2020 Jan Beautz Award Recipient Announced

Press release from County of Santa Cruz:

Nov. 11, 2020

In 2019, the Santa Cruz County Mobile and Manufactured Home Commission (MMHC) established the annual Jan Beautz Award for Outstanding Service to the Mobile and Manufactured Home Community in order to recognize individuals and organizations that have significantly advanced the interests of the mobile and manufactured home community in Santa Cruz County.

This year, the Commission has designated long-time Santa Cruz County resident Jerry L. Bowles, the second annual recipient of the Jan Beautz Award for Outstanding Service to the Mobile and Manufactured Home Community. Mr. Bowles has been an effective voice and key strategist for manufactured and mobile home park residents for many years.

The Commission honors Mr. Bowles’ longstanding service as a resource to the County on behalf of mobile and manufactured home residents. As an advisor to both the MMHC and the County Board of Supervisors, he provided insight on key legislation impacting the mobile and manufactured home community and connected the community with resources from around the state. Additionally, as a member of the Advisory Council to the Assessor of Santa Cruz County, he advised the Council regarding issues related to mobilehome park property tax.

Mr. Bowles inspired residents of investor-owned parks and supported their efforts to convert to resident-owned communities. He founded the Santa Cruz County Resident-Owned Parks Group and served as Chair. He also served as Vice President for Resident-Owned Communities on the Golden State Manufactured-Home Owner’s League (GSMOL) volunteer Board of Directors.

Today, he continues to serve and inspire the community on the Board of Directors for the Educational Community for Homeowners (ECHO), a non-profit corporation dedicated to assisting California homeowners associations with financial and legal issues, insurance, maintenance, and management. The impact of his contributions to the betterment of the mobile and manufactured community in Santa Cruz County is so far-reaching as to be incalculable.

The Santa Cruz County Mobile and Manufactured Home Commission congratulates Mr. Bowles and thanks him for his many years of service to the mobile and manufactured home community in Santa Cruz County.

This press release was produced by County of Santa Cruz. The views expressed here are the author's own.