Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The. Best. Party. EVER.


Friends, the VMC Foundation held our annual gala Saturday night, and I know I say this pretty much every year, but this one ROCKED.

If you've ever been to one of our events, you know the VMC Foundation will NOT do "chicken dinner at the hotel ballroom"...no offense to hotel ballrooms, or chickens. We find unique venues, like Club Auto Sport, to show off some of the most amazing cars in the world. We find the coolest entertainment, like Earth Circus - "Cirque" style performers who amazed our 450 attendees. I like the photo above, taken by Elisabeth Handler with her cell...blurry but magical.

We serve the finest wine, provided by Burrell School Vineyards. The best food, thanks to Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme. The best band, David Dumont's Li'l Big Band. The slickest auctioneer, attorney Richard Alexander. If you were there, then you know. If not, hey - come next year!

We do all of this for three reasons:

1. Our donors and supporters deserve a great party.
2. The VMC Foundation staff, especailly Gala Diva Judy Cosgrove, will not settle for less.

3. I go attend a zillion events every year, as many of you do...so I want ours to stand out. It did, and I thank everyone who made it happen. Go visit our Facebook page later this week to see the photos!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Reach Out and Read (with your Congressman)


The alert reader of the San Jose Mercury News may have seen the photo of Congressman Mike Honda reading to kids at Valley Health Center, East Valley, this week.

If not - even if so - here's the low-down: Our cool representitive wanted to see one of the VMC Foundation's best programs. So, we took him to our clinic on McKee Road where he met our doctors and nurses and staff who run the show...and run Reach Out and Read (click here to learn about ROR...it's the fourth program listed)

This fusion of health care and literacy is so powerful, and watching Mike Honda read to kids in fluent Spanish was a blast...in the photo above, he and David were reading about a cow who ate too many pears. Sounds like more fun than being shouted at by foes of your health care reform ideas.

It was also amazing to see how many people knew and liked Congressman Honda, everywhere he went. People would just run up to hug him or shake his hand. Makes me wonder how many other legislators are so well-loved in their districts. Thanks, Mike! Oh - here are more pictures too.