2011 Annual Dinner Album |
The Annual Meeting of GMIA held last weekend at the Cuyamaca Water Conservation Garden was a feast for the senses. Somewhere around 100 neighbors gathered at The Garden to taste wine and to celebrate GMIA's 73 years of service to the Mt Helix community. Guests strolled through the entire 5 acre garden while munching on scrumptious appetizers, sipping on Syrah with the lyrical sound of an acoustic guitar in the background. What better way is there than spending a warm Saturday afternoon meandering a pebble strewn path viewing one water wise landscape devoted to birds and butterflies or another that showcases a 'sensory garden' or yet another planted to a single color (white!)? But there was more than just wonderful wine and water wise plants at the GMIA get together. The highlight of the "official" program was finding out that Art and Lynn Patoff had received this year's Al Platt Memorial Award. The Patoffs have lived in Mt Helix for 45 years. And, they've been actively involved in community issues for nearly half of a century as well. When they moved to Mt Helix in the 60's, or as they say, from "the heartland to the wild west", the Patoffs brought with them a can-do spirit. Whenever a problem presented itself to their neighborhood, Lynn says "they rolled up their sleeves and just dug in and fixed it". Because Art and Lynn live near the Hooper Chicken Ranch, they worked with then Supervisor George Bailey on the fly abatement issue. They also worked with the current Supervisor to try and ensure any development on that old chicken ranch conforms to the community plan. Lynn is still upset that she couldn't attend the public hearing where, in spite of tremendous community opposition, the Supervisors, including Dianne Jacob, voted to approve the developer's proposal. The fact is Lynn was in the hospital at the time getting a new hip! Well, it is just that sort of unflagging community spirit that GMIA celebrates every year in memory of our ex President Al Platt. Congratulations to Art and Lynn on a much deserved recognition of their volunteerism! The Board of Directors of GMIA extend a special "Thank You" to the Annual Dinner Chair Kay Bickley for organizing such a wonderful meeting. Kay and her stalwart committee members (especially Julie Ball, Joceylyn Zimmerman, Pat Ryan and Marty Ornish) worked so very hard to get The Garden's ampitheater ready for the meeting. The Garden is a new venue for the annual dinner meeting and from what we heard, it was definitely a hit with the members. |
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