Columnists

It is really exciting when you are introduced to a new adventure, particularly one that involves great new people. Well, that’s what happened to Lady M and me a couple of weekends ago. You see, at a recent Community Solutions event, we along with four other couples, bid on and won a luncheon at the Martin Ranch Winery in Gilroy. I knew in advance we would have a good time since we would be with terrific friends. But, I had no idea that it would be as totally enjoyable as it turned out.

Earlier this week Michelle and I got the call that we had been dreading for way too long. Our dear friend known for his integrity, compassion and ability to get things done lost a battle with an opponent that paid no regard to any of those qualities. Cancer was his foe, and in a world where the odds of surviving this foe grow greater every day, too often it is still unstoppable.There was no way to win this battle. Any sense of victory would have to come from the way he faced the world and fought the battle with the usual tenacity and calm air of dignity around him. He can claim that victory.The battle took place over months and brought out a cast of characters to lend support in every imaginable way. Too numerous to name everyone here, it included his son Matthew, Jill Kirk and Kathy Sullivan who need to be mentioned for all of the difficult decisions and daily toil.Everyone involved in the battle could now be considered family because the man engendered that kind of bond amongst a group that otherwise might not have naturally gravitated to each other. I guess that is what some people can do. I hope this is something everyone can understand since I wouldn’t have if I had not been involved.I know in the coming days we will hear about what a great statesman he was and how much he gave to the community and what an inspiration he is, and I think they would all be true. But what matters to me was who he was as a person.So often in public someone would come up and say, “Remember me? I met you at so-and-so working on this-or-that…” And he would always take the time to engage them—or even better, if he didn’t have the time he expressed that in a way that I could only dream of.He was honest about his time and if you got any you got it all.We both loved good food and a fine glass of wine, and we shared many—usually with a gathering of friends with varied and energetic conversations.Even the quietest of moments are remembered, maybe now the most.He was also a man that suffered more pain than most. He had lost his first wife to a debilitating disease that lingered for too many years before exacting its final toll. He lost his second wife to an insidious disease that also lingered but had more than physical effects which he had to deal with that hurt him so much inside. The final blow which was so unfair was the recent loss of his beloved Nika, his canine companion who was also the vessel that carried so many fond reminders of his last wife. Is there any fairness?But you would never guess that this man had experienced so much inequity from his approach to life.Holidays, birthdays and those other special occasions will now be a little hollow. Discussions regarding city politics, the Downtown Association, or which flavor gelato is best will be missing a voice.The sun will come up, darkness will fall, we will laugh, we will cry, we will go on. But life will never be quite the same.Dennis Kennedy has left the room.John McKay is a Morgan Hill resident, Interim President of the Downtown Association, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance.

About three weeks ago, we started a search that Junior had been waiting his entire life to begin. Yes, we began the long and painful search for Junior's first car. Junior has been saving for this since he was 10 years old. Allowance, birthday money, holiday money, several years of Garlic Festivals spent on a street corner selling bottled water to tourists trying to find their way back to 101 and a brief moment of employment for his uncle has culminated in enough money to buy...

I recently mentioned that the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, in partnership with the City of Morgan Hill, invited construction projects downtown to participate in a competition to see who could make their site the most interesting.The prize for this competition was a lunch for the construction crews, so there was little incentive other than the spirit of competition and lots of community spirit.The Leal organization’s site for the future Granada Hotel and Spa won the competition with a decorated fence and a construction site that really doesn’t look like either anymore. This is a great example of how to make a normally unsightly looking construction site blend back into the background.So I told some people about the competition and realized that the Leal organization was not being recognized for some of the other good things they do.I originally started writing this column because I didn’t feel that the community knew enough about so many of the good things being done in Morgan Hill, and this is a good example.The Leal organization became visible to most of us in Morgan Hill with its purchase of the old Granada Theater site. Little did we know that someone could save that old building (it was structurally unsafe), let alone make it a thriving business and contemporary landmark.It took a lot of resources to save that sentimental old building, but the Leal organization made it happen. Now we don’t have to rely on just memories of the building; we can be entertained and dine in an updated version that can now make new memories.For me, most of those memories are associated with the philanthropic work in the way of charitable fundraisers in that building.Think about the Edward Boss Prado Foundation’s annual Gala Event which found a new home there. Community Solutions’ “Black, White & Bling” Gala was the first event in the newly renovated Granada (this year’s gala is Nov. 4). Those events were generously supported by donation of the venue by the Leal organization.New this year will be Rebekah Children’s Services’ “Festival of Trees” fundraiser which just moved to Morgan Hill from the swanky Corinthian in San Jose. The Live Oak High Booster Club will be the recipient of 25 percent of the receipts from the “Pasta for a Purpose” dinner. This is a takeoff of the “Pizza for a Purpose” event the Leal organization held in Hollister for their local needs.The Leal organization is a business and will conduct itself as one, as it has to. The organization is also very active philanthropically—it doesn’t have to be but it is.This organization is another example of how so many of our local businesses become partners in the community. I welcome them to the community.John McKay is president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance. He can be reached at [email protected].