2026 Heroes of Hospice Awards Recipients Announced
The 2026 Heroes of Hospice Annual Awards Luncheon will once again shine a light on unique individuals who have shared their experience, strength and hope to inspire everyone around them through their individual, personal and professional contributions around the corner and around the world.
Dr. Fred Kass — Medical Award
A longtime friend and champion of Hospice of Santa Barbara, Dr. Kass has supported our work for decades. As an oncologist, he was an early supporter of HSB’s Patient Care Services program and has referred many patients and families for its compassionate, non-medical support. Dr. Fred Kass is renowned in his field and served at the Santa Barbara Cancer Center from it's inception until recently as he prepared for retirement. His loving and outstanding care of area cancer patients makes him an outstanding candidate for this award.
Dr. Fred Kass is recipient of the 2026 Heroes of Hospice Medical Award (Courtesy Hospice of Santa Barbara)Partners for Kids — Partnership Award
A longtime friend and champion of Hospice of Santa Barbara, Dr. Kass has supported our work for decades. As an oncologist, he was an early supporter of HSB’s Patient Care Services program and has referred many patients and families for its compassionate, non-medical support.
The organization Partners for Kids is a 2026 Heroes of Hospice Partnership Award recipient (Courtesy Hospice of Santa Barbara)Voice Magazine — Partnership Award
Led by publishers Mark Whitehurst and Kerry Methner, Voice has championed Santa Barbara’s nonprofits, arts and community life for more than three decades. A longtime promotional partner of HSB, Voice has generously helped connect our programs and services with the community.
Kerry Methner and Mark Whitehurst, publishers of Voice Magazine, are recipients of this year’s Heroes of Hospice Partnership Award. (Photo courtesy of Bonnie Carroll LBN)
Bestselling author, Cheryl Strayed, is the keynote speaker at this year’s Heroes of Hospice Awards. (Courtesy Hospice of Santa Barbara)
In addition to recognizing this year’s outstanding honorees, Hospice of Santa Barbara is thrilled to welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author Cheryl Strayed as this year’s keynote speaker. Through works including her acclaimed memoir Wild, Strayed has written powerfully about love, loss, resilience, and finding our way through life’s most difficult passages. Few writers speak to the theme of this year’s event with as much authenticity and grace as Cheryl, and we are deeply honored to host her in Santa Barbara.
“Our 2026 Heroes embody what is so special about this community—the willingness to care for one another, to collaborate, and to use our individual gifts in service to others,” said David Selberg, CEO of Hospice of Santa Barbara. “Dr. Kass, Partners for Kids, and Voice Magazine have each made a meaningful difference in the lives of others, and we are honored to celebrate them.”
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2026 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort For additional information and tickets, visit hospiceofsb.org/heroes
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Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort Pool
HILTON SANTA BARBARA BEACHFRONT RESORT FEATURES LUXURY SUITES FOR SENIORS WITH DISABILITIES
By Bonnie Carroll
End of summer or anytime is perfect to enjoy a fun family staycation or long weekend escape to savor the many pleasures at Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort, including a pool lift, and the latest in ADA rooms and suites designed to meet the accessibility standards of the American Disabilities Act ensuring people with disabilities can use the space comfortably and safely.
Senior guests staying in the new private patio, pool side suites and rooms can enjoy sunning, and sharing lunch with family with a pool view and pool access. These new ADA suites are amazing for families with physically challenged family members, offering beautiful suites with larger spaces to move around, roll-in showers, easy access amenities throughout and sleeping for a family of four or five. These rooms make travel more accessible and welcoming for everyone regardless of their mobility or sensory impairments, and include lowered counters and thermostats, as well as closet rods and shelves.
Roll-in showers, accessible everything, including refreshment bar
The Hilton pool, with new cabanas, offers a delightful gathering place for swimming, enjoying bites from the food shack, and just enjoying good company of friends or family during your stay.
From morning till night activities are available to please any guests. Breakfast at the Roundhouse can include a fabulous buffet, complete with everything adults and children love for breakfast. However, the full menu includes a few divine dishes like smoked salmon Benedict or New Orleans style Beignets with fresh fruit that are truly gourmet delicious, with fabulous preparation and presentation.
