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 by Scott Wong, Staff Writer
Fremont Argus
July 8, 2005
FREMONT —
Celebrate Fremont, the community group
planning the city's 50th birthday bash next year, hit the jackpot at a recent
invitation-only fund-raiser, when about 20 local businesses gave more than
$450,000.
Contributions from a number of other donors — including New United Motor
Manufacturing Inc. and the city, which kick-started the fund-raising campaign
earlier this year — put the total amount raised for the celebration close to
$500,000. Organizers are hoping to collect $750,000.
Some donors
also have pledged to provide space for
future fund-raising events, print T-shirts
and programs, and donate water and other
supplies.
Since January,
an army of volunteers has been planning for
the main event, a two-day party called
"Celebrate Fremont
@ The Park" set for Sept. 9-10, 2006, in
Central Park. The city turns 50 on Jan. 23.
Those leading
the planning efforts were "humbled and
overwhelmed" by the donations, announced
last week at a fund-raiser dinner at
Massimo's restaurant.
"All the
planning we have done and reaching out to
the community to get ideas is great, but if
we don't have funding to
carry out those plans, then they are just
great ideas and great concepts," said
Fremont business consultant Irene Koehler,
chairwoman of the group's executive steering
committee. "This makes a reality of what we
were all envisioning."
Dale Hardware,
Fremont Bank and other corporate donors have
a storied history and deep roots in Fremont.
Others, such as Pan Pacific Bank and The
Saddle Rack, are relatively new in town but
say they are quickly becoming part of the
community.
"We're very
happy we made the choice to come to
Fremont," said Andy Buchanan, co-owner of
The Saddle Rack, which served line dancers
and country music enthusiasts in San Jose
for a quarter-century before moving to
Fremont in 2003. "Our employees enjoy it as
well as our customers, and donating was the
right thing to do for the city of Fremont."
Jack Brooks, a
developer and property manager whose Fremont
company built nearly 25,000 houses in
neighborhoods such as Ardenwood, Sundale and
Brookvale, said he gave $50,000 to
celebration efforts because he's played such
a major role in the city's development.
"I've been in
business with an office in Fremont for over
50 years, so I've seen the city grow from
20,000 people to what it is now," said
Brooks, who in the mid-1950s helped form the
committee to incorporate the city and calls
himself the "midwife" of Fremont. "And I
will continue to do business in Fremont."
For
information about Celebrate Fremont or to
donate, call (510) 790-9352 or log on to
http://www.celebratefremont.org.
Staff writer
Scott Wong covers the city of Fremont for
The Argus. He can be reached at (510)
353-7002 or
swong@angnewspapers.com. |
