November is considered by many to be Gratitude Month, a time to reflect with appreciation that which we have experienced and received during the past year.  That’s part of the origin of the many Harvest Festivals, Fall Fairs and holidays expressing thanks for the harvest. The changing seasons and more dot the calendar.  November gets our traditional holiday schedules into gear and we prepare to spend time with friends and family celebrating our relationships and gratitude for each other.

John F. Kennedy said “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”  Hosting or participating in parties and events is one way to express gratitude for what we have.  President Kennedy’s words go beyond simply expressing gratitude by suggesting we should strive to live in gratitude.  That can prove to be a difficult practice in the present….if we allow it to be difficult.

Sure, we live in a period of certain uncertainty, to a point.  Wildfires, power outages, earthquakes and more make our environment literally unstable.  We are transfixed to our smart phones, checking to see if our locations are under threat of blackout.  We download the newest earthquake alert app so we can be notified seconds before an earthquake occurs – anywhere in the world.  We watch with nervous anticipation as the latest wildfire consumes vegetation and homes and wonder if we might be next in line.  It’s easy to live in anxiety.

It’s also possible to train our thinking to live in gratitude.  Years ago I began a daily practice of literally writing down five things I am grateful for.  Early lists were obvious, my wife, my daughters and grandchildren, my dogs, my job and co-workers, etc.  Sometimes in a calmer, maybe even romantic mood I could find appreciation in nature or work at the hands of others creating art.  Recently I’ve even added to my gratitude list such things as the creation of new technologies, and the generosity of others.  I also am grateful to those with open-minded willingness to try to live in gratitude themselves.  I have witnessed the transformation over time of those who have also begun to write a gratitude list and watched their own lives become transformed.  Those who have been successful in adopting this practice have become happier themselves, and make those around them happier as well.  Wouldn’t it be great to see this become contagious?  Try it for 30 days. Happy Gratitude Month.

Scott

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU FOR ALL!

We had a great time at this year’s El Sobrante Stroll!  I must admit it was a bit surreal and humbling to be the Grand Marshal of the parade.  Mark Croda was an excellent host to both the Stroll Car Show and to me riding in his Excalibur car in the parade. What a thrill!

It was great to see so many friends and neighbors that day, and the weather was perfect.  Thanks to every one of the many volunteers who helped plan the Stroll, direct traffic, put up signs, barriers, tables and chairs; to the bands that created a festive environment with music coming from all sides; to Jeff Jerge and the Peddler Bike shop for the excellent Bike show – another very important part of the Stroll for many years; to all the food vendors and restaurants for providing the fantastic variety of snacks and meals to the attendees; to the crafters and merchants for bringing their wares for purchase; to the community organizations for supplying information about their services and plans for the community; to the Sheriff  Deputies, fire fighters, EMTs and other first responders who worked that day to help keep everyone safe and healthy; and to John Gioia and his staff, especially James Lyons, for their assistance in getting the repaving project done in time for the stroll, getting the approval to close the road for the day, attending the event (special thanks also to James for judging the parade) and representing our community at the county.  Finally, thank you to all who attended – it’s worth the many hours of planning and laboring to put on this event when we get the great turn out we had and the GREAT support of the community.  Thank you everyone.

In the course of writing this month’s message, I received word of the passing of Maurice Abraham, a member of the Chamber Board of Directors as well as a dear friend and neighbor to us all.  Maurice has been an inspiration to me regarding service to this community we both love, and I will miss his views on improving our little corner of the world.  I along with my wife Jenny express our sincerest condolences to Maurice’s wife Jean and the rest of the family.

Scott

“A Valley for All” is the theme for this year’s Stroll, the 26^th annual event that brings literally thousands of our families, friends and neighbors together for a day of music, food, entertainment and fun.  Crafters and merchants, non-profits and civic groups will all have booths for you see, buy or hear about the many wonderful things that are taking place in our little corner of the world.  Hope to see you all Sunday, September 15^th, sometime between 11 to 4.

September also is the start of a new school year, so traffic patterns are changing once again. Watch out for children as they go to and from school, especially away from campus. Everyone slows down for the crossing guards and flashing bus lights, but don’t forget the streets a few blocks away from school where these students live.

Windermere Rowland Realty once again held a school supply drive, and owners Mike and Renee Rowland were grateful to all who donated notebooks and pencils, protractors and backpacks and more, all of which will be presented to the Contra Costa Boys & Girls club to help students in need of the supplies.  The club operates three locations locally as well as in Martinez.

