“La Marseillaise,” the stirring and snappy French national anthem, blared out of the DJ’s sound system.
Excitement, as well as the music, was in the air.
Clearly something festive was happening noonish on Wednesday, July 22, at the Coca-Cola warehouse parking lot on Fairway Drive.
That something festive was an event for the Special Olympics athletes who had been assigned to Santa Maria—one of many host cities in Southern California—before proceeding to Los Angeles for the Special Olympics games.
Athletes wearing red shirts marked “France” tumbled out of a bus and went down a path lined with Santa Marians. The athletes and the locals exchanged high fives. Such a buoyant welcome.
Jim Bray, a co-chair of the Host Committee, and Coca-Cola’s warehouse supervisor, Mike Buhring, who is a member of the local Host Committee, officially greeted athletes and escorts. Bray spoke to them in French, while a French-born Zodiac Aerospace employee translated Buhring’s remarks.
Nearby Zodiac Aerospace partnered in hosting the event with Coca-Cola. Among the many volunteers were Zodiac employees. Folks like City Manager Rick Haydon and City Councilman Bob Orach were on hand to check out the proceedings. Bray’s wife, Francine, and son, Tyler, were in the group, as was Michelle Buhring, and New Yorker Penelope Hartnell, who, thank goodness, pops into town every now and then. Santa Barbara’s Justin Fareed, who is running for Congress, was also in the crowd.
Righetti High School’s very popular and energetic Folklorico dancers, under the supervision of Ricardo Gabaldon Jr., performed several numbers from their repertoire. I particularly love the dance where they wear denim and do some fancy footwork (twirling the leg at the knee)—it reminds me of Agnes de Mille’s famed Rodeo ballet.
Santa Maria was assigned athletes from France, Mauritius, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was a good thing, because these are all French-speaking countries, and hotel manager Jean-Luc Garon, who was born in France, could communicate with the athletes.
Veggie platters were stationed at each outdoor table. Hamburgers and hot dogs grilled by Coca-Cola employees, potato salad, Subway sandwiches, and strawberry shortcake comprised the all-American menu.
Each Olympian was given a bag with a bottle of Coke, a pair of sunglasses, and “gold” beads with a Coca-Cola medallion fashioned after an Olympic medal. Each athlete was also given a Coca-Cola T-shirt.
This event made us locals on the premises proud. The ambience was one of welcome and joy. We hope the athletes went home with fond memories of our All-America City.
Sister Janet Strikes Again
Sister Janet Corcoran took home yet another award. Where does she put them all?
This time the civic activist was awarded the Meritorious Community Service Award (MCSA) on Thursday evening, July 16, at the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center.
The auditorium was close to full with community members who came to celebrate Sister Janet, and Jackie and Jerry MacNeil, who were also honored with the MCSA.
Former County Supervisor Joe Centeno and current County Supervisors Peter Adam and Steve Lavagnino were in the audience, along with Mayor Alice Patino, City Manager Rick Haydon (that fella gets around), State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, and City Council members Terry Zuniga and Jack Boysen. Is that an all-star lineup or what?
The light buffet consisted of chicken piccata (or was it Parmesan?), pasta, and cannoli. Mama Mia, it was good.
Our superstar Recreation and Parks Department handled the logistics of this affair. Hats off to Alex Posada, Dennis Smitherman, and Teresa Reyburn for orchestrating a pleasant event.
If you want to hobnob with Helen, you may contact her at helenthom232@yahoo.com.
This article appears in Aug 6-13, 2015.
