Jan. 13, 2009

Jay Bedecarre, member of the Diablo FC Board of Directors, was honored this evening at the 22nd annual Human Relations Commission Awards & Recognition presentation at Concord City Council Chambers. Bedecarre was given the Lifelong Achievement Award for his community work, especially in youth sports.

Bedecarre has served as a founding board member of Diablo FC after being on the Diablo Valley Soccer Club board for many years, including three terms as president. He is co-founder of the Concord Cup youth sports competitions and is currently chairperson of Concord Cup XVI, which will be held May 16-17. He has been active in many community organizations. He lives in Clayton and has four children, including three sons who played in DVSC and MDSA.

He noted in accepting the award that he didn’t feel he was “age appropriate” for a Lifelong Achievement Award and perhaps his parents, who just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary and were in attendance, were better suited for such an honor.

He acknowledged his colleagues on the Diablo FC board and Concord Cup committee and stated “his name percolated to the surface” but it is a team effort to put on these events and run youth sports organizations and he was accepting in all their names.

Human Relations Commission chairperson Janis Hoyt presented Bedecarre with the award from the City of Concord and certificates from Congressman George Miller, Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, State Senator Mark DeSaulnier, State Assemblyman Tom Torlakson and County Supervisor Susan Bonilla. Concord Mayor Laura Hoffmeister and Vice Mayor Guy Bjerke were in attendance, as were Concord City Manager Daniel Keen and Director of Community & Recreation Services Joan Carrico. Diablo FC board members Rick Fox and Paul Kitchell along with Hope Fund director Leigh Kirmsse represented the club. Former Concord Cup liaisons from the City of Concord, Steve Voorhies and Danny Brown, were also there.

Coincidentally, both Susan Bonilla and Joan Carrico are parents of current or former Diablo FC players. Chairperson Hoyt is also a Diablo FC team manager and parent. Her two oldest sons, Chris and Stephen Wondolowski, are former club members and currently play in Major League Soccer.

The Human Relations Commission was formed in 1986 by the Concord City Council to foster a community where all persons can live, work and prosper in harmony, respecting each other’s differences. As Concord has become increasingly urban and culturally diverse, the city is provided with a wealth of human resources and opportunities. The Commission is committed to ending all forms of discrimination and to promoting appreciation of diversity. Each year the HRC honors individuals and organizations who have contributed to the betterment of human relations in our community in the categories of Community Involvement, Education and Awareness, Humanitarian, Lifelong Achievement, Youth Scholarship, Random Acts of Kindness and Women Making a Difference. The awards provide an opportunity to come together to celebrate Concord’s diversity, as well as recommit to the causes of unity, friendship and tolerance.

See the full list of 2009 HRC award winners.

Here is the text of the award information on Bedecarre:

Jay Bedecarre, a San Francisco native, moved to Concord as a child in the mid 1950s when his family opened a business in the new Park & Shop Center. He went to work as a Concord Transcript sportswriter while still at Mt. Diablo High School (and then Cal Berkeley)and later was part of the management staff when the Concord Pavilion opened in 1975. Jay and his wife Jill purchased a local advertising and public relations agency in 1987, where he continued to represent the Pavilion as well as a variety of other clients.

Jay co-founded the Concord Cup youth sports series with the City of Concord in 1994. He became involved with numerous local civic and non-profit organizations, including serving as president or chair of Concord Rotary Club, St. Agnes School Board, California International Sports Foundation, Mt. Diablo Hospital Foundation, MDUSD Measure A Committee and Diablo Valley Soccer Club. He was on the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce board for 7 years. Their advertising agency did a tremendous amount of pro bono work for all those groups and other charities including Bay Area Crisis Nursery, Contra Costa Food Bank and Make A Wish Foundation. Last January he became a founding board member of the Diablo Futbol Club and he also serves on the MDUSD Measure C Committee.

Jay is the epitome of a community member who gives back, making his community better through his efforts and providing a role model for young and old alike.

Nominated by Janis Hoyt

Locals honored for making a difference

Jan. 18, 2009

Residents of Concord and Clayton came together on Jan. 13 to honor recipients of the 22nd annual Concord Human Relations Commission awards, given for contributions that have improved the quality of life in the community.

Clayton resident Jay Bedecarré was given a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work promoting youth sports. Hans Wiesendanger received the Random Act of Kindness Award for his work on the meditation gardens on the grounds of St. Bonaventure Catholic Church at the Concord-Clayton border.

