Greetings friends,
First off, I want to share by deepest gratitude to the American Legion Post 74 for the honor of being named “Citizen of the Year”. This is something that was truly unexpected and it is a recognition that means a lot to me and my family, but most importantly, it shows the value of teamwork and friendship. No one alone can make a difference without the support of family and friends who share goals and dreams. I am so very grateful for the people in my life that share some of these crazy visions and believe that we can all make our community better by thinking bigger, aiming higher and building better connections and friendships. Deepest thanks to my friend Al Menshew for always showing that you can get involved, lend a hand and accomplish things and have a great time doing it. He is truly an inspiration. Thanks also to Dick Hagerty, last years’ recipient for his wonderful column in the Modesto Bee. If you haven’t read it, you can check it out here. www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/community-columns/article232422542.html Thanks to the team at Sierra Pacific Warehouse Group. I am fortunate to have the support of my company to be able to get involved in our community. Most of all, I want to thank my family for always supporting and participating and most of all my wife Rebecca, for without her, my life would be so different. Thank you all so much.
What is crazy is that it is back to school already. I mean really, August? But this is where we are, and it’s time to get back at it. Education is so very important and education means so many different things. We have a very diverse population and abilities and we are working hard to make sure students are ready for the future, a future that needs to include more good jobs here in our area. There are so many opportunities to get a unique public school education and that’s why we wanted to feature our Stanislaus County Office of Education Superintendent Scott Kuykendall. I hope you find this interview as interesting as I did.
You know that ModestoView is all about the food and drink in our area and we are very proud to be showcasing the new Fina Restaurant by John Surla in Ripon. John was our very first chef interview when I started printing ModestoView back in 2006. It is so great to see what John has accomplished and we celebrate this new venture.
But what is really important, is that our community work together, support our locally owned business and champion our locally created ideas and make this all work together to make a better community. There are good ideas in many places. We need to embrace the creative thought, and put it all to work to create the place we call home and make it exciting for both our own citizens and visitors. That’s why the ModestoView mission has never wavered and still remains to “Serve Civic Pride Daily”. Our ViewCrew, that scours the region for the most interesting happenings each day and in each monthly issue, is really an amazing group of people that really share this mission. The more we love our city, the more the word will get out and everyone else will be in on the secret. I know we can do this.
Finally, I hope you come out to see my band Third Party rock the Music in the Plaza on Aug 2 and thanks to those that are coming to the Citizen of the Year event on August 3rd. I am thankful to all that go the extra mile, create the next idea and then bring us together to make it happen.
Best to you all,
Chris Murphy – Founder and Publisher, ModestoView
chrism@modestoview.com<mailto:chrism@modestoview.com>
Captions: Thank you to the former Citizens of the Year, Al Menshew and Jeremiah Williams for the confidence to let me join this wonderful group of civic volunteers.
