GILROY
– Two garlic-minded volunteers were honored at the Gilroy Garlic
Festival Association’s annual meeting, and the 2004 festival
president offered a taste of what is to come during the
celebration’s 26th year.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Two garlic-minded volunteers were honored at the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association’s annual meeting, and the 2004 festival president offered a taste of what is to come during the celebration’s 26th year.
The organization’s directors Saturday recognized volunteers Janie Liebich and Mike McCarthy for going above and beyond the call of duty for the Garlic Festival’s silver anniversary.
Liebich showed her dedicated spirit while volunteering at the cook-off stage.
“That’s a very, very stressful job because you’re dealing with the cook-off contestants, as well as the celebrity judges and volunteers,” said John Zekanoski, president of the 2004 festival. “Janie did it with, just, such grace and organization that it was just a pleasure to work with (her).”
Zekanoski said he worked with McCarthy as part of the festival’s utilities committee before joining the board of directors.
“(McCarthy) is just one of those guys – he digs right in,” Zekanoski said.
An example: Last July, McCarthy often responded to utility-assistance calls over the radio even though it wasn’t his primary responsibility.
“Often times, we would find him beating us to these calls, he was just ‘Johnny on the spot,’ ” Zekanoski said.
McCarthy is the father of Army Spc. Cory McCarthy, who was injured when his company was ambushed in Iraq in August.
Zekanoski, who owns a custom manufacturing business in Morgan Hill, wants to build on the successful Garlic Festival legacy.
“We’ve got a solid foundation of 25 years to work with,” Zekanoski said. “I tell the people around me that we’ve got to balance the idea of ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ with, ‘How do we keep it fun and fresh?.’ ”
To keep things fresh, Zekanoski hopes to attract new food-related sponsors to “enhance the garlic theme” of the festival. Cookware and other food-related product sponsors would not only provide revenue for the festival, they could put products on display and offer patrons something new and exciting to look at, he said.
The sponsors would be able to reach thousands of consumers.
“We have something wonderful to offer to both patrons and sponsors,” Zekanoski said.
This year’s Garlic Festival will be July 23 to 25.
