Each year, the Leadership Morgan Hill program challenges its annual class of burgeoning community leaders with the task of brainstorming, planning and executing a project that will improve the local community in a concrete and lasting way. This year’s Class of 2025 looked at this challenge and decided to double it, taking on not one, but two projects to beautify local public spaces.
“We felt like, even though we were a small group, we didn’t pick projects that would really tax us too much with budgetary constraints,” said Erin Gemar, one of two board liaisons for the 2025 class. “The financial goal for both seemed really reasonable, and our group of 14 felt really confident with our fundraising capabilities. Even with two projects, we succeeded in reaching past our goal.”
The class exceeded its fundraising goal by more than $5,000, raising more than $20,000 to restore two beloved community spaces that had fallen into disrepair.
The 14-member class unveiled both projects Sept. 11: the reinstallation of a stolen bronze owl sculpture along the Little Llagas Creek Trail and the revitalization of the Native Plant Garden at Villa Mira Monte Historical Park.
The projects represent the culmination of the nine-month Leadership Morgan Hill program, which prepares residents to become community leaders through an in-depth education in city operations, local businesses and nonprofits, alongside their capstone project.
The original Loki sculpture, created by local artist Evelyn Davis, was stolen in 2024 from the West Little Llagas Creek Trail. The bronze owl had served as both an educational tool and a symbol of the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center’s work caring for local wildlife.
“She had created an owl, and it was called Loki, and it was stolen,” said Erin Gemar, one of two board liaisons for the 2025 class. “What was left was just the platform that it was sitting on.”
Davis agreed to come out of retirement for the restoration project. Because no mold existed from the original casting, she had to recreate the sculpture from scratch, and the Leadership class helped her by raising funds to pay for the required materials.
The new installation, titled “The Return of Loki,” features the owl sculpture, dubbed “Loki 2,” along with engraved stones that community members purchased to support the project. The city is also installing anti-theft measures and adding a new trash receptacle to improve the area.
“Now the whole place looks better, there is a camera, there is a new trash receptacle, the bench and Loki are all clean and new,” Gemar said.
The class’s second project focused on revitalizing the Native Plant Garden at Villa Mira Monte, headquarters of the Morgan Hill Historical Society on Monterey Road just north of downtown. The original garden, established in 2020, had fallen into disrepair due to irrigation issues.
The restored garden now features 29 native species of trees, shrubs, grasses and flowering plants, selected for their historical significance to indigenous Californians like the Amah Mutsun tribal group. The class installed a new irrigation system, developed a maintenance plan and created educational materials for the Historical Society’s website.
Heather Poore, who worked on the educational content team, said extensive research went into selecting culturally significant plants and understanding their traditional uses for food, medicine, tools and rituals.
“It took a lot of time to research that and come up with a plan,” said Poore, whose participation in the LMH program was sponsored by the American Association of University Women of Morgan Hill. “We had quite a few conversations with Amah Mutsun tribal members to make sure they were able to review notes and see what we were putting there in their honor, and what plant uses that we were attributing to knowledge from their historical resources.”
The educational materials include a “Can you say it in Mutsun?” audio lesson, created in consultation with Amah Mutsun tribal members who reviewed the content to ensure accuracy.
The class initially aimed to raise $15,000 for both projects but exceeded that goal by more than $5,000, according to Flordelisa Harris, who led the fundraising effort.
Harris implemented a two-pronged fundraising strategy: Each of the 14 members committed to raising $500 individually, while the class partnered with five downtown Morgan Hill businesses for fundraising events.
The business partnerships included health and wellness events at StretchLab, sushi-making classes at Sushi Confidential, networking mixers at Alara Cellars and percentage-of-sales donations from restaurants Chocotellacrepes and Craft Roots.
Major donors included Jeff and Kayla Schumacher, with Jeff’s $1,000 donation matched by his employer. Harris’s family and business contributed $3,000 combined. The South Valley Fleurs Garden Club provided a grant for the garden project.
“I think because our project was very near and dear to a lot of peoples’ hearts, especially the Loki owl making a return, since the original one was stolen,” Harris said. “A lot of people wanted that to come back to the community.”
For the Mira Monte garden, UC Master Gardener Jenny Redfern provided planting advice, while Dave Knopf of Knopf Woodworking donated his time and expertise to build educational signs explaining the individual species in the garden.
Morgan Hill Historical Society President Roger Knopf praised the class’s work: “The Society, on behalf of the entire community, is extremely thankful to the LMH class of 2025 for bringing our long-time dream of a renewed Native Garden to reality.”
The 2025 class includes Adam Paszkowski, Avi Gingold, Brian Judd, Chris Alarcon, Daryn Honda, Erin Gemar, Flor Harris, Heather Poore, Jonny Beale, John Kelley, John Kuhlen, Kim Mancera, Kyle Merritt and Terri Davenport.
Leadership Morgan Hill has graduated more than 500 alumni since its founding, with participants going on to serve in various community leadership roles. The program’s motto is “Inspire, Connect, Serve.”
“It was quite an experience,” Harris said. “You go into it, and you kinda think you know what you’re getting into, but then you really don’t, because depending on the projects that you choose, it can go in many different directions.”
Gemar concurred, saying that the program’s strength in developing leaders is in challenging their expectations and opening their eyes to the blind spots in their leadership style.
“Part of the value of it, for leadership learning, is that it isn’t for anybody exactly what they were expecting,” she said. “I don’t think there would be anybody who didn’t cite the people and the relationships and connections that are built during the short period of time.”
Now celebrating its 30th year, Leadership Morgan Hill is currently recruiting for its Class of 2026. Past years’ projects included constructing community gardens, installing the two large signs welcoming visitors on Monterey Road at the north and south ends of Morgan Hill, and the small park next to the Splash Zone at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center.
