Gilroy
– A Gilroy family’s generosity has pulled them into the
limelight with a high-profile Silicon Valley award.
Gilroy – A Gilroy family’s generosity has pulled them into the limelight with a high-profile Silicon Valley award.
Dale and Ruth Connell brought song back to Gilroy schools last fall, with a $1 million gift to the Gilroy Foundation. With the money, the foundation started a fund for choir and voice training in Gilroy schools. Friday, the Connells’ gift was recognized with the Arts Council of Silicon Valley’s Individual Civic/Community Leadership Award, for which they were nominated by the school district and the Theater Angels Art League.
The couple was selected among eight nominees, and didn’t know they’d won until their names were announced at Friday’s event, where they received a standing ovation.
The gift isn’t the Connells’ first: In the late 1990s, the couple provided $100,000 for elementary school music programs. Now in their 90s, they’ve devoted themselves to sharing music with their community.
“They’ve done so much for the school district,” said Donna Pray, executive director of the Gilroy Foundation. “It’s amazing.”
