Morgan Hill Today 2013 06 Summer | Page 36

Recology
Message From John Horner Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce President & CEO

The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce is pleased and excited to be supporting the launch of our city ’ s newest publication : Morgan Hill Today . The opportunity to be a small part of this new publication featuring some of the best of what our city has to offer is exciting and gratifying . Your Chamber of Commerce has been very busy both improving upon what we have always done and launching new initiatives in support of our business community and larger community .

For example , our organization ramped up engagement with youth dramatically over these past two years as we spearheaded the successful “ Rock the Mock ” interview training program for local high school students , restarted in-school career days , celebrated the API score improvement achievements of Central High School with a blowout BBQ for the students and staff , drove the fundraising to bring Rachel ’ s Challenge to Morgan Hill and a whole lot more . During this coming year we will launch an after school program designed to train and support youthful entrepreneurs in getting their own business idea up and off the ground . Meanwhile , for the rest of the community , we are developing a robust small and mid-size business education program in order to improve the odds for those entrepreneurs ready to take the plunge .
Another upcoming program we are very excited about is the Non-Profit Board Members Summit on October 16th . We are grateful for the support and cooperation of the Mt . Madonna YMCA as we bring this much needed gathering to our community . Dr . Mary Hiland , a renowned expert on nonprofit board leadership , will help everyone better understand the roles and responsibilities of board members while engaging in a dialogue about what works , and what doesn ’ t . Those already involved as board members with any of our area ’ s countless non-profits , or who are considering doing so in the future , are encouraged to come learn from an expert and to enjoy learning from their fellow participants . There will be a nominal cost to participate in order to defray event expenses .
Thank you all for who you are and what you do in our community !

Recology

volunteers spruce up the Morgan Hill Community Park

On Saturday , May 4th , 171 Recology employees , their family members and friends joined together to spruce up the Morgan Hill Community Park . With wood mulch produced at their facility in Stockton and compost produced at their facility in Gilroy , they raked and shoveled over 500 cubic yards of recycled material . Before the morning temperature began to rise , Mayor Steve Tate thanked the group of volunteers for their efforts and stated he was looking forward to seeing the end results . Mike Sangiacomo , President and CEO of Recology , followed with a few words of encouragement before grabbing a rake and shovel to help spread the mulch and compost piles staged in the park .

Phil Couchee , General Manager of Recology South Valley remarked , “ The employee owners of Recology understand the importance of giving back and supporting the communities we serve . This is ingrained in the Recology culture .” Couchee went on to explain that beyond the ongoing local community volunteer projects sponsored by the various Recology subsidiaries throughout the year , this particular volunteer event drew supported from Recology employees as far away as Auburn and Yuba City , as well as from the South Bay and peninsula .
The group task list included spreading river rock ( donated by Peninsula Building Supplies in San Martin ) around the entrance sign ; planting 12 Oak trees ; planting numerous drought resistant plants ; spreading wood mulch in several open areas ; painting the entrance way curbs along with four baseball backstops in the north end of the park . Couchee stated , “ We prefer to include tasks that mirror our Company ’ s philosophy of being environmentally-friendly . For this reason , we included recycled wood mulch and compost from our own facilities . Additionally , we strive to minimize our carbon footprint by implementing sustainable practices and principles to create a zero waste event . For instance , after feeding the entire group following the event , less than one 32-gallon landfill-destined cart was full . The majority of the material was recycled or composted .”
The efforts of the Recology volunteers can be seen at the entrance area of the park off West Edmundson Avenue , the area surrounding the skate park , and the baseball fields on the north end .
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