Speedway Children’s Charities names Burns, Tennyson to board

The Sonoma Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities (SCC) has named John Burns and Gary Tennyson to its board of trustees.  

Burns, a 30-year Sonoma County resident, is publisher of the Sonoma Index-Tribune and Petaluma Argus-Courier. A 1980 graduate of UC Berkeley, Burns began work as a reporter with the Sebastopol Times, later serving as that newspaper’s editor before starting his own newspaper, the West County News, in 1984. A native of Connecticut, Burns has a strong interest in economic development and has served on the board of directors for the Sebastopol, Novato and Petaluma chambers of commerce. He was president of the Petaluma Chamber of Commerce in 2003-04 and is the immediate past president of the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

Tennyson is the CEO of Verihealth, Inc., which he founded in 2000. Verihealth is a patient-focused and community-centered healthcare organization providing all levels of ground ambulance service, as well as education and training for healthcare workers and community members. The company is also the Official Emergency Services Provider of Sonoma Raceway, and in 2014,  Verihealth, Inc. became one of Speedway Children’s Charities Children’s Champions. Along with Verihealth, the Verihealth Foundation provides assistance to local charitable organizations. Tennyson is a longtime Sonoma County resident.

Burns and Tennyson join the existing 20-member SCC board, which meets annually to distribute grants to Sonoma County youth groups and supports the charity by volunteering at events throughout the year.

The Sonoma Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities is the charitable arm of Sonoma Raceway and has distributed more than $4.8 million to Sonoma County youth-serving organizations since 2001.

For more information about the Sonoma chapter of SCC, visit racesonoma.com/scc.