Bedecarré is not the average soccer dad. Since their eldest son started Little League 20 years ago, he and his wife Jill, who died in June 2007, brought volunteering in youth sports to a new level. "I remember the very first time I signed our oldest son up for Little League. I cringed at the idea of telling my wife about it – she just didn't have a sports orientation," said Bedecarré, who has a lifelong love of sports. "But the first game we went to for our first child, she turned the corner. The whole family got involved."

Developing the Concord Cup.

For most, volunteering in youth sports means putting together a carpool or working at the snack shack for the hours required to offset registration fees. The Bedecarrés, however, took volunteering much further. Almost immediately, they were involved in putting together the first Concord Cup youth soccer tournament – now in its 15th year.

That first year, the Concord Cup hosted 47 soccer teams from leagues throughout the area in an intra-league tournament. Bedecarré, who has a background in marketing sports events, was given the task of inviting leagues to participate. He described his naiveté at the task at hand: "What I didn't know was that they generally didn't get along with one another."

Bern Kurtz, another of the cup's original committee members, remembers the initial strife amongst the leagues. "Everyone was just so into protecting their own turf and fighting with each other over which kids would play in which program," he said. Kurtz credits Bedecarré's unflappability for his success in getting the groups to work together. "He's low-key, calm, reasonable. He tried to push the common benefits that would come out of this."

Bedecarré's hard work has paid off for the entire community. Since 1994, participation in the tournament has grown. Some years have had more than 100 teams participating. Teams pay a fee to enter; after expenses are paid, the funds go back to the leagues that sponsored the event. Since 1994, more than $100,000 has been donated to sports leagues in the community. Janis Hoyt, chair of the Human Relations Commission, nominated Bedecarré for the award. She described him as a motivator of others to do good things.

"He has so many connections in the community that he rallies people for a good cause," she said. "It's something as simple as sending a note that says, 'Come join us.' "

Spreading the good deeds.

The Dana Hills Swim Team, the Concord Rotary Club, Diablo Futbol Club, Diablo Valley Soccer Club and the Mt. Diablo Unified School District Measure A Committee are just a few of the many other organizations that have benefited from the Bedecarrés' energy and civic mindedness.

He has also worked behind the scenes toward making sports accessible for children from all walks of life. "He was very instrumental in making sure that the soccer organizations in this community were inclusive of all people from different socio-economic backgrounds," said Hoyt. "Jay always had a voice that said that we need to have financial scholarship. How can we make this something that all kids who have the talent can participate and not have cost be a roadblock?"

Bedecarré remained modest about his achievements at the award ceremony. "Somehow my name percolated to the top," he said. "But it really is the doing of a lot of people." He said that both volunteering and playing sports offer countless opportunities for learning. "There's a lot to be gained about learning that sometimes you lose and get up and try again and maybe succeed next time."

Finding that calm place.

Wiesendanger, meanwhile, has elevated the art of gardening. Called by some the garden angel, Wiesendanger came to work on the St. Bonaventure gardens in 1992, following his retirement. Bob Cartan, who started the garden, placed a notice in the church bulletin seeking a volunteer to help clean out weeds and finish landscaping the plants and it drew Wiesendanger's attention.

"When I volunteered here, I just couldn't stop!" Wiesendanger said. While the garden can be busy with strolling parishioners on Sunday afternoons, it is open to the public as well. Parents bring toddlers and students can be seen studying on the garden benches mid-week. Rev. Richard Mangini, a priest at St. Bonaventure, described the garden as "a place of refreshment and spiritual peace." "We all need calm sometimes," said Wiesendanger.

What started as a hobby blossomed into a full-time task and then into more work than two people could manage. Today, Wiesendanger and Cartan are assisted by 15 volunteers as well as Boy Scout Troop 444. The 1.2-acre oasis boasts magnolia trees, lavender bushes and 267 varieties of roses. A gazebo beckons bridal parties for portraits. A man-made creek is spanned by three bridges. And families have placed countless plaques throughout the gardens in memory of loved ones, including one in memory of Jill Bedecarré and another for Hans' wife Elizabeth. "In my country, there are cemeteries which are right behind the churches," Wiesendanger said. "Over here, our cemeteries are maintained 40 miles from the houses. This to me is the next best thing for our parishioners to have a memorial plant in the garden of our church."

Seeing their "angel" in distress while Elizabeth was bedridden, the community gave back to him. Volunteers came to the Wiesendanger home three times a week to give him time off to take part in the calm afforded by his gardens. Following Elizabeth's death in late 2007, Navlet's Garden Center stepped forward as well. "They gave me 600 daffodils in memory of my wife. They were all flowering in spring back there in the garden," Wiesendanger said.

