Mario Banuelos gives his time “in the trenches” for several local organizations

Photo by Calvin Nuttall
From left, Fawn Myers and Mario Banuelos join Leadership Morgan Hill’s board president Steve Tate next to a poster at the Jan. 31 reveal party at Guglielmo Winery.

By Calvin Nuttall

When pulled aside for a “quick meeting” after a Rotary of Morgan Hill lunch in November, Mario Banuelos expected to discuss business as the club’s soon-to-be president. Instead, he was surprised with the news he will receive the community’s most prestigious accolade.

The nonprofit Leadership Morgan Hill selected the 63-year-old to receive its 2023 Leadership Excellence Award. He will be presented with the honor at a gala in late summer.

“I was taken aback, and I almost fell off my chair,” Banuelos said. “It’s a big honor to receive that award. I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the past recipients, and I consider many of them to be my mentors.”

Since 2003, Leadership Morgan Hill annually selects individuals to honor for their long-term leadership that improves the community. A blue-ribbon panel featuring former LEAD recipients makes the choice. Funds raised at the gala benefit the educational organization, now in its 27th year.

LMH graduates are found in leadership positions throughout the community in government, education, business and nonprofit organizations.

The group’s LEAD award organizers kept the news of this year’s recipient a secret until a “reveal” party Feb. 2 at Guglielmo Winery.

“There are so many individuals that are deserving,” Banuelos said. “I work as a team with a lot of different groups, and there’s so many individuals who are leaders and really give back.”

Banuelos has been a dedicated volunteer and community leader for decades. Among his involvement, he spent 23 years on the board of the Hispanic Association of City Employees in San Jose. In the 1990s, he helped with fundraising and operations for the Dayworker Center in Morgan Hill. In the early 2000s, he became a founding board member of the Morgan Hill Community Foundation, a role he has held for 21 years.

He now is the incoming president of Rotary, starting his one-year term July 1. He also serves on the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce Board and the Morgan Hill Historical Society Board.

From an early age,  Banuelos’s upbringing in a community of immigrants and his exposure to positive role models cemented his motivation to give back to the community. When immigrants come to America, they often rely on the support of others, he said.

“You can’t do it yourself. You need help, either from family or friends,” he said. “And throughout my life, there’s always been examples of people stepping in and helping. My uncle used to drive farmworkers to their doctors. It wasn’t just your family, it was for other people in need, because you know the hardship other people are going through. Even the simplest act of kindness goes a long way for people who are in need.”

Born in Jerez, Zacatecas, Mexico, Banuelos immigrated at age 4 to Stockton with his family in 1963.

“It was culture shock,” he recalled of his new life. “In Mexico, you open the front door and you’re in the middle of town. It’s a community, right out the front door. There’s always something happening, always some excitement. When we left all that and came to California to a two-bedroom little shack in the middle of orchards and agricultural fields, it was different.”

The family soon moved from Stockton to the Berryessa district of San Jose. They lived on an old Victorian ranch home with multiple buildings, room enough for Banuelos’s grandparents, aunts and uncles, and other extended family.

“It was like a commune, basically, on this  ranch,” he said. “It was ideal for growing up. We lived there for three years, with just family. I call those my ‘Rancho Berryessa’ days.”

When construction begn on  Interstate 680, his family was forced to move because it went through their property. They found a home in east San Jose where he and his four younger siblings grew up. His mother still lives there.

Banuelos earned an AA in general engineering at Evergreen Community College before transferring to San Jose State University. There he graduated with a major in math, with an emphasis in statistics. He soon after began his career in transportation planning.

“I did a lot of ‘Big Data’ analysis,” he said. “I worked with the city of San Jose when they were starting their congestion management program. It was basically traffic analysis of congestion based on development.”

Banuelos and his wife, Fawn Myers, married in 1986 in San Jose. In 1988, they moved to Morgan Hill. They soon became foster parents when they accepted a 3-year-old boy named Frank. They would later adopt him.

“There’s a big need in our community for kids to be placed in long-term care facilities,” Banuelos said. “Some of them are never going to be reunited with their parents. We knew it is really difficult to place older kids in foster homes, so when we saw Frank, we decided to become his foster parents.”

In the years that followed, they added two girls and another boy, Tirza, Valarie and Max. The couple now have two grandchildren, Tattiyanna and Cisco.

As a community leader, Banuelos prefers to work behind the scenes without any fanfare. He paves the way with “one brick at a time,” a philosophy passed down from his late father.

“Leading by example is so important. You have to be in the trenches with your volunteers,” he said. “We’re all in this together. Leadership is identifying your mission, your focus, making sure people with similar values surround you and have the same goal. It’s easy to lead when you have a clear direction.”

Banuelos’s extensive community support aligns with the values of the Leadership organization, said former Morgan Hill mayor and current LMH Board President Steve Tate.

“He’s a very humble guy, so he’s always in the background. He gets so much done. He doesn’t worry about the politics of the situation,” he said. “I can’t go anywhere and he’s not there. He’s associated with whatever group or project that makes a difference.”

Banuelos will be honored at a Sept. 9 celebration at Guglielmo Winery. Peter Anderson chairs the honorary committee for the event. LMH Board members Cinda Meister and Darcy Foster lead the event committee.

“I’m really pleased this is all happening because Mario has been the most underappreciated, under recognized, and deeply committed and broadly engaged volunteer in our community for a long time,” Anderson said. “All I’ve got to say is: It’s about damn time.”

Morgan Hill Life publisher Marty Cheek assisted with this story.