J
aime wears his hair long to “let
go of everything else.” He has a
broad, strong face with creases
well-earned from smiling.
“One thing my parents were
sticklers about was having din-
ner together every night,” Jaime said. “My
dad made a table that could sit sixteen, for
the whole family plus any friends who stayed
to eat. Everyone ate the same thing. Nobody
could start eating until we had said prayers.
You had to clean your plate—no leftovers—
and then you had to clear the table. That really
bonded us. Everything was about the family.”
Jaime has a large extended family of his
own, with three children and nine grandchil-
dren, his parents, siblings, in-laws, nieces,
nephews, and cousins, many of whom live in
the area. But he has expanded the definition
of “extended family” to include the youth,
couples, families, and organizations in Gilroy
that he has championed, mentored, and advo-
cated for all these years.
“I’ve always been involved in youth issues,”
Jaime said. His first job in Gilroy was with
South County Alternatives—the forerunner to
Community Solutions. “I was the Prevention
Coordinator which received funding from
drug abuse prevention. I got involved in
the schools, organizing youth groups, youth
counseling for truants, and working with kids
who were difficult to deal with.”
Jaime’s interest in schools began while
he was still in Southern California where he
taught folkloric dance, was part of a tutoring
program, and organized cultural field trips for
kids. In Gilroy, his interest continued, in part
because of Evelia’s teaching and involvement
with youth in the community. Once again, he
taught folkloric dance and organized activities
for Latino youth. He stepped up his advocacy
by serving on and working with the Gilroy
School Board for 19 years.
“A lot of people criticized the public
schools. They asked why I didn’t send my kids
to Catholic school. To me, the public schools
are only as good as we make them. If we get
behind the public schools, they’re going to be
good schools. It was about making sure that
every kid had an equal opportunity to suc-
ceed, recognizing the importance of teachers,
giving value to parents, and fighting for facili-
ties that show pride in our kids.”
Jaime’s interest in families is evident by the
work he’s done with the Marriage Encounter
Retreat Team, the Gilroy Latino Family Fund,
the Luchessa Migrant Housing Center, and
Las Rositas Senior Center, plus all the com-
mittees and boards he has served on. He was
the founding President of the Gilroy Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce in 1980-81 with about
70 members.
“It was the thing that got me more widely
involved in the community and recognized,”
he said. A portion of this involvement includes
his thirty-plus years as a member of the
Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, his member-
ship in Gilroy Rotary, and his participation in
Leadership Gilroy.
“Part of my founding principles is the way
I see life around me: to tune in to people in
need. In college, I attended a conference at UC
Santa Cruz about getting involved. Somebody
handed me a card that read, ‘The Hunger
Project.’ I said, ‘What do you want me to do
with this? Give money? Sign a petition?’ He
said, ‘That’s up to you.’
“At that moment, I realized it’s up to each
person to decide what they’re going to do
about any given issue. If you give money, you
can feel good about yourself. But if you make
a commitment to do something about it, to get
involved, then you can make a real difference.
“I feel personal responsibility for what’s
happening everywhere in the world. Whatever
I can do I’m going to do. To me, it’s, first,
being aware of an issue, and, second, acting
on it.”
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
SPRING 2020
gmhtoday.com
“I’m very grateful for being
selected Man of the Year. I
was very surprised. I love
Gilroy. I really do. We chose
Gilroy, and I really believe in
building the community.”
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