March 11, 2002

MY FAVORITE SUNOL correspondent, 4-H Reporter Josh Whitfield, sent me some very touching news about recent club activities. As I have done in the past, I'll share Josh's report in his own words:

"Give me a T! Give me a B! Give me another B! What does that stand for? Teddy Bear Brigade! After a unanimous decision by the Sunol 4-H Club to provide funds for a Valentine's Day community service activity, a committee was formed led by adult chairperson Donna Crawford and youth
co-chairs Marissa Whitfield and Jessica Crawford. The Teddy Bear Brigade, including Marissa, Jessica, Jeff Clark, and Katie Donovan, along with Mrs. Crawford, gave out bears to around 120 children at Oakland Children's Hospital on February 14.

"When asked why she decided to be a chairperson, Jessica said, 'I wanted to give something back to the hospital for the care they gave to me when I spent a week there as a little girl.' Marissa said, 'In a time when everyone is doing their part to make America a brighter place, I wanted my 4-H club to know that a few of those smiles out there were due to our community.' This group brought many smiles to the children at the hospital.

"Sunol 4-H is a non-profit organization that raises most of its funds at the annual Pancake Breakfast. The profits from that event are used for community service projects and other youth activities. This year's breakfast will be held on April 7 from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, so mark your calendars and be ready for some good eating."

Josh told me his sister Marissa came up with the idea for the Teddy Bear Brigade after hearing about a child who raised money for teddy bears for the victims of the September 11 tragedy. Sunol 4-H Club, you make us all proud.

TRUSTEE SEAT OPEN: The Sunol Glen Unified School District Board of Trustees is seeking a Sunolian to replace Dr. Robert Chisholm, who resigned his post at the January school board meeting. The term of office will be from March 26 to November 19, 2002, when a two-year term for the position will be won at the polls.

If you are interested, please send or bring a letter to the Sunol Glen School office, 11601 Main St., Sunol, CA, 94586, stating your intent to serve on the school board. There will be a special board meeting on March 20 to interview candidates for this position and appoint the person who will serve the remainder of Dr. Chisholm's term. The public is welcome to witness the interviews, and the board will make their decision in closed session.

"VILLAIN'S GAZE" UPDATE: The seniors from the Masonic Home returned once more to Sunol to serve as Sunol Rep's dress rehearsal audience for "Caught in the Villain's Gaze", and thoroughly enjoyed the show. Being dress rehearsal, there were, of course, a few hilarious bloopers, including a prop that fell apart to reveal the secrets of Randy Bilkyou, the magician played by Sunol Glen teacher Phil Mumford. Saturday's performance was stellar, to the delight of all.

SRT has a very special prompter this season. Vivienne Scheib is a founding member of SRT and served the group for 13 years as prompter, curtain puller, prop manager and set builder. A retired educator, Vivienne began teaching at Sunol Glen School in 1959 and currently has a great-granddaughter in kindergarten. Says Vivienne, "At age 81, I am happy to be back as prompter." Watch for her when she pops on stage to start trouble for one of the cast members!

The group would like to say a big thank you to Karen and Ted Davis of SlicART Custom Apparel in Livermore, who whipped up t-shirts for the crew at a very reduced price and on short notice. Come see our crew whip up special effects for this great play, Fri. and Sat. evenings through March 23 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 each at the Sunol Coffee House and Cafe on Main St., or call Diane Tiessen at 925-862-2020.