Girl’s lucky charm is her Curry Shoes

By Robert Airoldi

Robert Airoldi

Congratulations goes out to El Toro Health Science Academy student Audrina (also known as Drina or Shorty) Salinas who came home from Chicago with a third-place trophy for the girls in the 8- and 9-year-old category in the National Hoop Shoot competition that took place April 22.

Salinas was welcomed home by the Gilroy Elks Lodge members May 31 who honored her for her accomplishments. She represented the Gilroy Lodge and the California West Central District.

Her adventure began at the Elks Lodge contest in Gilroy where she sank 19 out of 25 free throws. She advanced to the district contest in Santa Clara where she again made 19 out of 25. From there she went to the state contest in Modesto where she made 43 out of 50. At the regionals she made 17 out of 25.

In Chicago, she made 22 out of 25 free throws. For the shoot off she made 4 out of 5 shots.

Her lucky charm is her Curry Shoes, which certainly came in handy in the competitions.

Morgan Hill-based Edward Boss Prado Foundation has been named by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz).the Nonprofit of the Year in California’s 28th Assembly District.

The Edward Boss Prado Foundation works relentlessly to empower people who are in need of resources that foster dignity and respect. It focuses on partnerships, programs, and sponsorships that directly help families most in need. The foundation manages more than 15 programs that serve the residents of several cities within the district and beyond, including Hollister, Gilroy, San Martin, Morgan Hill, and recently expanding to San Jose.

In 2013 Cecelia Ponzini’s son Edward Boss Prado died at the age of 29. Cecelia started the Edward Boss Prado Foundation built on Edward’s values of generosity, sensitivity, and of being good neighbors. The foundation is run by all volunteers and have served more than 20,000 families since 2013.

“It is exciting to honor deserving nonprofits like The Edward Boss Prado Foundation, who do extraordinary work in their hometown communities. They are our unsung heroes who work tirelessly; expecting nothing in return,” Pellerin said.

We got word from Sunday Minnich, organizer of the annual Morgan Hill Mushroom Music Benefit that more than 500 people purchased tickets.

“We were very happy with the turnout and received numerous accolades from people who attended saying what a great event it was,” she said.

They are already working with the Morgan Hill Police Department, their new security company and the Morgan Hill City Council on next year’s Morgan Hill Mushroom Festival, May 24-25.

“The MHPD and city council members are committed to working with us to ensure Morgan Hill continues our 43 year tradition of providing a great festival for the community and to support our educational donations for scholarships, mini grants to elementary and middle schools and donations to youth sports, school groups and clubs and other non-profits on their fundraising efforts,” she said.

She said the money raised from ticket sales and sponsors will provide 23 scholarships.

Sunday, we are looking forward to next year!

BookSmart Community Advantage is helping students overcome what is known as “summer slide,” which is the tendency for students, especially those from low-income families, to lose some of the gains they made during the previous school year. Since 2018, one of the cornerstone programs of BCA has been aimed at helping to prevent bookreading backsliding by providing books to local students to read over the summer. Thanks to grants from Morgan Hill Rotary and AAUW Morgan Hill, along with other donations, BCA provided books to third graders at El Toro Health Science Academy, Barrett Elementary, and PA Walsh Steam Academy, sending home more than 200 students with a book to enjoy. Reading just four to six books during the summer has the potential to prevent a decline in reading achievement scores from the spring to the fall, so even small steps can be very beneficial.

John Ellis

Coach Jim Green, who just saw the Britton Middle School Gymnasium named after him, let us know that the caddie for Wyndham Clark, who just won the 2023 U.S. Open, is none other than John Ellis. Ellis, 43, attended Martin Murphy, graduated from Live Oak High School and is in the school’s Hall of Fame. He golfed at the University of Oregon and played in two U.S. Opens.

The player-caddie relationship began when Clark transferred to the University of Oregon in 2016 where Ellis was an assistant coach.

Ellis told the Associated Press he felt just as much pressure carrying Clark’s bag as he played the back nine that Sunday ((June 18) final round at Los Angeles Country Club.

“I care about my guy so much that you know, I find myself getting nervous for him because I want him to do well,” Ellis said after Clark beat Rory McIlroy by one shot to win his first major championship. “The kid was a rock today.”

“I owe a lot to him,” Clark told the AP. “I feel like John is meant to be my caddie, but it’s so much more than a business relationship. This makes it so much more special that we have that bond and relationship.”

To cap it off, Ellis is the inaugural recipient of the Championship Caddy Award.

It’s nice to see locals succeed. Way to go, John!

Finally, if you’ve yet to attend a Bay Area Panthers game, the team is offering 20 percent off to residents for Morgan Hill Night for the July 10 game against the San Diego Strike Force. The Panthers, who call Morgan Hill home base and play at the SAP Center in San Jose, are having a good season. They are 8-4, in first place in the Western Division and control their destiny for the playoffs.

Hope to see you there!