The Chamber has been planning the next fundraiser event for the Scholarship Fund.  Last year we gave out three $500 scholarships to graduating De Anza seniors and hope to increase the awards this year.  On Saturday, October 19, the Chamber will host a SPAGHETTI WESTERN Dinner and Dance at the El Sobrante Banquet Hall located in the Elks Lodge on San Pablo Dam Road.  For a fistful of dollars ($25 to be exact) one can have a spaghetti dinner of pasta, salad, dessert and coffee or tea as well as dancing and a ticket for a door prize (exact prize to be announced soon), and for a few dollars more there will be specialty cocktails, an old western jail fundraiser, an additional raffle, and more.  Get your boots and western gear on, but leave your pistols at home. Look for the flyer about the event inside this newsletter or on the elsobrantechamber.com website.

Fall is also the time to select the leadership for the Chamber in the coming year.  The nominating committee is seeking nominees for Board members, if you would like to serve or like to nominate someone you know would like to serve, contact the Chamber office at 510-223-0757 with your nominee.

We also select a Business of the Year and Citizen of the Year and are seeking nominees for those awards as well.  Jim Hammack and all the Nerds at Nerd Crossing are this year’s Business of the Year, and your humble president was voted Citizen of the Year this past December.  Our tenure in the positions culminates with a ride in this year’s Stroll Parade,  so I will see you then.

Scott

We need your help. The Chamber of Commerce has been trying to erect new “Welcome to El Sobrante” signs for a couple of years now. The project started out as an Eagle Scout project that the young man had to give up on because it took so long to wade through the process of property owners and county approvals, and the Scouts have a rule that Scout Masters aren’t eligible for Eagle Scout badges!  OK, it didn’t take quite that long… I think… fact is he had to move on and we still don’t have signs. We have a design, we have a budget, we even have almost all the money and volunteers to build!

What do we need? You. We need one of you to step up and see this project through to the end zone. And we need the rest of you to support the project in any way you can. Got time to volunteer? Do it! There are plenty of tasks, small and big, that need doing to get this done.

Are you good with bureaucrats? We need an advocate to get the permits from the property owners, the easement from the county, and the building permits too. Construction your bag? Let us know. Once we get a green light, we’ll have form building, concrete pouring, masonry work, and other projects needing skilled hands.

Maybe your volunteer skills are best exemplified by the checks you write. If you would like to contribute to help defer costs of materials, permits, etc., your donation will be gratefully accepted.

What’s the timeline? NOW! While it is impossible to have it built by the Stroll, is it possible to get it done by the new year? Dedication ceremony and New Year’s Eve Party all in one? I don’t know, but we can move this forward if we start now. Send your information, ideas, or donations to the Chamber office, or email me direct at ScottTuffnell@windermere.com. I will read and respond to every email I receive about this.

Together, we can have new signs in the new year.

Scott

By leaps, bounds, and occasionally inches, Mira Vista United Church of Christ continues on our path toward creating our new church home, community café, and organic plant nursery with our partner Planting Justice at the site of the former Adachi nursery in El Sobrante.

Through the amazing work of our project manager Colleen Rodger and architect Darrel DeBoer, we submitted our first round of materials to the planning department for Contra Costa County on May 13^th.  We also had a meeting with the chief planner and Supervisor John Gioia on Tuesday, May 28^th to discuss the land use permit process that we must undergo. Sadly, this process will likely take three to four months at best, so we have to assume that we will not be able to move to our new property at 5166 Sobrante Avenue before March of next year.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, June 1 we had our second community event and around 200 folks showed up for a day of upcycling, recycling, cleaning out, and cleaning up the property. The Greater Richmond Garden Club showed up in force to weed, prune, and sheet mulch the landscape, plus they even hosted our first small crop swap! As local gardens begin to produce over the summer, we look forward to this part of our work growing exponentially.

We also received terrific help from Marvin Gardens Real Estate and from UCC friends from Arlington, Sycamore, and First Church, Berkeley plus a lot of Planting Justice and Mira Vista members and friends. And, of course, we had so many new friends and neighbors from the El Sobrante community come to see what is happening and as Colleen observed, “this time they didn’t just show up, they came to work.” It was truly moving to feel the support of the community for this project.

While the weed whacking continued, we opened up the building so that folks could “upcycle” the display cases, shelves, and other things left in the building for use in their own projects. This event was a living demonstration of how to avoid unnecessary waste in our landfills. We still have some large safes and other items such as desks, filing cabinets, and large display cases that need homes, but we’re on our way!

We also provided fun, food, and community in the parking lot by having a jump house for kids and a taco truck. Now that we know the process of permitting and then construction is going to take a long time, we will be hosting Work + Fun Community Days on the last Saturday of each month from 10a-3p so we can keep living into our vision, and continue to make progress in preparing the property. For more information, check out: miravistaucc.org, plantingjustice.org, or like our Facebook page for The Good Table.