Dennis Gillette, mayor pro tem of Thousand Oaks, has been named this year's chair of the board for the Ventura Regional Sanitation District.

Gillette has served on the board since 2000.

"I look forward to participating in the activities of VRSD board chairman for 2009," he said. "This is an extremely exciting time with the initiatives the district is pursuing, such as its biosolids drying projects, which is an exceptional example of applying innovative technology to meet the needs of the community," Gillette said.