FROM THE EDITOR
Larry & J . Chris Mickartz , Publishers
s A special thanks to Heather Pacheco , Shag Beauty Bar and Michael Hawk Photography for making us look good .
A
lot has happened in the past few months . The combining of Gilroy Today and Morgan Hill Today into this new larger publication has been challenging and fun at the same time . My partner in life and publishing , Larry , and I are so excited to bring you The Lifestyle Magazine Of The South Santa Clara Valley — gmh TODAY . We hope you enjoy it and we look forward to your comments . We want you to remember that the magazine is for and about you . So , please let us know if there ’ s a person , event or place that you feel we should include in its pages .
Another exciting addition for us is having Jackie Starkovich join our team . Jackie is our new Advertising Representative . She has lived in Gilroy since 2006 and most recently was the wine club director for San Martin Ranch Winery . She is involved in the community and is active in the Morgan Hill Rotary .
I ’ m an avid reader , always looking for the next GOOD book . I must admit that I haven ’ t considered joining a book club , mostly because it takes me forever to get through a book ; just not enough hours in the day . But , I am very happy to welcome our new column “ The Book Club Beat ” by Sherry Hemingway . Sherry belongs to a couple book clubs and has agreed to help us answer the question : “ What should I read next ?” She ’ ll also keep us up on the visits of authors to our local libraries and book clubs .
I want to thank both Gilroy Mayor Don Gage and Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate for their kind words and introductory remarks for our individual sections on each community . We wanted to start our new format with overviews of each community we serve . I think Larry did an excellent job of condensing a multitude of information into nice informative economic briefs of all three communities : Gilroy , San Martin and Morgan Hill . Although different in many ways , all three make-up the South Santa Clara Valley .
We ’ re starting this first issue by featuring our areas love affair with horses . Here in South Santa Clara Valley , we have a thriving community of horse owners , lovers , businesses and even artists that paint and photograph them . Our back roads are alive with horse ranches and corrals . Our writer , Robin Shepherd , did an excellent job of putting together their story . ( See pages 14-21 ).
We ’ ve known Dennis Kennedy for a couple decades but I must admit that I didn ’ t really get how involved he ’ s been on a regional level . In this time of “ water crisis ,” it ’ s nice to know that he ’ s there looking out for South Santa Clara Valley . ( See pages 72-76 .
I ’ ll let you get to reading . Enjoy !
J . Chris
Beautifully photographed and smartly written , Gilroy Today & Morgan Hill Today are must reads for South County residents and visitors alike . The cities of Gilroy and Morgan Hill distinguish themselves from each other in many ways , but they share the same strong sense of community which comes alive on the pages of these engaging publications . I keep the latest copy in my County office for visitors to read and enjoy . Congratulations to J . Chris and Larry Mickartz for publishing nearly 50 issues and best wishes for the next 50 issues of their GMH Today publication !
Mike Wasserman Santa Clara County Supervisor
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G M H T O D A Y M A G A Z I N E MARCH / APRIL 2015 gmhtoday . com