June 27, 2014
Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com
Page 9
CBCA celebrates thirty years of making Clayton better GLORIA UTLEY Special to the Pioneer
As the Clayton Business & Community Association celebrates its 30th birthday, it is interesting to see its evolution from a small merchants’ organization into a major community resource. At the heart of the organization is a desire to improve the quality of life in Clayton. Starting as the Clayton Business & Professional Association back in 1984, it changed its name to its current one in the mid-1990s. But the commitment to the community remained the same. Last fall the CBCA became a 501(c)(3) Corporation, with the goal to help make the greater Clayton community a place to be proud to live in. Throughout the years the CBCA has given well over $1 million to make that happen. Here is a look at the many projects the CBCA has had its hand in.
HELPING BUSINESS Certainly improving the downtown business district is front-and-center. Clayton is unusual in that Main Street is only three blocks long. Village Oaks (the building on the corner of Center and Marsh Creek Road) and Center Street are now home to several businesses, established with the help of CBCA. Early on the CBCA sponsored a “Shop Clayton First” campaign and encouraged a Farmer’s Market to open in the middle of Main Street. Unfortunately, the market did not thrive, as there were not enough residents to support it at the time. COMMUNITY PHILANTHROPY Besides business, the CBCA became a philanthropic force in the community. In April of 1999, the CBCA participated in the “Christmas in April” project. Volunteers helped remodel a home on Montana Drive in Concord. The project was postponed until September due to a medical emergency, but when it
Katie-Grace, from page 1
Photo courtesy of Kathy Groebner
THE GROEBNER FAMILY STOPS IN THE HALL for a photo as Katie Grace is wheeled toward the operating room. From left, John Groebner, sister Savanha, grandmother Janet Groebner and Kathy Groebner
Just 12 hours later, a frail Katie Grace would be on an operating table where a team of surgeons would remove a heart and lungs so badly damaged by pulmonary hypertension that there was no option except to replace them. The Groebner’s journey to Stanford began in Minnesota five years ago when Katie went in for what was supposed to be a fairly simple operation to repair a small hole in her heart. That was when doctors discovered that she had pulmonary hypertension (PH) — a rare disease that went undiagnosed throughout her early years. Doctors expected her to live maybe another year, at best. Katie was 6 years old. Knowing she would need medical care beyond what they could get in Minnesota, they sold their house, packed what they could into an RV and headed west to the Bay Area where John had a job waiting, and they would be close to the PH specialists and cutting edge care at Stanford. A ROUGH TRIP The road to California was bumpy — in every way. They blew tires, the brakes failed coming over Donner Pass and none of them knew what they would find when they finally got here. Their first days in California were beyond stressful, Kathy recalls. They were parked miles from town at the Regency Mobile Home Park on Marsh Creek Road. The refrigerator and the air conditioning in the RV were both failing, Savanha Hope then in fourth grade, was not excited about starting school where she feared she would be way ahead of the class. And Kathy’s cousin was having a baby back in Minnesota. Kathy, by nature confident and at her best in a crisis, was filled with self-doubt. She questioned her decision to uproot the family and leave what was already a well
established support group of friends and family in Minnesota. On a particularly stressful morning a few days after they arrived, Kathy went to Sonset Flowers on Clayton Road to send flowers to her cousin. The
finally took off, Clayton Valley High School’s football team provided muscle power to remove appliances from the home. Chuck Jordan, a former principal of Clayton Valley High School, was the captain of the project. Volunteers worked for two consecutive Saturdays. Safeway provided lunch and the local Soroptimists group provided dinner for the workers. “FUN”-RAISERS The CBCA is also about community fun. Nineteen years ago in May, the CBCA kicked off what is probably one of its most successful fundraisers, the annual Clayton Art & Wine Festival. In 2003 the CBCA planned the first Oktoberfest, which was was held in early October, 2004. It was well received by the community, and this year’s celebration will be Clayton’s 11th. In August 2010 the CBCA started the Clayton Rib Cook-Off, with the fifth annual cook-off scheduled for Aug. 9 at the Clayton Club.
shop was then owned by Clayton Community Church member, Donna Meisner. “I was sobbing,” Kathy said. “And when Donna asked me what was wrong, I just lost it and told her the whole story.” COMMUNITY STEPS UP The encounter weighed heavily on a deeply religious Donna. That night, she retrieved Kathy’s phone number from her credit card receipt and called her. “I’m not sure how,” she said. “But I know I’m supposed to help you.” Within days, church members had stepped forward, offering a place for the family to live, practical help, fundraising and moral support. The kids started school . Katie went for two hours a day and received tutoring at home. They bought a house and settled in. Trips to Stanford and hospital stays became routine. Katie, a spirited, sweet child, became a familiar face at every community event, even having her own car – “Katie’s Dream” – in the annual Labor Day Derby.
