How did you get interested in helping the Vintage Festival?
Well, I always went to the Festival as a child. I think it is really important to the community to keep this historic event going. And the more the community is a part of it, the easier it is to do. We want to share the bounty of the Valley.
How is the community involved?
So many ways. Almost 30 local wineries will pour at the Friday night Gala. And more than 20 wineries will be at the Plaza on Saturday and Sunday. And the food establishments – both restaurants and caterers – participate by offering tastes at the Gala.
Tell me about the Gala.
We’re at the Barracks, and we have a live band. It’s always a fabulous evening. Six or seven hundred people come. This is the fourth year we do the “wine locker.” 100 people buy a glow necklace with a key for $20; one of them will open the box filled with 18 bottles of outstanding wine. At the end of the evening everyone tries their key in the lock to see who wins the wine.
Other community participation?
Yes, our wonderful volunteers. Since I became president of the VF board seven years ago , we have changed the Festival to be more community-oriented, and more youth-oriented. The first youth group to volunteer were the high school wrestlers. They work both days with all the set-up and clean-up; last year, they earned almost $4,000 for their program. Other volunteers come from the girls lacrosse league and the Girl Scouts, who run the Kids Zone. And the high school football team helps load and unload our supplies into a 24-foot Penske truck. Exchange Bank employees do the cashiering, and Vintage House volunteers check i.d. We try to be sure our volunteers are enjoying themselves; all my life, when I volunteered, I wanted to be sure I was having a good time. We have a wonderful board that works great together. The members volunteer hundreds of hours. VF is a second full-time job for me for the month preceding it.
How do you allocate the proceeds?
There’s a “pie” that is divided up by how much your group did.
Tell me more about your family.
My maternal grandparents spent their adult life here. My mother was born in Sonoma, and she lived on Eighth Street East when the trains still came through. She picked prunes. My parents moved to Sonoma – for my mother, it was moving back – when I was 11, so I’ve lived here since 1978.
Did your working career begin in banking?
No, but it was my childhood dream. When we drove by the former Sonoma Valley Bank, I would tell my mother that I was going to be a banker someday. I like working with numbers. But I actually started out in the Marine Corps, where I served six years. I was called to Desert Storm, but it ended before I was shipped out. After that, I was helping in my children’s school, so I started working as an aide.
And then?
I worked as a teller for seven years at Sonoma Valley Bank. Then I came to Exchange Bank. I’ve been here nine years, and currently I’m day-to-day operations manager.
What are your memories of the Vintage Festival in the past?
The Children’s Parade. We always walked in it. And later I was an artist at the event, in the 90s and 2000s. I made hand-beaded items, and jewelry. I am looking forward to getting back to being an artist!
-interview by Anna Pier
Marvelous…really enjoyed reading this article. I love you so much for all that you do and for who you are. Mother