Editor met Rich Firato first at July 3 Street Dance

From left, Rich Firato, Robert Airoldi, Marty Cheek, Jessica Ewing receiving the 2019 Small Business of the Year Award. Photo courtesy Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce

By Robert Airoldi

Robert Airoldi

I first met Rich Firato at the downtown July 3 Street Dance. I had just moved to Morgan Hill in the late 1990s and was wandering around checking out the new town I’d just relocated to for a job.

He was sitting alone at a table for eight so I asked if I could join him. With that big smile, he said, “Of course.” We started talking, learned we were both Italian, so he invited me to stay as his mother was going to bring Italian food for dinner. Shortly after, his mother and Rich’s wife, Julie, showed up with different pastas in those large aluminum catering containers. I was in heaven. This was before he started his project of turning his backyard into the pirate-themed extravaganza it morphed into.

From then on whenever we would see each other around town we always greeted each other with big hugs. A few years later, after Marty Cheek and I started Morgan Hill Life, my father passed away and I used this column to write about him, including a photo of my dad.

After that issue came out Rich called me to tell me one heck of a story. You see, as a young middle schooler, Rich and some of his friends tried to crash a dance at John Muir Middle School where my dad George taught physical education. As Rich told it, “Your dad grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out of the gym saying, ‘Young man, you don’t go to this school, so get your ass out of here.’”

I told him that sounded like my dad, and we both laughed.

After I was laid off from my job in 2011, Rich approached me about joining the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, since I had more time on my hands. He had been on the board for about a year. I told him I would, and he said he wanted to revitalize the Friday Night Music Series and asked if I’d help him. Of course, I said yes. Rich was a hard person to say “no” to, especially when he has such determination and passion about a particular issue.

We got to work. Along with John Horner, Tim Hennessey, Brittney Sherman and several other board members and dedicated volunteers, we slowly grew the series. But it was Rich who served as the captain of the ship.

Every year, I remember sitting in meetings in the spring getting ready. Rich had this Cheshire cat grin, contemplating what new things we could add to the event to make it even bigger and better.

Rich and Julie Firato on vacation in Hawaii. Photo courtesy Firato family

Starting with two jockey boxes to pour beers, Rich convinced the local Budweiser distributor to bring a beer trailer filled with kegs to the Community Center parking lot early Friday morning.

He enhanced the banners we created for sponsors, thus increasing our number of sponsors, which helped pay for bigger and better bands.

He listen to dozens of bands on YouTube. He’d even go hear some in person, to see if they were right for our venue.

He created a handicapped area, added string lights to the lawn, a VIP for tent for chamber members to purchase for their employees, and made sure we had students who were paid through a local nonprofit to direct people into the parking lot and help clean up.

A few hours before people would start to arrive, I’d load my truck with ice from Sun Valley Market and always made sure to get Rich two Gatorades and a candy bar. That always put a smile on his face.

At the end of the night, we’d talk about what a great show it was as we cleaned up and loaded leftover wine into my truck to take back to the Chamber. It was hard work, but we all enjoyed it immensely, I think more so because we did it together.

Working those long days, brought us even closer. So, when my wife, Kathryn, and I were planning our 2019 wedding, Rich reached out and offered us his backyard, telling us with a laugh, “Hey, you can walk the plank.” Unfortunately, he was not allowed to have a live band and we had one we really wanted to play. That would have been a memorable venue, for sure.

After Rich left the Chamber board and I moved to Hollister, we didn’t see each other as much but we kept in contact. No matter the time between phone calls, our conversations would pick up like we’d just seen each other.

I’m going to miss those days when we worked in the same building and would see each other daily. I’m going to miss him coming downstairs into my office or me going upstairs to his just to talk about events in town, local politics and our families.

Always saying goodbye with a big hug. Rest in peace, my dear friend.