Before he was in charge of the Gilroy Police Department, Chief
Gregg Giusiana wore a different badge on his chest
– a garlic bulb.
Before he was in charge of the Gilroy Police Department, Chief Gregg Giusiana wore a different badge on his chest – a garlic bulb. After years of helping with the police-oriented tasks of security and traffic, he stepped out of his police shoes and into the highly esteemed role of president during the Garlic Festival’s 10th anniversary year, 1988.
“I remember the very first board meeting I attended. I was elected vice president and had no clue what I was getting into,” Giusiana said.
Before joining the board of directors, Giusiana was the chairman of traffic. Instead of spending previous festivals eating at Gourmet Alley and walking the grounds, most of his time was spent making sure cars were moving along smoothly in and out of town. Because his prior position wasn’t even stationed on festival grounds, he had a lot to learn and asked questions like, “Where is the information booth?”
“I had to spend my year as vice president really learning about all the different operations at the festival,” he said. “I dragged myself from the cooking stage all the way out to the parking lot to learn everything before I became president.”
Giusiana moved to Gilroy in 1976, and said when he got here the town was nothing more than a smelly breezeway travelers passed through on the U.S. 101.
“This festival has given Gilroy a name,” he said. “You can’t go anywhere without running into someone who hasn’t heard about or been to the festival, and that is something to be proud of.”
One of the goals Giusiana strived to achieve was contacting past directors and presidents to come back and give their advice and expertise. This was the first year past directors were brought back together, and the strategic planning committee was created.
“The wisdom of the founding fathers is the basis for why the festival runs so smoothly,” Giusiana said. “I think it is very important to keep knowledgeable people around for their advice and expertise on how things should run.”
Along with the founders, past presidents, board members and volunteers got a chance to meet with old and new faces weeks prior to the 10th anniversary festival. The Garlic Festival Association held a barbecue at Tree Haven, which is now Bonfante Gardens.
“It was a great way for all the people who helped out to get to know each other,” Giusiana said.
At the same time that he was gathering advice and strategies from the old, Giusiana stressed the importance of bringing in the new.
“Having new chair members every two years keeps the festival from becoming stale, and because the festival gives so much back to the community, it keeps the volunteer base in tact,” he said.
Giusiana said one of the highlights of his presidency was having the opportunity to welcome the one-millionth person into the gates of the festival.
“It was really great,” he said. “We gave him and his mother a VIP tour of the festival, and it was even more special because it was the first time they had ever been.”
After being involved with the festival for years and seeing it grow from the small venue it was in 1981 when he began volunteering, Giusiana said the festival is still in good hands.
“The formula that the festival has is so good, it will be successful for a long time,” he said. “One of the things that makes me sure of this is the ‘things can get done’ attitude of the workers. Anytime there was an issue that came up, there was always someone who said they could get it done.”
