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ENCINITAS — The Downtown Encinitas Merchants Association (DEMA) bid farewell to two directors, Nancy Nelson and Rich Sylvester, and welcomed new directors, Chassie Bell of Whole Foods Market and Amie Brown of Community Resource Center, along with returning director, Doug Long, at its annual gathering in October.DEMA awarded Director of the Year to John DeWald and Volunteer of the Year to Carolyn Cope. The Partnership Award was given to Alex Stanton, of SMOG Test Only, for an outstanding partnership with DEMA on the Classic Car Cruise Nights. Joe Freitag accepted the award for Best Façade on behalf of Arnette.Lloyd O’Connell was awarded the prestigious Ida Lou Coley Award in which honors select Encinitas residents who dedicate themselves to making Encinitas a better place. As president of the Encinitas Historical Society, O’Connell led efforts to preserve the 1883 schoolhouse and for more than 25 years, he leads a group on his 90-minute Downtown Guided Walking Tour on the third Saturday of every month. His passion to preserve and share the history of downtown Encinitas exemplified through his decades of generous service to the community.To culminate the celebration, DEMA President Treggon Owens, and past-President Dave Agyagos, accepted a $12,500 check from Marc Regier, legislative aide to San Diego County Supervisor Pam Slater-Price. The county awarded DEMA the grant to fund a south entry welcoming sign to be installed at the opening of the Santa Fe undercrossing before the year’s end.
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