Pajaro Valley Magazine 11 11 2022

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Two women honored as veterans of the year

Adamski, Soto describe time in the service

By TODD GUILD

The two women nomi nated as veterans of the year for the Veteran of Foreign Wars Post 1716 and American Legion Post 121 say they chose to join the military for similar reasons: neither knew what they wanted to do when high school ended.

But once enlisted, both say they found a career that taught them life skills and gave them the discipline they carry to this day.

MAJOR HONOR American Legion Post 122 Veteran of the Year Barbara Adamski.

Both were honored Nov. 11 at the annual Veterans Day ceremony, with a parade beginning at St. Patrick's Catholic Church and ending at the Henry J. Mello Center.

American Legion Post 122 Veteran of the Year

Barbara Adamski reached the rank of Major during her service, which began in 1976 and lasted well beyond her discharge in 1980. She also served in the Army Reserve and the National Guard from 1996-2011.

Adamski underwent 17 weeks of training to be a Strategic Satellite/ Microwave Systems Operator, and was stationed in Iran from 1978-79, and in Korea in 1980.

She also attended nursing school, and worked as a surgical nurse at Hanscom Air Force Base, supporting Operation Iraqi Enduring Freedom.

She says she “stumbled into” the American Legion, and has since taken on a leadership role. That organization, she says, has seen declining membership, as few young people join.

That is troubling for an organi zation that provides veterans with hard-to-find camaraderie.

“You’ve gotta keep it going,” she said. “And it’s been a struggle. The majority of people who belong to the American Legion are in their 60s or above.”

Born and raised in Watsonville, Adamski says she met her husband in the military.

She was married in 1982 and moved to California, where her husband—a recruiter for the U.S. Army—convinced her to join the Reserves in 1996.

She was deployed to Afghanistan in 1999, where she worked as a med ical surgical nurse.

“It was the best for me,” she said of her time in the service. “It taught me a job. They paid for my education, they clothed me, they fed me. It was a good place for me.”

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1716 Veteran of the Year

As she neared the end of her time at Watsonville High School, Doreen Soto began to consider her post graduation options. One thing was clear, however.

“I wasn’t ready for college,” she said. “And I was wanting to serve other people. I thought, ‘you know what, I can see myself in a uniform.’”

She enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1998 and trained as a transportation specialist, driving vehicles ranging from forklifts to 18-wheel trucks to passenger buses.

The latter was her favorite, she says, because it afforded her the best opportunities to meet people of all stripes.

“Nobody outranks you on your bus,” she said.

This was a springboard for her current career with Watson ville-based Michaels Transportation, which provides school and charter bus services.

Her unit was deployed to Kuwait, where it was tasked with supporting military aircraft operations.

Soto occasionally wishes she stayed in the military, but says that having kids shifted her focus to wanting to be close to them.

Looking back on her experience, Soto says that the lessons one learns makes military service a good option for everyone.

“It’s not just serving in wartime in another country,” she says. “It’s the discipline you learn. And you see the world from a differ ent place when you do serve in the mili tary. It gives

you the bigger picture and makes you want to be a better citizen and feel grateful for what you have back home.”

1716

HOMETOWN STRONG Veterans of Foreign Wars Post

Veteran of the Year Doreen Soto.

Vets feeding vets

Veterans, Second Harvest Food Bank work together to ease hunger

By TARA FATEMI WALKER

People come togeth er every Wednesday at the Veterans Memori al Building (VMB) in Santa Cruz to serve the community.

Many military veterans can’t afford the food they need. The Santa Cruz American Legion Post 64, part of a nationwide veter ans’ service organization, and non profit Second Harvest Food Bank

(SHFB) work to ease this burden for local vets.

Post 64 hosts a free “pantry distribution” and hot lunch pro gram—open to all military vets, who are welcome to bring spouses or other family members—from 11am-1pm Wednesdays at VMB. SHFB and other community part ners including real estate business Sereno Group provide support.

Vets receive free groceries

HELPING OUT Ernie Soto (left) and Jan Graff are among the veterans of Santa Cruz American Legion Post 64 who volunteer every week to serve meals at the Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Cruz.

including fresh produce, bread/ bakery items, and pantry goods such as flour. With the hot lunch, people can eat onsite or take food to go. A recent lunch menu: bar becue pork sandwich (or vegetar ian organic bean and cheese bur rito), roasted potatoes, coleslaw, and dessert.