Roundhouse Restaurant
The fully equipped gym on the main floor offers views of the ocean and is a favorite of guests in the morning seeking a morning workout.
But, with all the great amenities at the pool it is so easy to just crash there for the day and chill out. Guests are also encouraged to enjoy the beachfront area and can borrow a chair to stroll across Cabrillo Boulevard with their bottle of complimentary water in hand to enjoy a quick swim in the ocean or take photos while enjoying a walk in the neighborhood.
Float Spa
If part of your family staycation or vacation includes some pampering you will find a charming hair and nail salon, as well as delish skin treatments provided by FLOAT, an established spa in Santa Barbara, now offering a full menu of face and body treatments to hotel guests.
Dinner at the hotel provides an opportunity to savor a sunset at Set Restaurant featuring an ocean view outdoor patio. The walls of the more formal indoor restaurant are covered with photos of actor Fess Parker taken on numerous film sets he worked on throughout his career. The Parker family built the iconic ocean front hotel, originally known as the Fess Parker Red Lion Inn, which opened in 1986. Later it became the Fess Parker Double Tree and now Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.
The menu at Set restaurant is versatile and offers delicious salads, appetizers, soups, sandwiches, and main courses paired with fine wine selections from the Fess Parker Winery, and other popular local wineries. The bar offers a full menu of cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. According to the Sets manager, the Parker family are still involved in the hotel operation and are often seen dining there or talking wine with guests in the lovely wine tasting room in the lobby, where guests can savor the delicious Fess Parker wine collection during their hotel stay.
For those celebrating a special occasion the staff will help you fully enjoy the day with unique services like a beautiful cheese and wine tray for two by the pool or in your suite. Another delightful activity to enjoy as a couple or with children is on the front lawn where fire pits are surrounded by comfortable seats and guests can have a fun evening roasting marshmallow.
The lobby at the hotel is quite chic, with a unique ocean theme design, and features an open view all the way from the entrance to the ocean. Guests waiting to register or to check out or just meeting friends and family can enjoy a beverage or snack from the off-lobby coffee shop. Great salads and sandwiches are also for sale to take along while off property playing golf, picnicking at the beach, or bike riding (the hotel rents bikes) to local points of interest like Stearns Wharf.
The Hilton pool, with new cabanas, offers a delightful gathering place for swimming, enjoying bites from the food shack, and just enjoying good company of friends or family during your stay. The hotel offers fun adventures for little guests throughout the year, and a bevy of museums, including the Santa Barbara Zoo located minutes away from the property, with programs especially designed to interest and please visiting children traveling with their parents and grandparents.
Annual major attractions in the City of Santa Barbara include Old Spanish Days Fiesta featuring a 400 horse Fiesta parade and five-day celebration in August, and the world-renowned Santa Barbara International Film Festival held in May with red carpet awards held at the historic Arlington Theatre.
The nearby downtown neighborhood and Funk Zone offer museums, shopping, wine tasting venues, and a bevy of historic places of interest, as well as Stearns Wharf and the Santa Barbara Harbor to explore while a guest at the Hilton property.
Either for business, pleasure, or a weekend family escape Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort has thought of just about everything to make a coastal visit to the American Riviera a fun opportunity to savor the best of everything Santa Barbara.
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outdoor patio. The walls of the more formal indoor restaurant are covered with photos of actor Fess Parker taken on numerous film sets he worked on throughout his career. The Parker family built the iconic ocean front hotel, originally known as the Fess Parker Red Lion Inn, which opened in 1986. Later it became the Fess Parker Double Tree and now Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort..jpg)
delicious salads, appetizers, soups, sandwiches, and main courses paired with fine wine selections from the Fess Parker Winery, and other popular local wineries. The bar offers a full menu of cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. According to the Sets manager, the Parker family are still involved in the hotel operation and are often seen dining there or talking wine with guests in the lovely wine tasting room in the lobby, where guests can savor the delicious Fess Parker wine collection during their hotel stay. .jpg)
ocean theme design, and features an open view all the way from the entrance to the ocean. Guests waiting to register or to check out or just meeting friends and family can enjoy a beverage or snack from the off-lobby coffee shop. Great salads and sandwiches are also for sale to take along while off property playing golf, picnicking at the beach, or bike riding (the hotel rents bikes) to local points of interest like Stearns Wharf. 
