Locals and leaders gathered at the Top of the Ritt event center in downtown Santa Cruz Saturday night for the second annual NEXTies awards. The ceremony, sponsored by Santa Cruz NEXT, honored locals who have made an impact on the commumity's quality of life.

The night began with champagne and shots inside of the purple-and-red-lit studio. The Santa Cruz Derby Girls acted as waitresses on roller skates and moved through the crowd passing out drinks to the tux- and gown-clad attendees. As the party began to gain momentum, women dressed from head-to-toe in white spandex and silver face paint scrawled on the pillars like living statues.

With the party in full swing, the honorees were brought to the stage and given silver NEXT statues, and a video presentation for each honoree was shown.

The honorees of the night included Doron Comerchero, founder of Food, What!?, a youth-empowerment program that works with teens to distribute healthy food; Analicia Cube, co-founder of the community clean-up group Take Back Santa Cruz; Cliff Hodges, founder of Adventure Out, a community-focused outdoor guide; and Deutron Kebebew, program manager of the Supporting Father Involvement Program at Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center.

The mission of Santa Cruz NEXT, a local nonprofit agency, is to enhance the quality of life for the community.