Jan Graff and D.V. “Gunny” Murawsky, both Vietnam War vet erans, run the programs and are Post leaders. Current Post com mander Graff served in the US Navy. Murawsky, who served as a Marine, is the Post Finance Officer; past positions include Commander, Adjutant and Judge Advocate.

to ride in vehicles. Also, a few of my classmates from Santa Cruz High’s class of 1962 come for the Pantry.”

The Post operated the Meals program at the County building on Emeline from 2011-2014 and has done this—plus the Pantry— at VMB since 2014. They’ve served more than 28,800 meals between the two locations in 11 years and distributed more than 21,600 Pan try bags since 2014.

“In addition, we have provided personal health and hygiene items, sundries and clothing,” Murawsky added.

Publication date Wednesday, December 21

Freezers and refrigerators have come from a variety of sources.

Reservation Deadline Friday, November 18

For programs to flourish, it takes many volunteers including vets Ernie Soto (a former U.S. Army combat medic, he has helped run the Wednesday pantry for years) and Craig Moeller (a U.S. Army vet who greets everyone in the lunch line by name and writes the menu by hand on a sign each week).

Electronic ad deadline Friday, December 2

Graff orders SHFB donations used for the pantry and lunch.

“If I order 500 pounds of food, SHFB provides free delivery,” Graff said. “They donate fresh produce, canned goods like peaches, refried beans, cereal, lots of stuff.”

Volunteers go to Costco, which donates items that can’t be sold due to visual imperfections. Oroweat provides bread each week.

“We set this donation up through Post member Gary Castiglioni, who also helps cook lunches,” Murawsky said.

All the chefs who help are vol unteers. Murawsky regularly drives to San Jose to buy restaurant sup plies and food at three wholesale locations.

The number of lunch and pan try participants varies. On one Wednesday in October, 71 came for lunch and 62 visited the pantry including a 98-year-old WWII vet.

“There are a couple Korean War vets in their late 80s and many Vietnam vets,” Graff said. The rest are from more recent wars and deployments.”

Graff says gets a lot of satisfac tion out of helping other veterans.

“Some only have a hot plate to cook on, others live on the street. We had one vet that lived in Boul der Creek who walked to Santa Cruz every Wednesday for the hot meal and the Pantry. He didn’t like

“Recently, Second Harvest Food Bank secured a grant and pur chased a brand-new refrigera tor,” Murawsky said. “We also have one refrigerator that Home Depot donated. Years ago, the Santa Cruz Women’s Club was disbanding and generously used their remaining funds to buy a stove for the Post’s kitchen.”

The Post aims to take care of veterans and their families.

“Our salaries are nil, but the gratitude we receive is the coin of the realm,” Murawsky said. “Our motto is ‘Still serving America.’ We also run school award programs and boys’ and girls’ state programs.”

SHFB Agency Network Man ager Mike Kittredge says everyone at SHFB works hard to ensure that 80 partner agencies—including the American Legion Post 64—succeed as they distribute food to Santa Cruz County residents in need.

“Upon visiting the Post, I was moved by the unconditional sup port the Post leadership and vol unteers showed fellow veterans,” Kittredge said. “It made me think how much my father, a Korean War vet, would have benefited from a community like the one at Post 64.”

On Oct. 17, the Food Bank held a conference for partner agen cies, “Sowing the Seeds of Hope: Addressing Systemic Food Insecu rity in Our Communities.” Sessions included Rethinking and Sharing Best Practices for Participant Suc cess through Pantry Distribution Practices.

“One of the many great lead ers of American Legion Post 64, Gunny, attended this conference and contributed to its success in preparing our partners to ➝ 8

Publication date Wednesday, December 21

Reservation deadline Friday, November 18 Electronic ad deadline Friday, December 2

VETS FEEDING VETS 7

think about and address food inse curity in new and creative ways,” Kittredge said.

SHFB has two vets on staff. Brent Anderson, a Vietnam War veteran who served in the Navy for three years, is Safety Coordina tor. He makes sure food handling is done in a safe and sanitary man ner. Anderson, who joined SHFB’s staff in 2018 after volunteering for a year, enjoys working with SHFB team members to provide safe, nutritious food to the community.

“There is a level of dedication to our customers I’ve never experi enced,” he said.

Being a veteran informs his work, he added.

“I think about how many vets are homeless and in need of food or just companionship,” Anderson said. “I know the work the Food Bank does reaches some of them.”

Veteran Brandon Coffin has been SHFB’s Facilities and Safety Director since July 2022. He man ages the facility support staff and leads the Food Safety and Occupa tional Safety Programs.

