Tag archives: Michael Hammer

Ready to Rally
By Richard Mineards   |   May 2, 2023

Millions of dollars worth of mechanical horsepower scattered across the lush lawns of the Hilton when the 8th annual Rally4Kids culminated at the oceanside hostelry –  raising more than $382,000 for the United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Jaguars, McLarens, Porsches and Aston Martins were just some of the […]

Michael Hammer Remembered
By Richard Mineards   |   December 6, 2022

On a personal note, I remember inveterate Montecito car and art collector Michael Hammer, who has died at the age of 67 after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. Michael, the son of Julian Armand Hammer and grandson of Occidental Petroleum industrialist Armand Hammer, was also a generous philanthropist, donating millions of dollars to local […]

Beyond ‘Fun’: 911 At Ease International Offers Community Chance to Save Lives
By Sara Bush   |   October 5, 2021

The annual Fun with the Force is more than just another fundraiser. It is an opportunity to support the men and women who risk their lives for the communities they serve every day. Money raised at this year’s event goes directly to the rapidly expanding 911 At Ease International (911 AEI), a nonprofit that offers […]

Start Your Engines!
By Richard Mineards   |   September 26, 2019

It was horsepower of a very different kind on display at the Santa Barbara Polo Club when the 8th annual Montecito Motor Classic, which used to display its pricey wares on Coast Village Road, pitched up at the Carpinteria equestrian facility. With the theme Supercar Designs & Legacy Milestones, featuring one-of-a-kind cars made by Lamborghini, […]

Making Scents
By Richard Mineards   |   January 2, 2019

Santa Barbara Polo Club player and Ralph Lauren Polo model Nacho Figueras has praised his good friend Prince Harry for his “realness” and says Queen Elizabeth‘s 35-year-old grandson is “serious about improving life for kids” who’ve not had the same advantages in life. Argentinian Nacho, 42, tells Town & Country magazine: “What I like most […]

Making Waves
By Richard Mineards   |   July 2, 2018

It was a case of High Cs on the high seas when bubbly Condor Express owner Hiroko Benko hosted her fourth annual two-hour opera cruise on the popular whale-watching vessel. The sell-out floating fest had 127 guests, with Hiroko putting it down to the growing popularity of opera and the need to get out on […]

Cover to Cover
By Richard Mineards   |   February 8, 2018

Czech children’s author Petra Malinova has won the silver medal in the annual Illumination Book Awards with her first book, Birth of an Angel. Petra, who works for Montecito art and car collector Michael Hammer, beat out hundreds of other entries in the competition honoring Christian books. “In a time of Nones, the award medalists […]

Misty-Eyed
By Richard Mineards   |   November 23, 2017

Montecito philanthropist Michael Hammer‘s wife, Misty, was feted at a bridal shower hosted by Dolores Johnson at the home of Condor Express owner, Hiroko Benko. After lunch overlooking the ocean and the Channel Islands, a tea ceremony presented by Tom Craveiro and Yuki Nakamura, wife of Nobel Prize winner Shuji Nakamura. Guests included police chief […]