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November 2012 East Bay Sea Serpents
Serving Alamo and Diablo By Fran Miller
One of the area’s most highly regarded swimming programs is the result of serendipity. Several years ago, Special Olympics volunteer Joleen Silverfoote was helping at a basketball game when a fellow volunteer suggested she start a Special Olympics swim team. With no formal swim training, Silverfoote found the suggestion a little crazy. “But after several weeks of being cajoled, I would say the stars lined up all at the right time,” says Silverfoote. Eleven years later, the East Bay Sea Serpents swim program meets every Sunday afternoon at the Campolindo High School Soda Center, serving Special Olympicsregistered athletes primarily from the Lamorinda area and Diablo corridor. A large pool of volunteers, mostly students from the area’s high schools, runs the program. There is no cost to the athletes who range in age range from 6 to over 40.
Sea Serpent volunteer coaches Evan Wentzel (left) and Jack Garrett (far right) assist Kevin, a Sea Serpent athlete participating in the learn-to-swim program. Photo by Deanna Wentzel
“I never thought Sea Serpents would be a success,” says Silverfoote, a Moraga resident whose three grown daughters all participated as coaches. “But the program continues to be a win/win for both the athletes and our volunteers who are mostly high school swimmers and water polo players. They get as much, if not more, out of their experience as the participants do, and our athletes get the pleasure of working with teens they consider peers, to build not only swimming skills, but also pride, self esteem, confidence, and acceptance.”
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Thankful for Our Parks: They Nearly Never Happened By Jody Morgan Osage Station Park is a kaleidoscope of shifting patterns on a sunny fall Saturday as teams of girls and boys of various ages maneuver soccer balls on multiple fields of play. Witnessing a similar scene at Sycamore Valley Park last year while watching her grandson’s Livermore team competing in the Valley-wide soccer tournament, Sandy Myers recalls, “I overheard a discussion about how awful it was that Danville didn’t have more soccer Oak Hill Park’s All Wars Memorial Honors American
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Alamo Tree Lighting Festival Mark Your Calendars for Sunday, December 2nd The Alamo Chamber of Commerce will present the 2012 Alamo Tree Lighting Festival from 4:30-6:30pm, Sunday, December 2nd. The festival signals the beginning of the holiday season with an evening of caroling, entertainment, beverages, and crafts. Opening the program will be our new Supervisor, Candace Anderson. Students from local schools, elementary through High School, will then be performing some beautiful holiday songs sure to get us all in the spirit! Santa will be ready to hear the desires of the little ones and a photographer will snap a great picture to share. You can download a photo from his website for FREE or order professional prints from him. This year, Santa will arrive early and be ready at 4:45pm for pictures so all kids will have a chance to share their Christmas wishes. Fun arts and crafts will be available, various organizations will be represented, and beverages will be provided by local civic groups. Also participating is local community organization, Shelter, Inc. This amazing group is dedicated to help prevent homelessness and promote self-sufficiency among Contra Costa residents. It is an independent, charitable, nonprofit organization founded in 1986. They will be collecting money to buy toys for families in our area who cannot afford such treats for the holidays. There will be barrels set up for the Contra Costa Food Bank to collect non perishable items such as canned or boxed goods starting several days before in Alamo Plaza and will also be available the night of the event. If you are interested in helping with monetary donation or for more information, visit www.AlamoChamberofCommerce.com. We look forward to seeing everyone out to celebrate and to making this a fabulous and memorable event!!
On-ramp/Off-ramp Project Finally Beginning By Al Makely, Alamo Rotary For the past two years the Rotary Club of Alamo has been planning and working with Caltrans for permission to landscape and beautify the area around the on/ off ramps of I-680 and Stone Valley Rd. Construction on I-680 has prevented the project from starting earlier, but Rotary Volume XII - Number 11 has finally received permission, and work 3000F Danville Blvd. #117, will soon begin. The first phase of the projAlamo, CA 94507 ect will be extensive landscaping along Telephone (925) 405-NEWS, 405-6397 Fax (925) 406-0547 Stone Valley Rd. on both the west and east Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher sides of I-680. The goal is to get this area Editor@yourmonthlypaper.com planted, weather permitting, by the end of Sharon Burke ~ Writer November. In the Spring of 2013 Rotary sburke@yourmonthlypaper.com will also be decorating the green PG&E The opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and do not necessarily reflect that of Alamo Today. Alamo Today boxes alongside Stone Valley Rd. is not responsible for the content of any of the advertising
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