Most times, when I am gone from Gilroy for two weeks, I come
back and things are pretty much the same as when I left. Not so
this year. I left for New York the day after the Garlic Festival
ended, and everything was different upon my return.
Most times, when I am gone from Gilroy for two weeks, I come back and things are pretty much the same as when I left. Not so this year. I left for New York the day after the Garlic Festival ended, and everything was different upon my return.
During my stay in New York, Gilroy Unified School District hired a new principal for Gilroy High School. I was fortunate enough to have been on a panel which afforded me the opportunity to meet the four finalists for this position.
All four people had their strengths, all were quality candidates, but the new principal, James Maxwell, really stood out. I was very impressed with his ability to be engaging and interested in hearing from the diverse group of people who served on the panel with me.
I couldn’t talk to anyone about him specifically, but did tell several people that after having seen the four finalists for the position, I now believed that an interim principal might not be necessary.
Mr. Maxwell is a white male who graduated from Bellarmine, has work experience at both public and private high schools, used to be a chemist, and had never been a principal before. He had no obvious disabilities, and French is his foreign language. Naturally, I gave him nearly no chance of actually being hired.
I am thrilled to congratulate GUSD on hiring the best person for the job as principal at our flagship school. I look forward to working with him and the assistant principals for many years.
n Three years ago, my children convinced their dad to make good on his two-year-old promise that they could get a puppy when we moved back to California.
Realizing he was a defeated man, I loaded the kids in my car and headed to the San Martin Animal Shelter. We returned a few times over the course of the next month, waiting to see if we could find a small dog that would become part of our family. After four or five visits, I thought I was ready to adopt a dog from the San Martin Shelter. I found a little Chihuahua-mix that I loved and he seemed to love me, too.
The next week, as we were getting ready to bring him home, I noticed that he was nipping at my youngest daughter and acting very aggressive towards her. We knew right then that this dog was not a good match for a family with young children. The worker at the shelter later informed me that this dog had been living with an elderly man and was not accustomed to being around children. My daughter left in tears, but I was grateful to the kind employee who was looking out for the best interests of both my family and that cute little pup.
Within a week, my daughter purchased and read the book “The Right Dog for You.”
After reading it, Kimberly announced that the right dog for our family was a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Within six months, we had a new short-legged member of our family, who reminds us on a daily basis that he is indeed the right dog for us.
I support fully funding the San Martin Animal Shelter so that we all have continued access to be able to find the cat or dog who will take us into their hearts.
Finally, I offer a great big pat on the back to all my neighbors who volunteered to put forth another wildly successful Garlic Festival. Jennifer Speno did an outstanding job heading up this huge effort which truly showcases the spirit of our community.
The ability to add something new and different each year becomes increasingly difficult, especially in light of the fact that our human tendency is to not fix what isn’t broken. Yet somehow, they manage to improve upon it year after year.
While in New York, I met a number of people who heard I was from Gilroy and immediately thought “Garlic Festival.” I know that the Garlic Festival is just a little piece of what makes us special. I love seizing the chance to let people who aren’t from around here know that the Garlic Festival is just one of the many little perks of living in Gilroy.
