What We've Achieved
Scholarships given to local high school seniors
Expanded our membership to outside of Watsonville
Started a student exchange program with the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia
Brought hundreds of people together
Since 1979, SACO has brought community members of Watsonville (and beyond!) to share with each other their love and knowledge of their heritage.
Our Mission
Slavic American Cultural Organization’s (SACO) goal is to promote and conserve the culture of the former Yugoslavian states. Through various events during the years, scholarships given to local high school students, and an upcoming student exchange program, we bring family, friends, strangers, and community members together. Over the past few years, we have continued to grow outside of just Watsonville, reaching the communities of Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Jose, and more.
Our History
In mid 1978, Nevenka Novcich Radich lead a Serbo-Croatian language course where several Watsonville residents including Lilian Jercich Nielson, Patricia Gospodnetich Solano, Babe Brautovich Hill, and many more, came together to extend the language, culture, and traditions of their ancestry. From that class came the foundation of our group, creating to "bring the connections back to our class and to the families still living in the community. I could see gatherings where families enjoyed potlucks, musical programs, and sharing of long ago memories. I went home and devised some bylaws, and with the help of Lilian, who typed them out from my long hand, YACO was born,"explained first YACO president Patricia Solano. The Yugoslav American Cultural Organization was founded in February of 1979. Republics of former Yugoslavia included present day countries of Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Slovenia, and Kosovo.
SACO in the News!
Recently, a few of our members, put together a display of the Slavic community in the Pajaro Valley. This display was shown at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. Many thanks to several SACO board members and organization members for their support and guidance in creating this display. Linked here is an article from Good Times Santa Cruz.