Honorees and guests enjoyed Hollywood-style evening, replete with red carpet entrance
Published in the November 27, 2013 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
(Photo by Susan Brazelton)City ManagerSteve Rymer and his wife Helene stroll down the red carpet at the Morgan Hill Community Foundation Philanthropy Day dinner held Nov. 16 at the Community and Cultural Center. Twenty-one organizations honored 23 locals for their work during the year.
As the full moon rose over Morgan Hill Saturday Nov. 16, the early evening dusk turned into the “Night of the Stars” as volunteers and donors of 23 local nonprofit organizations received celebrity-level recognition for their volunteer service and financial generosity. It all happened at the 8th annual Philanthropy Day event put on by the Morgan Hill Community Foundation.
The foundation’s sold-out gala, held every year at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center, shined a Hollywood spotlight on the spirit of giving that is so much a part of the Morgan Hill community.
Guests of the event walked down a red carpet gauntlet of Morgan Hill Photography Club members flashing cameras at them as if they were movie world luminaries. Cardboard cutouts of Oscar statues added to the Academy Awards-style festivities of the event.
Inside the Hiram Morgan Hill Room, guests found dining tables set stylishly to exquisite detail thanks to the care taken by Anita Woodson, one of the foundation’s board members.
KBAY D.J. Jona Denz-Hamilton served as the master of ceremonies for the evening, drawing attention to the many local residents who give unselfishly of their time, talent and treasure to many of the worthy organizations involved in making life a bit better for everyone in Morgan Hill.
As servers brought in dessert to the guests, the lights dimmed and a video prepared by the volunteers of the Morgan Hill Access TV Station (cable channel 19 in Morgan Hill) played on the big screen at the end of the ballroom.
The event felt like a Hollywood movie premiere as larger-than-life presenters from various South Valley groups described on the screen their own philanthropist honoree’s activities that add to the quality of life for this place we call home.
Philanthropy Day recognition in the video was given to Robert Airoldi from the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, Majid Bahriny for the Morgan Hill Downtown Alliance, Winslow and Ann Briggs for the Pine Ridge Association, Mary Ann Bruegmann for Morgan Hill Sister Cities, Sandra Curran for the Learning and Loving Education Center, John Firth for Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, Rich Gamboa for Independence Day Celebrations Freedom Fest, Janie Knopf and Jennifer Tate for Leadership Morgan Hill, Marcy Leggett for the Centennial Recreation Senior Center, Laura Lundy for Rotary Club of MorganHill, Margaret McCann for the American Association of University Women, Don Nguyen for the Teachers Aid Coalition, Alexis Almaraz for the Youth Action Council, Peggy Pinarbasi for the American Red Cross of Silicon Valley, and Margaret Rodrigues for the Morgan Hill Historical Society, Joy Sakafish of the Friends of the Morgan Hill Library, Linda Shimkus of Community Solutions, Ric Smith of the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center, the South Bay Piping Industry for the Morgan Hill Foundation, Mike Glantz of Thrivent Financial for One Step Closer Therapeutic Riding, and Arnavaz Wadia for the Morgan Hill Library.
Philanthropy means “love of humanity.” The word was invented by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus in the fifth century B.C. to describe the character of Prometheus in the play “Prometheus Bound.”
The Titan of legend gave humans fire, bringing them technological civilization and optimism for the future. These gifts can improve the quality of human life. They also distinguish humans from other animals by allowing us to complete our own creation through education and culture.
The Morgan Hill Community Foundation’s Philanthropy Day event showed that there are many residents involved in our community who truly have a love of humanity and take the time to give back through the various nonprofit organizations that share an optimism for our city’s future.
For more information about the Morgan Hill Community Foundation, visit www.morganhillcf.org.
