Icon Award - Carol Peters : Art - Carol is an accomplished artist who has dedicated to her time and expertise to a number of community projects over the years . Most recently , she help spearhead the “ Gilroy Rocks ” program that provided much needed artistic relief to the community of Gilroy after the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting last July . She has received many art awards and most recently her logo design was chosen to be used throughout the city of Gilroy during the 150th Anniversary year , 2020 . Carol was a teacher of painting and drawing at Gilroy High for 30 years , illustrated a book “ Images of America Gilroy ” by Claudia Salewski , served as an independent contractor with FIRST5 Santa Clara County , developing art curriculum and has hosted an art based television show for cable television , Carol on Creativity , winning two WAVE Awards for Video Excellence in eight Western States . She joins co recipients : Penelope Spheeris — Women In Film Brian Auger — Music Doeri Welch — Animation

Community Achievement Award , Morgan Hill :

Rene Spring - Rene is married to Mark , an artist , the proud step-father to 3 adult children and ‘ Opa ’ to his 3 wonderful grand-kids . An animal lover , Rene ’ s family includes four beautiful cats including “ Olaf ” – possibly Morgan Hill ’ s most famous Maine Coon cat . He moved from Switzerland to the Bay Area in 1998 , to Morgan Hill in 2004 , and became a proud US citizen in 2006 . Rene is a director of program management at Cadence Design Systems . Rene has served the community as Planning Commissioner , former board member and president of Leadership Morgan Hill , and former board member and president of the Morgan Hill Community Foundation . He is the creator of " It ’ s Ours . Our Morgan Hill " – a Facebook page with over 20,000 followers promoting the beauty of Morgan Hill . Rene enjoys strolling around town , meeting with friends , dining out , and hiking local hills . An art lover , Rene enjoys watching movies , attending art shows , musicals and theater shows . He enjoys traveling and has been to many countries over the years . Rene enjoys serving the community as Council member and to meet residents for a chat , coffee or walk .

Community Achievement Award , Morgan Hill : Gary Ponzini - Owner of Ponzini Community Garage in Morgan Hill , recognized in 2018 as Small Business of the Year by the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce , Gary and his wife Cecilia are community champions . They co-founded the Edward Boss Prado Foundation in honor of Cecilia ' s son . Since it ' s inception in 2013 , the Foundation has become an integral part of the south county , providing numerous programs in support of our nieghbors in need . The Edward Boss Prado Foundation works with relentless passion to empower people in need with resources that Foster dignity and respect . Gary is a veteran of the oval track , spending almost two decades on the auto racing circuit and competed in the Northern Auto Racing Club , USAC ’ s national series for midgets , sprint cars and Silver Crown cars , racing in the Midwest and Northern California . ( photo credit : Vintage Sprint Cars : twitter . com @ VntgSprintCars )

GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN SPRING 2021 gmhtoday . com

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