For his involvement in Sparkhouse, Filmed Academy of the Arts, The Cinematic Arts Experience, Ad2OC, Kite Patch, Forge 54 and EvaDrop Smart Shower— Torrey was recently honored by the Angel Light Academy with the Above and Beyond Award for 2015.
Angel Light Academy’s Leadership Training Institute will be honoring local citizens who have proven excellence in community leadership and service. This event was established in 2009 as a grass roots recognition program for the “doers” of our local communities. Each of the honorees has demonstrated they consistently go above and beyond and are nominated by their peers for this prestigious award. This event is an amazing forum to view the works of our honorees who represent fabulous organizations, institutions, and corporations.
There are two venues each year for this event: Indian Wells Golf Resort in Indian Wells for all of the Coachella Valley and the High Desert Communities, and the Avenue of the Arts Hotel in Costa Mesa for all of Orange, Riverside and Los Angeles Counties.
Torrey Tayenaka is a creative entrepreneur driven to make his community, and the world a better place. He began his first startup while still in high school and hasn’t slowed down since. His agency, Sparkhouse Media, combines Torrey’s talents in video production, storytelling, and high-impact marketing to create custom commercials and spots for national and international clients. He also channels his creativity as an inventor, producer, or promoter to design and develop products he believes have the potential to change the world. Two such products are the Kite Patch, a wearable patch that repels mosquitoes and could prevent mosquito-borne illnesses, and the Eva Smart Shower that uses engineered features to save water without compromising the shower experience. Torrey is also president of a non-profit organization, Ad2 OC, that supports the creative, media, and advertising communities by providing education, career changing options, and volunteer and networking opportunities for those starting out in the business. Torrey also began Forge 54, a volunteer marketing hub to help non-profits with their marketing. Forge 54 hosts an annual event with over 50 professionals who donate their time to create dynamic and creative marketing campaigns for worthwhile organizations who would otherwise not have the budget to do so. Torrey’s energy and willingness to find new ways to help his community show a strong desire to pay it forward and he will likely continue to go above and beyond in ways that we haven’t yet imagined.