Parade Grand Marshall LARRY LAVAGNINO
Larry Lavagnino is a true native of Santa Maria. Not only was he born and raised here, but he actually lives in the same neighborhood in which he grew up.
He has witnessed his hometown grow from a tiny town of under 10,000 people to become a bustling city of more than 100,000.
Larry graduated from Santa Maria High in 1953, attended Allan Hancock College, then on to Loyola University in Los Angeles. After school he joined the United States Navy where he was proud to reach the unbelievably high rank of Storekeeper, Third Class. His public service career continued–from 1965 to 1980 he served as staff assistant to County Supervisors Curtis Tunnell and Harrell Fletcher. From 1980-1994 he worked in the private sector as a Government Relations executive for a number of energy companies. After his retirement, he wanted to give back to the city that he loves so much. He began his stint on the City Council in 1996 and was elected Mayor in 2004. He has the distinction of being the 3 longest tenured Mayor in Santa Maria’s history. rd Larry’s vision and ability to get things done resulted in the City of Santa Maria being able to build a Youth Center, a state of the art library and four new fire stations without raising taxes and they are all paid for–zero debt! His constant lobbying in Washington, D.C.delivered $46 million to restore the Santa Maria River levee. Without that improvement, thousands of homeowners in Santa Maria would have been required to purchase very expensive flood insurance.
In 2012, he decided to step away from public life and spend more time with his beautiful wife and best friend Donna, his four kids and the best dog in the world, Charlie!
Larry has enjoyed a love affair with Santa Maria for the last 89 years and he will tell anyone who will listen that Santa Maria is the best city in the world.
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