Ignazio A. "Ig" Vella (July 13, 1928 – June 9, 2011) was an American businessman and cheese maker who served on the

Sonoma County Sonoma County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa. It is to the north of Marin County and the south of Mendocino ...

Biography

Vella was born on July 13, 1928, to Gaetano "Tom" Vella and Zolita (Clerici) Vella of

Sonoma, California Sonoma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sonoma is one of the principal cities of California's Wine Country and the center of the Sonoma Valley AVA. Sonoma's p ...

. He attended

Sonoma Valley High School Sonoma Valley High School (SVHS) is a public high school located in Sonoma, California with approximately 1,300 students as of 2017. It was founded in 1891 and held its first commencement in 1894. It moved to its current campus in 1922. Since t ...

, the San Rafael Military Academy, and Air Force Officer Candidate School. In 1950, he graduated '' magna cum laude'' from Santa Clara University with a bachelor's degree in history. His father owned the Vella Cheese Company, Inc. in California and the

Rogue Creamery Rogue Creamery is an American cheese maker based in Central Point, Oregon founded in 1933. Since 2002, Rogue Creamery has been making artisan cheeses. Founder Tom Vella brought mold, cultures and recipes for ''Oregon Blue'' to Central Point from ...

in Oregon, which he turned over to his children.
- Vella took control of both companies and was their general manager and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

. He sold Rogue Creamery in 2002. Vella served three terms (twelve years) on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, where he represented the First District. He was also on the Sonoma City Planning Commission and manager of the Sonoma County Fair. During the 1970s, he was president of the

Association of Bay Area Governments The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) is a regional planning agency incorporating various local governments in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. It encompasses nine counties surrounding the San Francisco Bay. Those counties are ...

. In 2006, Vella was honored by the City of Sonoma, which named the West Napa Street bridge over

Sonoma Creek , name_etymology = , image = Beaver Dam Sonoma Creek, Sonoma Thanksgiving 2009.jpg , image_caption = Beaver dam on Sonoma Creek at Maxwell Farms Regional Park in Sonoma, California, 2009 , image_size = 300 , ma ...

after him. In the same year, the American Cheese Society recognized Vella with a Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to artisan cheese. After a prolonged illness, Vella died at his home in Sonoma, aged 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vella, Ignazio 1928 births 2011 deaths Businesspeople from California County supervisors in California Cheesemakers People from Sonoma, California Santa Clara University alumni San Francisco Bay Area politicians Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area 20th-century American businesspeople Sonoma Valley High School alumni

Biography

See also

References