Coffin’s military service in the Marines had a major influence on his career, serving as a die sel mechanic. When training a unit of reserve combat engineers, he “… really started getting into

occupational safety and developed a passion for finding safer work processes.”

On Oct. 10, Coffin directly wit nessed the impact of SHFB’s work.

“There was no better feeling than when I helped at my first drive-through distribution,” he said. “Being able to provide food in a huge way to community mem bers—including vets—reaffirmed my decision to join this team.”

More than 1,000 individuals and families received free food at the Oct. 10 drive-through at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, the first of several extra food dis tributions SHFB added at the fair grounds to meet increased needs. Remaining drive-throughs are Nov. 21, Dec. 5 and 19.

American Foreign Legion Post 64, 846 Front St., Santa Cruz

Interested in donating or volunteering? Contact sclegionpost64@gmail.com, 708.8511, or Jan Graff at jangraff@hotmail.com

Second Harvest Food Bank, 800 Ohlone Parkway, Watsonville

Interested in donating or volunteering? Contact 722.7110 or volunteer@thefoodbank.org

REACHING THOSE WHO SERVED Brandon Coffin (left) and Brent Anderson are two veterans on the staff of Second Harvest Food Bank.

A

This Royal Oaks home sitting on two-and-a-half acres is close to Elkhorn Slough.

Located at 14140 Campagna Way, the 1,736-square-foot home includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Inside, the remodeled kitchen features new appliances. The home also has a wood-burning stove, a sun room, and bamboo

flooring throughout, along with new carpet in the bedrooms.

Outside, the newly expanded deck is partially covered. The property is also equipped with a tree house, a carport, workshop, greenhouse and more.

The home, built in 2005, is listed at $889,000 by Bailey Properties. For information, visit bit.ly/3UjYHMd.

Real Estate of Mind

Provoking thought since 1990

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Real Estate of Mind

Provoking thought since

1990

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It’s not easy to understand the real estate market, or describe what it’s doing, or track which way it’s headed, or guess how it might change. There are just too many factors floating around in the mix out there, clogging the ether with expert opinions, disparate data and blatant hypeall offering way too little local and personal context to do anyone much good.

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Rarely does that firehose of information aimed at our heads deliver a drop of insight clear enough to help an individual buyer/seller make a sound, real-life decision. In fact, the deeper down the rabbit hole of TMI you go, the harder it gets to discern anything useful. Often less information is more when it comes to figuring out the market.

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But, after thirty years of swimming around in the deep end of the market milieu, riding out a few perfect storms and precipitous waves along the way, through osmosis, all that exposure has taught me a few basic truths about the market.

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One is: the market is an incredibly honest feedback mechanism, as long as you’re willing to look at what it’s doing and hear what it has to say. That’s a huge caveat when it comes to your own house, of course. It’s always easier to turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to anything that hits too close to home. (Which is why so many Realtors are their own worst clients when they try to buy or sell their own homes.)

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One way to imagine the market is that’s it’s a mirror that’s constantly reflecting back the vast web of thoughts, feelings and actions that are playing out all around us in real time. Homes are physical places we live in that have roofs, walls and windows. But they are also emotional spaces to occupy and populate with less tangible tenets like comfort, security and refuge.

In a way, the market operates like a huge tote board that’s continuously tabulating the sum total of the cumulative decisions, big and small, that all of us make. It doesn’t hold back. It doesn’t feel sorry for anyone. There’s no such thing as “fair.”

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You can’t out-think it or trick it.

And you can’t time it, even though some people who got lucky in the past are convinced that they knew exactly what they were doing when they made their last move. Sometimes waiting is worse than moving forward, and other times not waiting has unexpected consequences. It is only through hindsight that you find out which was which.

Tom Brezsny

Realtor® DRE #01063297 831-818-1431 getreal@sereno.com

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Next week we’ll take a look at the very honest feedback that the market is giving us right now.

PAID ADVERTORIAL

Tom Brezsny

Realtor® DRE #01063297 831-818-1431 getreal@sereno.com

Tom Brezsny’s

Tom Brezsny’s

CAMPAGNA WAY This Royal Oaks home features a newly expanded deck.

PHOTO GALLERY

A GOOD DOUSING An irrigation system drenches an artichoke crop on a farm in Watsonville.

HANGING OUT Shorebirds gather in the shallows of Corcoran Lagoon in Santa Cruz.

AUTUMNAL Grape vines at Alfaro Family Vineyards & Winery in Watsonville burst with fall colors.

Johanna Miller

Tarmo Hannula