Jennifer Tate receives award from Gavilan College
Jennifer Tate, one of three recipients of Gavilan College’s 2005 Community Spirit Awards for their contribution to the Morgan Hill Community, doesn’t take credit for the active role she plays in the community. It’s just in her genes, she said.
“My parents were very active community members and it just seemed like the important thing to do when you live in a community,” Tate explained as the reason behind why she volunteers countless hours to school and community. “I started volunteering in high school and I’ve been doing it ever since. I really enjoy it. I absolutely adore the people here in Morgan Hill.”
Tate said in Morgan Hill, her volunteer work started with the schools when her children were young.
“It was the natural thing to do, since my children were in school,” she said. “I’ve always enjoyed kids.”
Tate, who has lived in Morgan Hill for 28 years, was chair of the Nordstrom Elementary School site committee, a member of the Morgan Hill School Board, a member of and later, president of the Children’s Home Society, and a member of the San Jose Junior League. She also served as co-chair for the first all-night graduation party for Live Oak High School in 1987.
“Then, as the children grew up, it progressed to other things in the community,” she explained.
She served as logistics chairperson for the Mayor’s Ball fundraiser for the Morgan Hill Community Foundation and was program chairperson and later, event chairperson, of the Excellence in Leadership Award dinner for Leadership Morgan Hill. Currently, Tate is a member of the Morgan Hill Historical Society and president of the Centennial Morgan Hill steering committee. She is also a Reach Out volunteer.
Tate has likewise been involved in business. She owned the Morgan Hill Seed Company for almost 11 years. Now, she is a personal trainer, a job she’s held for the past six years.
Tate has a degree in anthropology from University of California, Davis. She and her husband, Steve, who is a Morgan Hill city councilman and serves as Mayor Pro Tempore, have two children and two grandchildren. She noted, their daughter, Stacy Huddleston, was named Teacher of the Year last year at St. Mary’s School in Gilroy, where she teaches language arts.
“It’s proof that the gene pool lives on,” Tate chuckled.
Tate, along with the Friends of the Library and Andrew Goularte of Associated Concrete, were honored by Gavilan College at the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce breakfast last week.
