Published in the July 23 – August 5, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Robert Airoldi
Robert Airoldi
Morgan Hill welcomed several dignitaries who traveled this month from Seferihisar, our Sister City in the Izmir Province of Turkey. Mayor Tunc Soyer came here for a two-day visit to learn more about Morgan Hill and its people. He and a family from Seferihisar, Taner, Feray, and Can Erselcan, enjoyed a reception at City Hall on July 7, followed by a tour of the city that included the Community and Cultural Center, the Outdoor Sports Center, Aquatics Center, Centennial Recreation Center, the Morgan Hill Library, lunch at Mama Mia’s Restaurant, wine tasting at Guglielmo Winery, and a visit to Andy’s Orchard. Morgan Hill resident Bernie Mulligan hosted Soyer at his home.
Tunc Soyer
“They really enjoyed Morgan Hill,” Mulligan said. “The warmth of the people, the greeting and every way that Morgan Hill received them. They were really happy with how their little Sister City greeted them. They want to come back.”
Mulligan told Morgan Hill Life that Soyer proposed an idea to hold an international soccer match between several Sister Cities, including Morgan Hill, in Seferihisar. That’s a great way to build our across-the-seas friendship.
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Mario Banuelos
Mario Banuelos is a long-time Morgan Hill resident and the 2012 Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year. He recently found out that he would be honored by the State Legislature with our local community’s California Peacemaker Award. The award is presented annually to selected members of various communities for their involvement in activities that encourage a safe and peaceful environment.
Banuelos will receive the award at the Third Street Promenade during Morgan Hill’s National Night Out, a community-police awareness-raising event that will take place in cities across the United State Aug. 8.
Morgan Hill Unified School District board member Claudia Rossi received the award last year.
“You’d be hard pressed to find an organization in Morgan Hill that has not been aided by Mario’s efforts,” Rossi said. “He is someone who works quietly to support dialogue in our community to strength the causes in our community and to strengthen relationships across ethnic and other lines through his work in the Morgan Hill Community Foundation.”
Joshua Toch
Banuelos was nominated for the Peacekeeper Award by Morgan Hill Police Chief David Swing.
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Recent Live Oak High School graduate Joshua Toch, 18, is a remarkable young man. Born with cerebral palsy, he often faced bullying at school from other students who teased his speech. But instead of taking the abuse, he took action. He started Mind Before Mouth, a club that teaches students the power of public speaking to help them build collective strength when facing personal challenges and bullying. One of his tormentors even joined the club.
Toch’s experience helped him recently receive a $36,000 award from the Helen Diller Family Foundation for his visionary community service. He was one of 15 teenage leaders in the Bay Area who received the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam award that was created for projects representing the Jewish spirit of repairing the world.
Toch is this year’s Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce’s Student of the Year. Last year, he also met President Barack Obama as a member of the American Legion Boys Nation. You can often see him on weekends working as a busboy at Rosy’s at the Beach restaurant. Next month, he will start attending UC Berkeley, where he intends to get a business degree.
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At the July Gavilan Community College Board of Trustees meeting, Rachel Perez and Natalie Juarez received recognition for retiring as employees of the community college following their more than four decades of service in education.
Rachel Perez most recently served as Interim Dean of Student Learning and Engagement at Gavilan College. Since 1993 she has held various positions at Gavilan including: Director of Extended Opportunities Programs and Services (EOPS), Director of Special Projects, and Acting Vice President of Student Services. Prior to coming to Gavilan College, Perez worked for the Gilroy Unified School District where she developed the Pregnant and Parenting Teen Program. She also worked as a teacher, counselor, and administrator at GUSD. She started as a teacher in Milpitas. Natalie Miranda-Juarez was hired in 1972 as an administrative secretary while still a Gavilan College student. She has held various positions during her time at Gavilan and has served as a program services specialist at the Gavilan College Hollister site for the past seven years.
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Photo courtesy Tiffany Maaske
Some of the members of Hip Hop Craze dance group pose after taking home several trophies at a competition in Anaheim.
Morgan Hill dance group Hip Hop Craze competed against dancer from all over the United States in a national tournament in Anaheim this month. We at Morgan Hill Life are proud to tell you our hometown hip hop dance team brought home trophies — one for a first place overall win for the 12 and older group category and another for a fourth place overall win for the 11 and younger group category.
“When they won the first place, they had their hands covering their mouths and were jumping up and down,” said Hip Hop Craze director Tiffany Maaske. “I couldn’t be more excited for them.”
Hip Hop Craze has been around for 12 years and practices at The Dance Hall on Fourth Street in downtown Morgan Hill. The dance group is made up of kids aged 6 to 18 who enjoy competing in choreographed hip hop dance style tournaments.
“We’re a really small dance group compared to most of the studios we compete against,” Maaske said.” They’ve been working for 30 or 40 years in business and the dancers dance sometimes five days a week. It was a real challenge for us because we’re going up against some really top-notch dance studios.”
