GATHERINGS: LEADERSHIP IN SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS

A glass of bubbly welcomed guests Saturday evening to an awards celebration and dinner in Windsor with a most ambitious goal: a healthier, more sustainable world.

The occasion at the Mary Agatha Furth Center was the Leadership in Sustainability Awards banquet.

After the champagne and the passed appetizers, and a buffet meal that boasted coq au vin and seared-and-stuffed portobello mushrooms, three Sonoma County people and a unique Petaluma bakery were honored "for exceptional accomplishments in creating a more sustainable community -- especially contributions to environmental stewardship, economic vitality and social equity."

Sonoma County's northern-district supervisor, Mike McGuire, acted as master of ceremonies for the fete, hosted by the Santa Rosa-based Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy.

Founded in 2000, the institute provides leadership training that teaches members of the community that quality of life and the economy are interdependent.

New endeavors by the nonprofit organization seek to provide local leaders with the findings of sustainability research, and to create and monitor a measure of happiness and well-being in Santa Rosa.

Saturday's celebration presented 2013 Sustainability Awards to Cathryn Couch of the Ceres Community Project, Paul Kaiser of Sebastopol's Singing Frogs Farm, Bill Gallaher of First Community Bank and the organic, worker-owned Alvarado Street Bakery.