Favorite son Jeff Garcia, quarterback with the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers and his new bride, Carmella launched a new charity
effort Saturday night at CordeValle hosting a star-studded
inaugural dinner auction for the newly formed Pass it On
Foundation.
San Martin – Favorite son Jeff Garcia, quarterback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his new bride, Carmella launched a new charity effort Saturday night at CordeValle hosting a star-studded inaugural dinner auction for the newly formed Pass it On Foundation.
Local vintner Steve Dorcich helped set the tone, playing “Father Steve” as he blessed the cocktails at the picturesque resort where Gilroy’s most famous athlete wed his bride, the 2004 Playboy Playmate of the Year, in April.
The Garcias begin planning the inaugural fundraising event in the area by mentioning it to CordeValle Director of Sales and Marketing Julee Midden when making their wedding plans.
Midden suggested having the event at CordeValle and that fit perfectly with the Garcia’s requirement to have the event near Jeff’s hometown of Gilroy. With Midden’s help and the cooperation of the Rosewood Corporation, CordeValle supplied the facility free of charge and the food and beverages at cost. In addition, items on the live auction list included getaways at many of the Rosewood sister resorts, including a five-day stay at the Mayakoba Resort on the Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
The “Invitation Only” event began on Friday night with a winetasting reception at Clos LaChance Winery then culminated with a $500 a plate dinner in the CordeValle Ballroom Saturday evening. The Garcia Pass it On Foundation sought funds for three organizations, including the young cancer survivors scholarship fund through the American Cancer Society, The Laci and Conner Search and Rescue Fund founded by Sharon Rocha, mother of Laci Peterson, the 27-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant and later found murdered at the hands of her husband, and the Northern California Special Olympics. Speakers from all three organizations attended the event Saturday.
Rocha detailed the ordeal of her daughter Laci’s disappearance and the discovery of her mutilated body and that of her unborn grandson, Connor, in the book, “For Laci.”
Rocha explained her reticence about writing such a painful book but saw it as a way to help fund the needs of search-and-rescue organizations, citing the enormous outpouring of help she and her family received during the search for Laci.
“When Laci was first missing the day after Christmas in 2002, I looked out in the vineyards near her home and saw police officers 20 abreast in each row of the vines,” she said. “They told us [the family] to go home because it was getting dark. When we came back in the morning we found out those same officers had been out there all night searching.”
Rocha remembers the helicopters with heat-seeking equipment arriving and search-and-rescue dogs who worked tirelessly in the search. Rocha has mostly nightmares since the murder of her daughter and grandson but one dream was so vivid she remembers the color of the nail polish she saw on Laci as she laid in her lap the way she did as a child.
“She had on Dutch Tulip. It’s a color we both wore. When I reflect back on the dream I see Laci trying to tell me she’s whole again.”
With a pause and hard swallow she recalls that Laci was found without her hands. Rocha’s foundation donated more than $76,000 to search-and-rescue organizations in five different states. Rocha is also working to lobby an amendment for the Son of Sam Law that was appealed in 2001. The law was inacted to prevent convicted criminals from profiting from the sale of their stories. Rocha wants to make sure her former son-in-law is unable to profit from book sales.
Cancer survivor Tyrone Chan spoke to the audience remembering the moment he discovered a lump on his neck during a track meet as a student at Bellermine. After being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, he is now 21 years old and past the five-year survival mark.
“Not many teenagers can say they survived cancer,” said Chan. As a result of his ordeal, Chan became committed to becoming a doctor and on May 18, 2007 he graduated with a degree in molecular and cell biology with a minor in music. Chan is one of 30 students who received a scholarship through the American Cancer Society.
Stephanie Ching has been involved with Special Olympics for 17 years and explained, “My whole world changed.” She reminded the audience that people like herself want the same things every human wants; “The chance to have friends, the chance to be loved, and the chance to be the best I can be.”
Ching also reminded the crowd to not ignore people like herself and, “when you see us smile at you don’t ignore us, go over and get to know us and be our friend.” She received a standing ovation as she walked from the podium.
There to support their former teammate were current 49er players Jeff Ulbrich and starting 49er quarterback Alex Smith.
Smith was accompanied by local Live Oak High School graduate, Elizabeth Berry, who is the make-up artist for the San Jose SaberKittens.
Regan and Greg Brown of San Martin shared a table with the 49er players while Jeff’s father, Bob Garcia, made the rounds telling wide-eyed tales of his son’s rise in the NFL.
Leaning into the table of Celia Marquez and faculty member from Gavilan College, Sue Olivera, the elder Garcia stated, “That’s all we’ve got are our memories … that’s all that counts.”
Willing to sell memories on the live auction block, Carmella Garcia aptly handled the microphone in the beginning to take bids, but she eventually turned the microphone over with a, “I’ve had a couple of cocktails, Whoo!”
She called on her new teammate to bail her out, “Here babe, you’re much better at this,” she said handing the auctioneer duties over to her husband.
When the bids began to slow down, in came July 2004 Playmate Lauren Anderson wearing the auction item of an authentic Donovan McNabb jersey – and stilettos. She carried a tray of tequila – just for the bidders.
The pace of the bidding shot up quickly. Stopping by Veritas Software founder Dale Shipley, Anderson provided an up-close modeling of the jersey.
Some of the biggest bidders of the evening included Michael and Janet Holt, Celia Marquez and Mark and Debbie Davis of Express Media. Early estimates of the net profit from the fund-raiser are between $50,000 and $60,000.
During a phone interview with Jeff Garcia on Sunday, he said he was delighted with the success of the event and states that next year he hopes to make it open to more participants and less exclusive. He credits his wife, Carmella with, “taking the bull by the horns and organizing it in such a short amount of time. We had a few things going, like moving, getting married and putting on the event.”
Garcia is on a plane today to start his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
