Mendez is entering  second season as the Prospect High School junior varsity football coach

Congratulations to Gilroy resident Rob Mendez, who won the Jimmy V Award for perseverance at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles July 10. Mendez, who was born without arms and legs, delivered an inspiring speech in front of an audience filled with a world-renown athletes.

The award is named after late North Carolina State men’s basketball coach Jim Valvano, who died of cancer in 1993. Mendez is entering his second season as the Prospect High School junior varsity football coach.

“If there’s any message I want to give you guys tonight, it’s to look at me and see how much passion I put into coaching and how far it’s gotten me,” he told the audience. “When you dedicate yourself to something and open your mind to different possibilities and focus on what you can do instead of what you can’t do, you really can go places in this world.”

Cherisse’s Hair Salon 10th Annual Pet Wash raised $6,300 for Amber’s Angels, a therapeutic horse therapy nonprofit for all ages, especially those with special needs. More than 50 volunteers helped wash 50 dogs July 21.

“We are pet lovers and believe in giving back,” Cherisse White told us. “We do the Pet Wash every year because there are so many organizations that are overworked and overlooked — this is a fun and easy way to raise funds and put a spotlight of awareness about what they do for our community.”

Great job, everyone!

Sheryl Cathers, a Gilroy artist, was one of 16 artists selected to create a large-scale mural of all the cities in Santa Clara County that will adorn the gateway of the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds and can be seen from Tully Road. Cathers said she was approached by Lila Gemello, the brainchild and coordinator of the project.

“I wanted to capture the feel of our area with highlights of our rural surroundings as well as a nod to the Garlic Festival,” she said. “I am hoping I captured the essence of Gilroy. I loved showing all of our beautiful hills and highlighting the rich agriculture and world class wineries in our town.”

Check it out on your way into this year’s fair.

Sometimes karma takes time to manifest, then there are times when it comes quickly. I’ll give you an example. My wife, Kathryn, lost her phone on the way from our wedding to the reception July 7. She didn’t realize she’d lost it until after the reception. We searched high and low that night and the next day without luck.

On Tuesday, July 9, she got an email from a friend who told her someone may have found her phone. Well, it turns out a woman walking her dog at the intersection of Pole Line Road and Highway 152 (we got married at Mt. Madonna County Park) had found her phone.

When she eventually got a hold of Kathryn, she said she’d be glad to return it to her. One problem, though. She was moving to Hollister that day. How beneficial for us since we’d just moved to Hollister a month ago. Turns out she lives five minutes from us and we’ve become friends.

So, where does the karma come in?

On July 4, while walking down Main Avenue after the parade, we found a cell phone on the sidewalk. We were lucky enough to get a hold of one of the contacts in the phone and returned it to the owner who was backtracking looking for his phone.

He asked if there was anything he could do for us. I told him, no thanks, “I just hope that if I ever lose my phone someone would do the same for me.” Good karma came just a few days later.

And, we made a wonderful new friend in our new hometown.