gmhTODAY 23 gmhTODAY Dec Jan 2018 | Page 21

Front Row: Veronica Martinez, Carina Baksa, Patricia Mondragon, Nayeli Ceja Anguiano, Raquel Lopez, Alexus Sanchez, Maria Oliva, Margaret Goldsmith, Stephanie Wheaton Back Row: Scott Alexander, Chad Haygood, Dan Mitchell, Sean Barragan, Jonathan Crick, Richie Chavarria, Geoff Tull Not Pictured: Angela Heitmann over $5,000 dollars in prize money, which would be awarded to home and school clubs. Las Animas Elementary created an extravagant Coco-themed float filled with hand-made flowers. Pac Point thrilled the audience with a live band on their float. Both were acknowledged as honorable mentions and received $500 prizes. El Roble came in third with a stunning western town float earning them $1,000. Second place went to Glen View; they reached for the stars with a Toy Story themed float made with recycled materials and won $1,500. First place went to Antonio del Buono with Ghostly Gilroy, featuring Gilroy landmarks such as the Strand theatre, Old City Hall and Gavilan Memorial Cemetery. They won the grand prize of $2,000! Our class included city employees Carina Baksa, Maria Olivia and Jonathan Crick, who were instrumental in getting permits and planning Miller Park activities. Local business owners, Chad Haygood, Scott Alexander and Richie Chavarria were the driving force behind securing trailers and finalizing the Parade route for Miller Street. Local educators Patricia Mondragon and I secured 100 percent participation from GUSD schools in the parade. GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN Class members Margaret Goldsmith, Stephanie Wheaton, Sean Barragan, Geoff Tull, Nayeli Ceja, Angela Heitman, Alexus Sanchez and Veronica Martinez all worked to ensure parade and fundraising efforts were successful. The graduates of Leadership Gilroy’s Class of 2018 are proud alumni. It was an act of personal commitment, and community pride. We held the Bonanza Day Parade on September 29 th . It had that small town, neigh- borly feel, and it was warmly received by the community. In closing, we the Class of 2018 must encourage others to seize opportunities to give back to Gilroy, just like we did with the Bonanza Day Parade comeback. december 2018-january 2019 gmhtoday.com 21