expected by this community,’ said branch manager Bob Martinez. The principal architect was Richard Liu of DSR Design and the contractor was Inner Space Constructors, which also completed the bank’s Brentwood branch building. The floors were replaced with a beige ceramic tile and the teller counters were rebuilt with polished quartz and wood. The exterior of the building is largely glass, which allows natural light to flow into the interior. ’I love the glass,’ Martinez said. ‘The renovations turned out spectacular.’
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