The HEARTSafe Gilroy 5K Run/Walk was a huge success! The Leadership Gilroy Class of 2016 held the event on Aug. 20 at the Gilroy Sports Park collaborating with Gilroy Fire Department and the city of Gilroy. A healthy 140 people walked and ran, including Mayor Perry Woodward and his two daughters, Sierra and Charlie.
So did Heather Bass from the Gilroy Unified School District board, her husband Jonathan and brother Matthew, along with the most prolific winner of raffle prizes, Marv Thomas of Thomas Appliance Service, and Michael Luevano of Rebecca Children’s with his wife and daughters. There was a huge group of staff from Saint Louise Hospital, and many, many more wonderful supporters. They raised over $15,000 in donations which will supply at least four nonprofits with automated external defibrillators for their offices. St. Joseph’s, the Compassion Center, New Hope Community Church and Hope Services are the lucky recipients.
The Gilroy Fire Department will partner with these groups to provide ongoing training and support services going forward. Because of these AEDs and the new AEDs going into the schools through GUSD we are now a HEARTSafe City! We hope the mayor will make a proclamation and then we can post the signs around our city. Gilroy is the city with the beat!
On Aug. 20 I also went to The Edward Boss Prado Foundation offices where Cecelia’s Closet and Food Pantry’s Fit for Fall Back to School Shopping was taking place. Each year Cecelia Ponzini helps families in need for the local schools in MHUSD and now Eliot Elementary School in Gilroy. She contacts the schools to send their most needy families and they are invited to come out and each school-aged child picked two pants/skirts, two shirts, new underwear and socks, one jacket/sweatshirt/sweater and a backpack. Families were also given fresh produce donated by LJB Farms and garlic from Christopher Ranch. The Kiwanis Club of Morgan Hill served hot dogs, chips and water. The community came out to volunteer and I have never seen so many guys looking good in aprons. I worked alongside president/CEO John Horner of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, City Councilman Larry Carr,Steve and Helen Rymer,Linda Tate, Julie Johnson Long, Tina Gilbert and Darryll King of Lowe’s. Lowe’s Corporate worked the week before donating $3000 of building supplies, added onto their patio cover and landscaping as a bonus. All volunteers donated their time. Tina and Darryl came back on Saturday to work alongside the community. I’m partnering with Cecelia as her Gilroy Girl since she is bringing her programs to Gilroy. This month, Christopher High School and Gilroy High School will start the No Child Goes Unfed Program. To learn more about this amazing foundation please to to www.edwardbossprado.org
On Aug. 27 I was invited to attend the Gilroy High School “Happy Days Reunion” in it’s third year where the classes of 1959-1970 gathered in The Grove Picnic area of Gilroy Gardens. Danny and Nitta Mitchell invited me to represent the paper and Out & About Magazine and I arrived overdressed with my husband. I survived the grassy area in my high heels while we enjoyed the car show which belong to the class members. Among the Gilroyans grooving on cars and friends were Dave and Marianne Peoples of Garlic City Mercantile, Eric and Mary Beth Nagareta, Dave Porcella and his girl, Leo, class of ’68, Diane Wallace artist, Gene Sakahara, co-author of Any Bozzo Can Cook, and Diane Berry. More than 600 people showed up, by far the largest class reunion I’ve ever attended. Those Mustangs sure know how to throw a party and really showed us how to do it!
