gmhTODAY 09 gmhToday July Aug 2016 | Page 104

gilroy LIVING Thirty Something In Gilroy Sam Bozzo has lived in Gilroy for his whole life. 104 WITH SAM BOZZO Meet Kim Moreno I met Kim Moreno recently at a Brownell School activity. Her son Jackson is in the 6th grade. What fascinated me was the fact that she was from Portland, Oregon. She was born there and went to the same Portland schools that her mother had attended, but her husband Jake’s job as General Manager with Graebel Van Lines brought them to the Bay Area. They found a very nice home along a nine-hole golf course in Hayward and enrolled their children in private school. But Jake and Kim found Hayward to be a busy city. A friend at Jake’s work suggested he check out Pleasanton and Gilroy. It was a real estate acquaintance that pointed the couple to a Gilroy community located close to Luigi Aprea Elementary School. They purchased a home with a large playroom and moved in. Initially, they had thoughts of returning to Portland, but what kept them in South County was the friendliness of Gilroy and the quality of its schools. They appreciated living within walking distance of Luigi Aprea, but after kindergarten the boys moved into GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) programs at Rucker and Brownell Schools. During those early days living in the Luigi Aprea neighborhood, Kim fell in love with Gilroy. Kim got to know Melanie Carona while their children were kindergarteners at Luigi Aprea School. Melanie is the Administrator for the Gilroy Downtown Business Association. She recruited Kim to volunteer with the Wine Stroll and the Pub Crawl. Meanwhile, Jake joined the local recreation softball league sponsored by the Claddagh Pub. Kim’s mom lives with them in Gilroy, and she’s a member of the quilting guild in Morgan Hill. Kim and her mom are Native American and members of the Sioux Nation. Each year they travel back to Portland for the annual Pow Wow. One day while walking her dog in the neighborhood, Kim met Allen Okimoto. He liked to take pictures of neighbors with their pets and then create a calendar. Kim said that Allen even dedicate a section in the calendar to those pets that had passed on. Because of the friendliness in the neighborhood, at schools and at community activities, Kim said she doesn’t think she would ever go back to Portland. And she loves the location of Gilroy. “The local fruits and vegetables are delicious. I love the hiking trails that are nearby. Being a sports-loving family, we like taking the boys to the many major league sports events in the Bay Area. With Santa Cruz being so close, it’s fun to head to the beach. And Disneyland is close enough to drive to!” At the end of our conversation I asked Kim if she would continue to be a stay-at-home mom. She said that right now, she enjoys volunteering at her children’s school. She has a degree in Community Health Education from Portland State University. Perhaps working for a school district or a community non-profit might be in her future. Welcome to Gilroy Kim, you are fitting in just fine. GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN JULY / AUGUST 2016 gmhtoday.com