More honorees.

Others recognized at the ceremony included the volunteers at the Monument Crisis Center and the Assistance League of Diablo Valley. David Cantando was given the Education and Awareness Award for his work on improving literacy. Gabriela Menchaca, a 17-year-old who has been volunteering since she was 8, was given the Youth Scholarship Award. Catalina Torres was given the Women Making A Difference Award posthumously for her efforts with victims of domestic violence.
Random Act of Kindness awards were also given to the Independent Living Resource for its work helping people living with disabilities and to Marlene Weiss, who has been an advocate for the mentally ill.
"When you volunteer, it's the best thing you can do in life," said Wiesendanger. "It will make you happy, make you content. Frown at the world and it frowns back. Smile at the world and it smiles back at you."

Reprinted from Clayton Pioneer
By Denisen Hartlove

Honors for community involvement

Jan. 15, 2009

Individuals and organizations known for such causes as helping youth and low-income families, and promoting literacy awareness were honored for their humanitarian efforts in Concord. Under the banner "Out of Many "... One Community," individuals and organizations were commended by the Concord Human Relations Commission for their volunteer service to residents at a Jan. 13 ceremony.
"We really got to see a diverse selection of people of all ages who have contributed their services to organizations that benefit the community," said Marla Parada, Concord recreation program manager. "The theme revolves around the fact that we are diverse community, yet we are one community together."

The Lifelong Achievement Award went to Jay Bedecarre for promoting youth sports. In 1994, he co-founded the Concord Cup youth sports series with the city of Concord. He became involved with many civic and nonprofit organizations, including the California International Sports Foundation and Diablo Valley Soccer Club. Last January he was a founding board member of the Diablo Futbol Club.

Volunteers from the Assistance League of Diablo Valley received the Humanitarian Award for their dedication to improving lives by providing schoolchildren with new clothes and shoes, presenting educational puppet shows, reading to and providing books to second-graders, and awarding scholarships to high school seniors and transferring college students. Monument Crisis Center volunteers received the Community Involvement Award for providing food and services to low-income families.

The Education and Awareness Award went to David Cantando for help improving literacy through the Concord Literacy Coalition. He organized Day at the Races in October to raise money for literacy programs through the support of the Rotary Club of Concord and Hilton Concord, where he is general manager. "We`ve seen test scores rise and received a lot of encouragement from the work we`ve done," said Cantando.

Gabriela Menchaca, 17, a senior at Ygnacio Valley High School, received the Youth Scholarship Award for civic involvement for volunteering with organizations like the Monument Community Partnership, and working as a recreation specialist in an elementary after-school program. She was named Outstanding Youth Citizen in Contra Costa County for 2008 by the Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organizations, and has also been involved as a youth mentor with Go Get It, which supports students in academics and college entrance. "Volunteering has a great outcome because it helps everyone in the community," said Gabriela, who plans to be a doctor.

The Women Making a Difference Award was posthumously given to Catalina Torres for helping victims of domestic violence and tutoring students. Torres grew up in Martinez, graduated from Alhambra High School, attended Diablo Valley College and Saint Mary`s College, and served with the Go Get It tutoring program. She volunteered with STAND Against Domestic Violence and helped others make a safe transition from victim to survivor. Torres lost her life defending others on Sept. 6, 2008, and the HRC honors her legacy of sensitivity, strength, and caring for her sons, family and community members.

Random Act of Kindness awards were given to Hans Wiesendanger, Independent Living Resource and Marlene Weiss. Since 1992, Wiesendanger has been volunteering as much as 40 to 50 hours a week maintaining the meditation and memorial garden at St. Bonaventure Church, clearing out weeds and caring for plaques and plants which memorialize loved ones. He said the award isn`t an individual honor. "This is a shared award with the Boy Scouts and the volunteers whom I call the Garden Angels and the St. Bonaventure community," Wiesendanger said. Independent Living Resource promotes full participation and inclusion of disabled persons through benefits and housing advocacy, community education, independent living skills, information and referral, internships, peer support, system change, youth transition, resume writing and job referrals. Weiss, a member of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Contra Costa County for more than 20 years, served as membership and fundraising chairwoman and two-term president. She increased awareness of services needed for people diagnosed with mental illness as well as family members struggling to cope with the needs of a child, spouse, or sibling. Weiss also marched in Sacramento at the state Capitol to make legislators aware of funds for services, housing and programs for people with mental illness.

Reprinted from Concord Transcript
By Janice De Jesus