Gilroy
– When Erwin Boggs came to Gilroy with his wife Barbara 29 years
ago, he knew he’d found a special town. That’s why he gave so
generously of his time and energy to the community by volunteering
with various organizations.
Gilroy – When Erwin Boggs came to Gilroy with his wife Barbara 29 years ago, he knew he’d found a special town. That’s why he gave so generously of his time and energy to the community by volunteering with various organizations.
Over the years, Gilroy’s Chamber of Commerce has come to see the 71-year-old Boggs as special, too. Because he focuses more of his time than most people helping out with community-oriented events, the Chamber’s board chose to recognize him with the 2006 Firman B. Voorhies “Volunteer of the Year” award. He’ll receive the award at an annual dinner at San Juan Oaks Golf Club on Saturday, Feb. 3.
The honor is given to Chamber members who have shown exceptional generosity with their dedication to various community events and organizations, said Susan Valenta, president and chief executive officer of the Chamber.
“He’s always been one of those people you can count on,” she said. “He’s like a real super volunteer. He’s just a really good person and we’re really fortunate to have him as a part of the Chamber, and Gilroy is fortunate to have him as a part of the community.”
Among Chamber volunteer involvement, Boggs has helped out by serving two terms on the Chamber Board, Valenta said. He and Barbara have also been involved as Chamber Ambassadors, and worked on the Chamber’s Breakfast Club, various social mixers, the annual recognition dinner and on trade show committees. He also gives of his time every year to the Gilroy Garlic Festival, and the festival recognized his dedication by naming him its “Volunteer of the Year” in 2001.
“I guess it’s just part of my nature,” Boggs said about his volunteering activities. “I’m a Christian, and I think that’s part of it. What we need to do is serve other people.”
Part of his service philosophy comes from his active participation at the Morgan Hill Bible Church he belongs to. There, he has learned that part of worshipping God is to follow the example of Jesus Christ and “find a need and fill it” by helping others.
Boggs was born in Beaver Falls, Penn. – the same town football legend Joe Namath came from, he proudly points out. He came to California in 1958 as a soldier stationed at Fort Ord in Monterey. There he worked as a military policeman. In the U.S. Army for two years, he said that serving his country also taught him the importance of volunteering to a person’s community.
In fact, that military police duty helped inspire him to join Gilroy’s Volunteering in Policing (VIP) group, which helps the police during festivals and parades and other community events. He and Barbara graduated from the group’s academy six years ago.
“You see them on the street once in a while,” he said. “When the police have to close a street, they call the VIPs in and they’ll help direct traffic. We’re just kind of eyes and ears to help the police out.”
Adding to his volunteering repertoire, Boggs is also a 2002 graduate of the Leadership Gilroy class, and he enjoyed this civic leadership program so much, he encouraged Barbara to join. She’s participating in this year’s class.
“That was a great time,” he said of his Leadership Gilroy experience. “You learn about what goes on in town, the businesses in town. It’s just a great leadership training group that sure gives you some insight into some areas that you might not be as familiar with as you could be.”
Boggs is also active volunteer with the Morgan Hill Bible Church. For several years, he has been involved in that church’s Youth Ministry Mission Trips to Mexico to help impoverished people fix up their community homes and public buildings. Every spring break, he leads a group of area high school students on that trip, and he believes it’s an eye-opening experiences for the young American teenagers.
“I’ve seen kids from affluent (South Valley) homes go down there and get down and dirty doing what needs to be done,” he said. “They learn more about giving, and they learn how fortunate they are able to live here.”
Four years ago, Boggs also helped out with a similar program in War, W.V., an Appalachian Mountain community that faced hard times when the local coal mining industry shut down.
Boggs believes that volunteering with his wife Barbara helps his involvement more fun. The two started their Gilroy Garlic Festival volunteering the second year of the event. “I went in and chopped vegetables and did whatever they wanted me to do at Gourmet Alley,” he recalls. “After a number of years working in Gourmet Alley, I became Chairman of Gourmet Alley.”
In past years, he has also served as a Festival board member, and also as the chairman of the festival’s advisory board. He’s also rolled up his sleeves and helped out in the festival’s mercantile area. And for the past two years, he has served as the Chamber’s assistant chairman of the Beer Committee, which handles all the beer concessions at the festival. This year, he’s serving as the chairman of that committee.
Boggs and Barbara also takes their volunteering to charity organizations for Gilroy’s needy families. They are both members of the Exchange Club, a civic organization that raises money and distributes food baskets to people in the community.
And during the winter season, when Santa Claus comes to Gilroy to be a part of its annual Holiday Parade downtown, Boggs makes sure the jolly gift-giver gets the royal reception at the Chamber of Commerce’s board room where he holds court with the kiddies. Boggs makes sure they are thoroughly entertained by video movies, balloon animals, face painters and other fun activities.
The Boggs have three grown children. Son Steve Boggs drives a bus for the Gilroy Unified School District. Son Terry Boggs is a computer technician in Marietta, Ga. And daughter Sheri Butler lives in Scotts Valley and is a teacher and also a mom to 8-year-old Travis Butler.
Boggs said he and Barbara joined the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce when they first came to the city, even though they had no business yet. “We thought that Gilroy was a neat place, and we wanted to be more involved,” he said.
The couple later owned a men’s clothing store in town. Boggs now runs his own company that certifies forklift operators to make sure they work in accordance with safety codes.
Boggs says he had had no idea when Jan Peat, the president of the Chamber’s Board of Director told him at a Chamber Board meeting he’d been picked to receive the Volunteer of the Year award. “It was surprising and a little bit embarrassing, too, because I know so many people that also volunteer so much,” he said.
But he doesn’t plan to rest on his laurels. He’ll continue giving to the community for many more years, he promises. “I think age is a state of mind,” he said. “Other than a physical handicap, you can do what you want to do. Just set your mind to it and you can accomplish it.”
