With much festivity and celebration, the Gardner Community Center reopened on August 21, 2004. The new building is impressive! Photos to come... The Center will be training staff until August 30, and then will be open to the public with a game room, a weight room, computer center, meeting and education rooms...

Kevin Christman, chair of the Greater Gardner Coalition Neighborhood Action Committee (NAC), gave a heartwarming and heartfelt speech at the Center's rededication. Thanks, Kevin, for reconstructing your speech for us here.

GOOD MORNING! THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING & WELCOME TO OUR NEW COMMUNITY CENTER! WE HAVE SOME GREAT ENTERTAINMENT FOR YOU TODAY, JALISCO MARIACHI, THE BLUES CREW, BAND OF BROTHERS, & MAX THE CLOWN, PLEASE THANK THEM ALL FOR HELPING US CELEBRATE TODAY!

THIS IS AN EXCITING TIME FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WITH SO MANY POSITIVE THINGS THAT HAVE EITHER HAPPENED OR THAT ARE ON THE HORIZON. THE COMPLETION OF THE PLAYGROUND WITH THE RESTROOM IMPROVEMENTS & THE OPENING OF THE GREGORY STREET PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE IN FEBRUARY, THIS CENTER'S OPENING WITH THE PUBLIC ARTWORK, WITH OUR LOCAL HEROES, HERE IN THE PLAZA, THE ACQUISITION OF MONEY FROM SJRA & PW, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT REQUEST FOR A THREE YEAR TOTAL OF $875,587.00 TO HELP REBUILD SOME OF OUR WORST STREETS, GUTTERS, CURBS, & SIDEWALKS AND A CAP GRANT FOR $15,000.00 FOR CHILDREN'S ARTWORK TO HELP TRANSFORM THE OLD "HORSESHOE" INTO OUR CIRCLE OF DREAMS, ALONG WITH THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE VACANT CITY LAND ALONG FULLER AVENUE INTO FULLER PARK. WE HAVE GOD TO THANK FOR MANY BLESSINGS & THE HARD WORK OF CINDY CHAVEZ & KEN YEAGER, MANY CITY WORKERS & YOUR HARD WORKING VOLUNTEER NEIGHBORS (WHO HAVE PAINTED TWO BRIDGES & THREE HOMES IN THE AREA & HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE ACQUISITION OF OVER $905,000.00 IN GRANT MONEY FOR THE BETTERMENT OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD).

LIKE MARK'S ANALOGY OF THE SPIDER & HIS WEB, WE HAVE HAD OUR SHARE OF CHALLENGES IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, AS WELL. MIGUEL WAS MURDERED ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, WE HAVE HAD 2 STABBINGS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, A SHOOTING IN THE PARK, THE TRAGIC BURNING OF OUR SCHOOL LAST FALL, WE HAVE 14 & 16 YEAR OLDS BEING TRIED AS ADULTS FOR MURDER, AND SOME SERIOUS STAFFING ISSUES AT THE CENTER.

ACTUALLY THE EASY PART OF NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION IS THE INFRASTRUCTURE, THINGS LIKE BUILDINGS, STREETS, SIDEWALKS, AND SUCH.

THE HARD PART IS TO LOOK IN THE MIRROR & ASK IF WE ARE BEING GOOD NEIGHBORS & SETTING A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR OUR CHILDREN. IF WE ARE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION, THEN WE ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM. WE MUST LEARN TO SHARE WITH, RESPECT & LOVE ONE ANOTHER. MARTIN LUTHER KING HAD A DREAM, THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. CESAR CHAVEZ FOUGHT FOR EQUALITY & RESPECT OF THE COMMON WORKER. LET'S HONOR THEIR MEMORIES BY MAKING A VOW TO MAKE THIS PARK AND COMMUNITY CENTER AN ALCOHOL, DRUG & VIOLENCE-FREE ZONE FOR OUR CHILDREN & FAMILIES.
THIS NEIGHBORHOOD NEEDS TO BE A SAFE PLACE FOR ALL OF OUR FAMILIES REGARDLESS OF COLOR, NATIONALITY, OR RELIGION.

REMEMBER LONG BEFORE THIS NEIGHBORHOOD BECAME A LARGELY LATINO NEIGHBORHOOD, IT WAS HOME TO IMMIGRANT GERMANS, SWISS, & ITALIANS.

REMEMBER THE LAST FIVE LETTERS OF COMMUNITY ARE U-N-I-T-Y. UNITY NEEDS TO START RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW; IN OUR COMMUNITY, OUR SCHOOLS, OUR HOMES, & IN OUR HEARTS.

WITH THAT SAID, I DO HAVE A SHORT LIST OF PEOPLE TO THANK. AT THE TOP OF MY LIST IS MY WIFE, KARENA, WHO PUTS UP WITH ALL THE MEETINGS & LATE NIGHT DINNERS. REY & NORMA MENDEZ (YOU HAVE THEM TO BLAME FOR MUCH OF MY INVOLVEMENT IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD). DIANA SALAZAR, FROM SJS, WHO GAVE US A "JUMP START" & BLUEPRINT FOR NOT ONLY OUR COMMUNITY CENTER, BUT OUR SNI WORK AS WELL. MY PERSONAL NEIGHBORHOOD HEROES, DAN ERCEG, KEN EKLUND, DEBBIE PALMER, & ALISON ENGLAND, WHO I MET AT THE FIRST MEETING OF THE SALAZAR STUDY. ALONG WITH FELLOW "SHARKS" FAN, HARVEY DARNELL, THEY ARE DEDICATED PROBLEM SOLVERS & NOT JUST COMPLAINERS. GARY OKAZAKI, FROM THE CITY OF SJ, WHO HELPED US THROUGH THE DESIGN PROCESS OF OUR NEW CENTER. RESIDENTS AURELIA ALDAMA, DOLORES ARISTA, PAUL DUNCAN, BERT GUAJARDO, MICHAEL HAWKINS, MARIA MONTES, & TONY TORRES, OUR REC SUPERVISOR, WHO WERE ALL PRESENT AT NUMEROUS DESIGN MEETINGS, THE STEINBERG GROUP, SPECIFICALLY SHERYL BAUER & JEFFREY BERG. CINDY & KEN, ALONG WITH SUE EAKINS, CINDY'S FORMER PARKS COMMUNITY LIAISON. JENJOY ROYBAL, FROM SJ's PUBLIC ART PROGRAM & STEPHEN PARLEY, THE ARTIST FOR THE ARTWORK IN THE PLAZA; & ALSO KIP HARKNESS, CALLIE STRUGGS, ELYSE EGAN, & NOW JENNIFER VASQUEZ FROM SJRA. BRIAN CLAMPITT & HIS STAFF WERE ALSO A GREAT HELP BEHIND THE SCENES IN HELPING BRING THIS CELEBRATION TOGETHER TODAY.

THANK YOU, AND GOD BLESS US ALL!

Kevin Christman, August 21, 2004