Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce Announces Man, Woman of the Year

HERMOSA BEACH, CA — Two Hermosa Beach residents were named as Man and Woman of the Year by the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau for their years of service to the community.

The Man of the Year is Ryan Nowicki and the Woman of the Year is Jackie Flaherty, the Chamber announced.

Nowicki is an attorney who lives in Hermosa Beach with his wife Karen and began his volunteer work in 2006 with the 4Ever Foundation (formerly Animal Lovers of South Bay), where he is still a board member.

He has served on the board of Leadership Hermosa Beach since 2006 and has volunteered with the Arts Group of Hermosa Beach since 2008.

Nowicki has helped to fundraise for the largest sheriff's station in Los Angeles County through the Century Sheriff's Station Foundation since 2009. And since 2012 he has volunteered for HealGrief, a nonprofit bereavement organization.

Flaherty grew up in Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach before moving to Hermosa Beach in 1976, where she lives with her husband Michael.

She became a foster parent in 1978 to a 12-year-old boy for two years and mentored him for several more. From 1992 to 2008, she was a member of the local Bright Horizons Charter Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association and helped to raise money for scholarships so local women could attend universities.

Flaherty has been a member of the Hermosa Beach Woman’s Club since 2004, serving as president from 2013-2015. She has also been on the board of the Sister City Association for more than 10 years.

Flaherty and Nowicki will be honored at the Chamber’s annual Choice Awards and Installation Gala on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 5:30 p.m. at the Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach.

— Photos courtesy of the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau