FROM THE EDITOR
Larry & J. Chris Mickartz, Publishers
s A special thanks to Heather Pacheco, Shag Beauty Bar and Michael Hawk Photography for making us look good.
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lot has happened in the past few months. The combining of Gilroy Today and Morgan Hill Today into this new larger publication has been challenging and fun at the same time. My partner in life and publishing, Larry, and I are so excited to bring you The Lifestyle Magazine Of The South Santa Clara Valley— gmh TODAY. We hope you enjoy it and we look forward to your comments. We want you to remember that the magazine is for and about you. So, please let us know if there’ s a person, event or place that you feel we should include in its pages.
Another exciting addition for us is having Jackie Starkovich join our team. Jackie is our new Advertising Representative. She has lived in Gilroy since 2006 and most recently was the wine club director for San Martin Ranch Winery. She is involved in the community and is active in the Morgan Hill Rotary.
I’ m an avid reader, always looking for the next GOOD book. I must admit that I haven’ t considered joining a book club, mostly because it takes me forever to get through a book; just not enough hours in the day. But, I am very happy to welcome our new column“ The Book Club Beat” by Sherry Hemingway. Sherry belongs to a couple book clubs and has agreed to help us answer the question:“ What should I read next?” She’ ll also keep us up on the visits of authors to our local libraries and book clubs.
I want to thank both Gilroy Mayor Don Gage and Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate for their kind words and introductory remarks for our individual sections on each community. We wanted to start our new format with overviews of each community we serve. I think Larry did an excellent job of condensing a multitude of information into nice informative economic briefs of all three communities: Gilroy, San Martin and Morgan Hill. Although different in many ways, all three make-up the South Santa Clara Valley.
We’ re starting this first issue by featuring our areas love affair with horses. Here in South Santa Clara Valley, we have a thriving community of horse owners, lovers, businesses and even artists that paint and photograph them. Our back roads are alive with horse ranches and corrals. Our writer, Robin Shepherd, did an excellent job of putting together their story.( See pages 14-21).
We’ ve known Dennis Kennedy for a couple decades but I must admit that I didn’ t really get how involved he’ s been on a regional level. In this time of“ water crisis,” it’ s nice to know that he’ s there looking out for South Santa Clara Valley.( See pages 72-76.
I’ ll let you get to reading. Enjoy!
J. Chris
Beautifully photographed and smartly written, Gilroy Today & Morgan Hill Today are must reads for South County residents and visitors alike. The cities of Gilroy and Morgan Hill distinguish themselves from each other in many ways, but they share the same strong sense of community which comes alive on the pages of these engaging publications. I keep the latest copy in my County office for visitors to read and enjoy. Congratulations to J. Chris and Larry Mickartz for publishing nearly 50 issues and best wishes for the next 50 issues of their GMH Today publication!
Mike Wasserman Santa Clara County Supervisor
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G M H T O D A Y M A G A Z I N E MARCH / APRIL 2015 gmhtoday. com