montereycountynow.com/bestof BEST OF MONTEREY COUNTY® 2024 15 Around Town Best Volunteer Organization Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula 700 Jewell Ave., Pacific Grove (831) 375-4454, mowmp.org Imagine the Pony Express, adapted to modern times and a much more urgent need. We hope you’re imagining volunteers picking up lovingly cooked meals, loading them into their cars (sorry, no horses), then driving them around town to deliver them to hundreds of homebound seniors. These are some of the 525 dedicated volunteers who make up the team at Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula, and they do more than drop off food and check in on isolated community members. Others host plated dine-in lunches, prepare and package food, answer calls and help with logistics— they make this place go, a lot more efficiently than the Pony Express. Best Local Do-Gooder Carie Broecker Peace of Mind Dog Rescue, 615 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove (831) 718-9122, peaceofminddogrescue. org Carie Broecker was taking care of a spaniel mix for a woman who was dying of emphysema. One of the woman’s greatest anxieties was what would become of her dog, Savannah, who was young and healthy but shy and prone to nipping at strangers. Broecker had a realization: To ease the passing of people who loved their dogs—and to secure a happy, loving home for those dogs—she and a friend created a nonprofit, Peace of Mind Dog Rescue. “When she was telling me her fears, I said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Savannah is OK.’” What Broecker helped create (and now runs) has helped ease transitions for many humans and dogs. Broecker ended up adopting Savannah, who lived to 16. (Now she’s the human companion to a Chihuahua mix named Sneakers and Abbey, a pitbull mix.) If the canine love was not enough, Broecker also helped create a new group called Caste Action Alliance in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, helping raise awareness about how to be an ally in the struggle for racial justice. “We wanted to do something,” Broecker says. And that’s what makes a do-gooder—not just the idea, but the action. Best Local Nonprofit Best Local Website Best Place To Take Visitors Monterey Bay Aquarium 886 Cannery Row, Monterey (831) 648-4800, montereybayaquarium.org When Monterey Bay Aquarium rose from the ruins of a former cannery in the early ’80s, few may have expected it would become one of the most renowned aquariums in the world, attracting visitors from both across the globe or just across town—locals love it too, especially if they’ve got visitors in town. But it’s more than just an aquarium, it’s a lead player in promoting the health of marine ecosystems, whether through its groundbreaking Seafood Watch program or, more recently, advocating for a Global Plastic Treaty to battle plastic pollution in the sea. And for educators or learners, the website is a gem. Not only is it packed with information about the Aquarium’s residents, it also offers online classes and a printable collection of crafts that kids can enjoy at home, wherever that may be. Best Radio Station 101.7 The Beach Probably not too many people were dancing to ragtime, classical, folk and the blues back in the day. But the artists of these genres helped pave the way for the tunes we now hear and bop to on 101.7 The Beach. The station’s DJs know how to get you moving with beats from today’s top artists and those who’ve been rocking the airwaves for a little longer, such as Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Ludacris, Pitbull and Taylor Swift. If you need a little (or a lot) of pop in your life, set your dial to 101.7 FM. Best Radio DJ Kenny Allen 104.3 The Hippo To say Kenny Allen has been spinning tunes on the Central Coast since the days of the Old West isn’t true, but it sure seems like it. There’s a way to find out, though. Ask him if he considers Jenny Lind equal to Lillie Langtry as a singer and see what he says. Anyway, he’s certainly been DJing since the songs he now plays as classic rock (think Green Day, Nirvana) on The Hippo were new. Allen’s immediately recognizable voice offers a convesration to many commuters on their way home from work (that’s by car, not horseback). You might also recognize his voice from countless commercials. That familiarity and his winning DJ choices makes him the best. Best Radio DJ | Kenny Allen
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