Gavilan College’s 2007 Community Spirit Awards
Gavilan College will present its 2007 Community Spirit awards to Laura Brunton, chairman of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors, Morgan Hill-based Anritsu Corporation and the Teachers’ Aid Coalition nonprofit organization.
The awards will be presented 7:15am, Thursday during the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Mama Mia’s restaurant, 275 East Dunne Ave. Cost is $8 for members, $13 for non-members.
The awards, presented by the Board of Trustees of Gavilan College, were created in 1999 to promote and recognize service to the communities Gavilan College serves. A representative committee of the campus community reviews nominations and selects the award winners.
INDIVIDUAL – Laura Brunton
“Laura Brunton seems to be everywhere help is needed, whether on behalf of an individual, an organization, or business … ,” said one of her nomination forms. A few of the organizations that Brunton is connected with and has contributed countless hours of her time and expertise to include the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, Leadership Morgan Hill, the American Association of University Women, and the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce. She was appointed as citizen representative by the Morgan Hill City Council to the Santa Clara County Housing and Community Development’s Citizen Advisory Commission, and South County Joint Planning Advisory Commission; She served as scholarship committee chair at the Poppy Jasper Film Festival; was the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year in 2006; devoted countless hours to Friends of the Morgan Hill Library and Morgan Hill Centennial celebration.
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BUSINESS – Anritsu
Anritsu, a large international corporation, has been a great neighbor in a small town. Anritsu has continually given back to the community with sponsorships of major events, including IDI, Taste of Morgan Hill, Friday Night Music, Leadership Morgan Hill, the Centennial Celebration and more. A few of the organizations which have benefitted from Anritsu’s philanthropic giving are Sobrato High School boosters, Charter School of Morgan Hill, City of Morgan Hill, Community Solutions, Friends of the Library, Live Oak Adult Day Services, Live Oak Athletic Boosters, Live Oak Grad Night, Magic Ship of Christmas, Morgan Hill Community Foundation, Morgan Hill Historical Society, Mushroom Mardi Gras, P.A.Walsh Elementary School, and Relay for Life.
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ORGANIZATION – Teachers’ Aid Coalition
Teachers’ Aid Coalition (TAC) is a non-profit organization formed by volunteers in 1999. Their goal is to meet the educational needs of children in Morgan Hill Unified School District schools by helping teachers acquire supplies for their classrooms. Through working with local businesses and individuals, TAC gathers surplus and donated classroom materials. In addition, TAC sponsors fundraisers to finance one classroom supply giveaway event per semester. In addition to the tangible support, these events demonstrate to the teachers that the local community appreciates their work. They also provide an opportunity for teachers from different schools to network.
Last year’s winners of the Community Spirit awards in Morgan Hill were Dr. John Hatekayama, Johnson Lumber, and the Morgan Hill Youth Advisory Committee.
Details: www.gavilan.edu/pio or call (408) 848-4724.
Mount Madonna School Offers Workshop
Mount Madonna School is inviting the public to a free workshop titled, “iSolation/iSolution: Parenting the Digital Generation,” which will discuss the importance of raising kids in a supportive community context 7-8pm, Oct. 9, at the Morgan Hill Library, 660 W. Main Ave.
The workshop is designed to help the public deal with the issues related to youth and their access to text messaging, MySpace, Facebook, various Internet sites, iPod, iPhone, Wii and Xbox, etc. Presenters will discuss how children too deeply immersed in the digital world may disconnect and isolate themselves from other forms of human contact.
“We can help overcome isolation and build real in addition to virtual relationships,” said Sarada Diffenbaugh, educator and head of Mount Madonna School. “Having a strong and caring community may keep kids connected and offset the impact of virtual reality that arises from today’s technologies.”