Bocce, from page 1
Tamara Steiner photo
SKIPOLINI’S PIZZA DEBUTED IN DOWNTOWN CLAYTON 40 YEARS AGO and since then the Ipsen family has opened five more stores in Northern California. When they decided to remodel Clayton for the first time since that 1964 opening they “took the kitchen down to the studs, the ground actually,” Kent Ipsen explains. Using lessons learned from five more stores they completely redid the kitchen with new equipment and ovens that allow them to add lasagna and other items to their menu. Kirk Eade puts a pizza into the new oven.
“We did not want to turn away 200 players so we added Friday night and Sunday afternoon divisions [to the original league plan],” Hartley explained. For 10 years the Clayton Bocce League operated out of Newhall Park in Concord. Hartley pointed out that his team won the league once while Gonsalves’ team is five-time champs. Neophyte Kent Ipsen promised
his rookie outfit will take down Hartley’s veteran squad this year. The league plans on having play run through late fall, starting up again in the spring. They will monitor how the courts hold up during inclement weather before having any formal winter play. The public is invited to use the courts for free play after 10 a.m. daily until league games start in the
These events are all volunteer-driven, and help raise funds that the CBCA can then put back into the community. These events take a lot of work to put on. We couldn’t do it without the help of volunteers from our community. Working together allows us to put a lot of proceeds back into our community.
NEW BANNERS ON THE LIGHT POLES IN THE TOWN CENTER mark three milestone birthdays in Clayton this year. The city celebrates 50 years since incorporation, the Clayton Historical Society is 40 and the CBCA is 30. The banners were donated by the CBCA in keeping with the club’s stated mission “for the good of the community.”
But, despite the cutting edge medications she wore in a backpack, Katie’s health continued to decline. The dark circles around her eyes got darker; she lost weight, smiled less and got weaker until finally, doctors said the only option Katie had for a future was a heart and lung transplant. She officially went on the list in January. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an extremely rare disease. In Katie’s case, the disease is “idiopathic,” meaning they don’t know what causes it. Sometimes, if diagnosed early enough, the disease can be managed with medication. In Katie’s case, the damage was too great for an optimistic prognosis. The only possibility was a transplant. So, when Katie Grace was officially listed, it was a bitter-sweet “graduation.” NO TURNING BACK When the call came at 3 a.m., the day before Father’s Day, the Groebner family knew there was no turning back. The family arrived at Stanford early that morning. Katie’s surgery
late afternoon and all day on Saturday. Kent Ipsen calls the facility bearing his family’s name “drop dead gorgeous” and sees it benefitting all downtown businesses. “We’re the only bocce facility in the area located in the middle of a business district so that participants can park once and dine, play and shop without having to drive. Most courts (Martinez, Newhall and Baldwin parks in Concord) require participants to drive elsewhere for food and beverages after a game. Skipolini’s was closed for 10 weeks until mid-May for its first major remodel since opening 40 years ago. The new Skip’s includes an entirely new stainless steel kitchen with enhanced equipment allowing for menu additions such as lasagna. Higher end wines are now available as well. There are two televisions in the interior dining room and five large-screen TVs outside along with birdcage lights and new heaters from Italy. The revamped patio with a dualsided fireplace and new play structure will be completed by mid-July. Casual seating envisioned for adults will look out on the bocce courts, which will feature food and beverage service from Skipolini’s. Ipsen says Skip’s will open for lunch on weekends and says that the adjacent Canesa’s will be expanding their hours as well.
was scheduled for 10 a.m., but was pushed back several hours while the donor transplant teams were all assembled. At one point, after several hours of waiting, Kathy went down to the hospital cafeteria for a minute. On the ride back up, she shared the elevator with a medical team carrying two coolers. One said “heart”, one said “lungs.” That’s when she realized she was riding back up with Katie’s new organs. Katie Grace’s surgery took a little more than five hours; far less time than the 7-8 hours planned. Her surgery went “great, without a hitch and no complications,” John said. “Better than expected, and the best Father’s Day ever.” Katie’s recovery has also been remarkable, says the family. The second day after her surgery, she was off the ventilator and breathing on her own and despite the chest tubes and monitors, she sat up, smiled and
A BETTER-LOOKING CITY The CBCA is also about community improvement. The club provided the “Welcome” signs to the city and funded the beautification of Daffodil Hill. The club donated benches, garbage receptacles, and a gazebo in the Grove Park for the town center, a scoreboard in Clayton Community Park and the posting board in the courtyard of the Clayton City Office. It helped fund the Community Gym and co-sponsors the Saturday and Thursday night summer Concerts in the Grove.
See CBCA, page 13
waved and talked to nurses about what she wanted to do when she got out of the hospital – all days ahead of schedule. She will stay in the hospital as an in-patient for several weeks, maybe as long as three months. Then, Katie and the family will move to the Ronald McDonald House near the hospital, where she will continue her recovery. Katie Grace faces a lifelong regime of medications and vigilance. She will always be at risk for organ rejection and infection. Although the realist in Kathy says “we are really trading one disease for another,” the family is joyful, grateful to the donor and to the overwhelming community and worldwide support. “When God sends a miracle,” Kathy says. “He goes big.” To learn more about Katie Grace’s journey or to donate to Katie’s Dream for a Cure, go to www.gofundme.com/Katies-Dream
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