Published in the March 19-April 1, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Cheri Devlin
Cheri Devlin
The Morgan Hill Downtown Association is back on track with board of director term rotations and welcomed three new faces to the team last month – Darin Dixon, owner of The Music Tree; Debra Creighton, owner of Huntington Station; and Sanjar Chakamian, resident and retired Graniterock company executive.
This new class of directors may be new to this year’s board, but certainly not new to Morgan Hill. Dixon has owned the downtown mall cornerstone The Music Tree since 2005 and has maintained its historical integrity that dates back to 1974. The Music Tree continues to provide youth and young adults with the opportunity to learn how to play a variety of instruments in a safe and fun environment. Dixon has a deep appreciation for the art of music, and is equally passionate about downtown Morgan Hill. He has always been a highly regarded and reliable MHDA volunteer, so welcoming him to the board was a true no-brainer.
Debra Creighton has been growing her business Huntington Station Restaurant and Sports Pub since 2005. She has also been an important part of the transformation of downtown Morgan Hill’s dining options. The family-friendly bar and grill is a treat for outings with the kids, as well as the place to meet friends Thursday nights after the music wraps up to enjoy our beautiful Morgan Hill weather on their patio with an ice cold beverage and variety of dinner options. Creighton has been a MHDA member for many years and attended meetings that pertained to events Huntington Station was participating in, but was too busy ensuring the restaurant was running smoothly to get more involved. Now with trusted managers who can operate the business, she applied for this year’s open board position and is focused on spending more time on other things that she finds important.
Sanjar Chakamian brings a fresh perspective and invaluable experience to the MHDA board. He is a visionary business leader and results-driven retiree who worked for Graniterock for 24 years and served in several company executive positions. With his recent retirement, Chakamian quickly realized it was time to get more involved in the community he and his artist wife Sheri (who has amazing artwork displayed in several local restaurants and wineries around town) love so much. They’ve called Morgan Hill home for 25 years and also raised their two children here. Like many of us, Chakamian and his family enjoy the downtown environment and are frequent visitors to many of the establishments, especially the downtown restaurants.
Of course, in order to add these new directors to the board, we had to say farewell to loyal and long-time committed board members. We’ll miss Dennis Kennedy, Majid Bahriny and Eric Wallace. These three individuals have been staples in the community and instrumental in the many changes the MHDA has brought to downtown Morgan Hill. We can only hope they will remain involved and continue to be an integral part of the MHDA.
During the MHDA’s Quarterly Mixer March 10 hosted at Mama Mia’s, the community was introduced to the board’s new officers.
Yours truly is the 2014 president; Reeno Nemec serves as vice president; John McKay is this year’s secretary, and Cliff Dennett will manage association finances as the new treasurer. New blood brings new ideas. We’ll look to our constituents to ensure we’re on track to continue building on previous years’ successes.
Cheri Devlin is a Morgan Hill resident and president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association Board of Directors. She is an Associate Director at KPMG, LLP who loves writing about life as a working mom. Find her blog at www.talesofcorporate-mommyhood.blogspot.com.
