Mark West Chamber honors Cloverleaf Ranch owner
In recognition of her efforts to support her community through her business and beyond, the Mark West Area Chamber of Commerce has chosen to honor Cloverleaf Ranch owner Shawna DeGrange with a Spirit of Sonoma award.
DeGrange is the third generation of her family to operate Cloverleaf Ranch, which hosts resident and day camp programs for youth, in addition to offering horse boarding, riding lessons and facility rentals for events.
Since stepping forward to lead the ranch, which her grandparents founded in 1947, DeGrange has formed a nonprofit, served as a board member and past president of the Mark West chamber and contributed her time to service organizations such as F.I.S.H. (Friends in Sonoma Helping) and Redwood Gospel Mission.
“I was so humbled and honored looking at the list of people that have received [the Spirit of Sonoma award] and the scope of what they’ve done,” DeGrange said. “I’m just completely honored.”
Under the auspices of the county Economic Development Board, chambers of commerce and trade organizations throughout Sonoma County distribute the “Spirit of Sonoma” awards annually. A luncheon was held to honor this year’s 19 recipients in December.
According to Tony Geraldi, who serves on the Mark West chamber’s board of directors, the board came to a decision quickly when DeGrange was brought forward as a potential recipient. “Once her name was brought up, we knew everyone on the board was familiar with the contributions she made here in Sonoma County,” he said.
“We’re blessed to have her as a resident because she does so much work in the community,” Geraldi added. “She has this gift of caring and attention to other people and she’s one who always puts a smile on other people’s faces.”
Since 2007, Cloverleaf Ranch has partnered with local Rotary clubs to assist over 50 children each year in attending camp at Cloverleaf Ranch. The ability to attend the camp, she explained, not only provides a fun environment for children, but also reinforces important values, including respect for others and oneself.
In 2012, DeGrange expanded to found a nonprofit named Charm’s Place, which also works to offer underprivileged children the opportunity to attend camp. To fund the nonprofit’s scholarship program, DeGrange developed a “Cloverleaf Ranch” barbeque sauce that regularly sells over 500 bottles a year at Sonoma County stores.
“I started that a few years ago, based on a version of a family recipe,” DeGrange said. When developing the barbeque sauce, DeGrange said she took inspiration from Paul Newman and Newman’s Own, whose food products support charitable organizations. “It has a usefulness to it – instead of saying, ‘Hey, could you donate $5?’” she said.
Outside of Charm’s Place, DeGrange’s service efforts have also ranged from organizing holiday toy and clothing drives through the Mark West chamber, to working with F.I.S.H, which provides assistance to Sonoma Valley residents with financial hardships, to cooking at the Redwood Gospel Mission, whose ministry includes assisting homeless populations in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County.
“I love being able to give back in some way or another,” she said. “I realize the best way is probably to be right here, but I love the outreach and seeing the shift in perspective. It’s easy to get complacent with our own little routine.”
This philosophy, she said, developed through time spent with her grandparents, which taught her the value of living life to its fullest. “What if I, starting at the age of seven or eight, started acting like I was at the tail end of my life?” she said. “And it was definitely a weird way for a kid to think, but I figured that would put things in perspective, because at some point I would be 80 looking back at my life.”
