James H . Amos Jr . CEO , Mail Boxes Etc . says that Patrick Lencioni ’ s book “ The Five Dysfunctions of a Team ” is a must read for any leader that has come to grips with the fact that no one makes progress — much less succeeds — alone . This is a perfect way to begin my discussion on the leadership of the Gilroy Garlic Festival . The Festival founders , Rudy Melone and Don Christopher , had the vision and commitment while Val Filice had the culinary expertise . But the three of them knew from the beginning that they could not do it alone .

One can ask : “ How can the vision of the founders be sustained and new ideas be fostered over the years ?” Rudy ’ s prophesy was the need to change the leadership ( term limits ) on an ongoing basis . It was felt that it would bring new energy and new ideas to the board leadership .

By Sam Bozzo

Photos provided by the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association Bill Strange

To answer that questions , I started with this year ’ s President Dr . Dennis

Harrigan . He first became involved in the Festival in 1989 with Rod Kelley Principal Gene Sakahara ; their assignment was to hand out free water . Dennis refers to himself as a fungus because since 1989 he worked in signs for four years , served on the advisory committee , worked in Gourmet Alley and ultimately was recruited by Eleanore Workman to the Cook-Off Stage in 1992 . He was then elected to the board of directors , where he served as vice president and now president . Starting last November Dennis led the board of directors in setting goals while working with the previous board of directors to insure good communications . He and his wife , Renee , also a dedicated volunteer , are avid outdoor folks .

In 1979 , the year of the first Festival , Garlic

Festival Vice President Vito

Mercado was a courtesy clerk at Nob Hill Foods . In 1990 , he was promoted to store director . In 2000 , Mike Davis , a friend , recruited him to work in Gourmet Alley . They went on to become co-chairs of Gourmet Alley where they led the Gourmet Alley team in one of the highest grossing years in history of the Festival . Vito ’ s wife , Debbie , has been the chair of the demo stage in Gourmet Alley for the last 6 years . Vito uses his vacation time to work for the Festival , which takes at least the week of the Festival and the week following . Vito gets a great amount of gratification for viewing the accomplishments of the Festival . He is proud of the fact that the organization is volunteer driven and acknowledges it is that dynamic that is crucial to the Festival ’ s sustained success .

Vito , in referring to Patrick Lencioni ’ s book , says that the team of 100 that he directs at Nob Hill is really no different than what occurs with the Garlic Festival . Both succeed because they are human and work at putting an emphasis on trust , working through conflict , having commitment and accountability which are key to building ownership in the organization .

Steve Padilla Chairperson of the Garlic Festival Advisory Board , began his involvement with the Festival in 1984 when he sold beer and collected trash . Steve is very clear about his involvement in the Festival “ when called he will serve ” and that he has done ; beer , trash , signs , Cook-Off Stage , advisory board ( twice ) and now the board of directors . He says he will always find something to do . Steve brings great expertise to the Festival . He was the fire captain assigned to special events with the City of San Jose — Tapestry n Talent ( 80,000-90,000 ), Jazz Festival ( 90,000 ), and Heritage Festival ( 110,000 ) — were under his jurisdiction . Steve says those events are commercially driven as opposed to the Garlic Festival which is volunteer driven . He gets a great sense of satisfaction out of his involvement and he is not even a resident of Gilroy . He feels that the board setup is great for meaningful dialog even when there is disagreement . He notes that he wants to pass on what he has learned to the next set of volunteers .

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