Rosy, you are all right! Rosy Bergin, owner of Rosy’s On the
Beach (named business of the year by the Morgan Hill Chamber of
Commerce), shared the spotlight Saturday night with Jennifer Tate
(woman of the year), Al Leonetti (man of the year), Laura Brunton
(volunteer of the year), Brian Oliver (educator of the year) and
Brittany Bach (student of the year) at the annual awards program
held by the chamber.
Rosy, you are all right! Rosy Bergin, owner of Rosy’s On the Beach (named business of the year by the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce), shared the spotlight Saturday night with Jennifer Tate (woman of the year), Al Leonetti (man of the year), Laura Brunton (volunteer of the year), Brian Oliver (educator of the year) and Brittany Bach (student of the year) at the annual awards program held by the chamber.
The tear-jerking tribute and introduction by Rosy’s son Robert Bergin, a Bellarmine alumnus and student at the University of California, Berkeley, made all those hours he spent on the speech and debate team worth it. Educator of the year Brian Oliver found a sincere colleague in Live Oak High School geography teacher Mike Kiefer to introduce him.
Kiefer does his best to connect with his pupils through snowboard-speak (if a ski lift is at latitude 45 degrees, which direction is the best powder, dude?). Oliver stated with wide eyes, “It’s humbling to be up here with Brittany and hear all of her accomplishments. My own high school career may have been a little more checkered, but I guess I got it together somewhere along the way.”
Chamber Chairman Ted Fox received a call on his cell phone while at the podium and claimed it was Hiram Morgan Hill. The Red Hat ladies, out in force at the dinner, shook their heads as Fox said Hiram was calling from the beyond, stating he’s keeping tabs on the mayor. I can still see the red feathers bouncing back and forth.
As promised earlier in the evening, the guests were asked to stand up near the end of dinner, hold hands (this is where the men get nervous and start humming “Kumbaya”), and sing “Happy Birthday” to Morgan Hill. It had the essence of a revival meeting sans the healing powers, but I felt renewed (that may have been thanks to the Italian “pick-me-up” dessert catered by Mamma Mia’s restaurant).
After all the singing we were ready for some dancing, and the whispers around the crowd were speaking of an after-dinner party at Rosy’s fine establishment. At Rosy’s, we mixed with a crowd celebrating a 40th birthday (even though we were celebrating the town’s 100th), and it felt like a cool club in the village – especially with New York native Dave Yehle sharing stories of his New York bouncer days. Woman of the year Jennifer Tate, contrary to recent press, sailed into the night like a 20-year-old!
Not present at the dinner but very much a part of the centennial is local Parisian artist Marie-Christine Briot-Connelly, with whom I had the pleasure of sipping coffee with at Poppy’s Fish and Poultry Market on Saturday afternoon. It is a relief to know that Marie-Christine is a member of the downtown revitalization committee and that our aesthetic sense is being guided by a French Bull (Marie-Christine is an admitted Taurus with all the ramifications, thus).
Marie-Christine won the artist’s contest for the Centennial Poster with an oil of a downtown scene caught by the artist’s eye as the sun played with the shadows of the fully blooming trees. To view some of Marie-Christine’s work, stop by the Bank of America lobby at Vineyard Town Center. You may have also seen her work on the walls of The Good Times Cafe and Viand Restaurant. Marie-Christine’s motivation was to capture what the emotion of living in Morgan Hill is for so many. The artist hopes that some day the mere mention of the city will evoke peaceful and tranquil feelings.
This all sounded so poetic with the French accent). “Tres deficile” in English.
Mea culpa … in last week’s column, probably due to all the joyous noise in the dining room, I mistakenly understood Elizabeth Gordon’s husband’s name to be Brent. It’s not. It is Grant Gordon.
Ciao for now.
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Meet the artist
To meet local Parisian artist Marie-Christine Briot-Connelly, attend a centennial poster signing and reception from 11:30am to 2pm Feb. 11 in the Bank of America lobby at Vineyard Town Center, 101 Vineyard Town Center.
