Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Andrea Thomas (left) and Linda Floyd display some of the items from the gift bag for those who attended the Cattle Baron's Ball.

A Pair of Hearts

Teamwork helps these volunteers fundraise big time

By Mary Ann Cook

'I'm a team player," says Los Gatan Andrea Thomas, and that theme keeps cropping up as she recounts her adventures as a self-described "professional volunteer." She's headed up many a valley fundraiser in the past 20 years, and it would be hard to find another who could touch her for longevity and leadership in the volunteer category.

In today's climate, where those organizations that rely on volunteers are constantly struggling to find more willing workers, Thomas and her co-chair of the Cattle Baron's Ball, Linda Floyd, are something of an anomaly. Why do these two sing the praises of volunteerism when so many others would rather pay others to serve than volunteer their own time?

According to this pair, those who don't volunteer don't know the rewards inherent in the work, not the least of which is the people you meet. "I tell single friends, 'You're not going to meet anyone in a bar. Get involved,' " Thomas enthuses.

Floyd says, "The people I've met are one of the main reasons I'm this dedicated. Volunteer work is so rewarding and fulfilling. Volunteering opens doors."

"And it mushrooms: One thing leads to another," Thomas adds.

"We all know what needs to be done, where the trouble spots are in our community. When you volunteer, it's a personal validation," Floyd says.

By calling herself a professional, Thomas doesn't mean she earns money working on or chairing all these events. She's referring to professional qualities, such as tenacity, dedication and drive. Thomas has a degree from the University of San Francisco in organizational management, so even her academic work ties in with her pursuits. She married young, dropped out of Loyola University and finished up her degree when the children were in college.

The most recent project for Thomas and Floyd, the Cattle Baron's Ball, was a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Last year, the ball racked up the most money ever for a first-time event for ACS. The two had been chairwomen of different committees last year and knew they had their work cut out for them.

Now, after a year of joint chairmanship--planning, coordinating, accumulating auction items and country store prizes, working long weeks, long hours--the two are pleased that preliminary results indicate this year's event brought in more than $500,000, surpassing last year's tally of $435,000. "We earned more money that night than many businesses do in a year," Thomas says.

"We're not just joined at the hip. We're joined at the hip and shoulder," jibes Floyd about how closely the two worked together during this past year. "We made sure we each got all the faxes, all the correspondence, so that either of us could answer any questions raised."

"We play well off each other," adds Thomas. When one of them started to fade, the other could take over. They kept in constant touch, calling each other at 5 a.m. on weekends--quietly, so as not to disturb sleeping husbands. They are jointly planning a Christmas gift for their spouses.

So consumed were they with raising money at the recent benefit that they started bidding, unwittingly, against their husbands during the live auction. This was for the walk-on part on the TV show E.R., which eventually went to Los Gatans Orla and Kevin MacLean for $10,000.

In the midst of the bidding, Jerry Floyd yelled out to his wife (who was standing nowhere near him), "For god's sake, Linda, be quiet. That last bid was mine."

At another, unrelated benefit in May, the foursome bid on and won a train trip, and the two couples will be taking that mini-vacation together. They've been too busy to plot an appropriate time; in fact, they don't even know where the train's headed.

Thomas and Floyd have worked together before--on showcase mansions to benefit the San Jose Symphony, on Christmas trees decorated and sold to benefit Valle Monte ("and Linda wasn't even a member of Valle Monte," Thomas says with wonder in her voice) and on projects for Catholic Charities.

So they knew they clicked, worked well together. "Because we have the same value system, don't you think?" Thomas says.

That value system includes a strong work ethic, a devotion to particular causes and a commitment to enrich their community.

Floyd, in particular, isn't your standard volunteer because she has a job: she owns a design business and has for 10 years. Her client base is heavily Los Gatos-Monte Sereno-Saratoga. Before starting her own business she was co-owner of the French Connection, an upscale antique store in Los Gatos, for 11 years.

Despite the business demands, she determined to devote this year to raising money for cancer research. "I've had to turn down jobs, and I asked my clients to be patient, particularly these past two months."

"It's a cause we really believe in. We've both been personally hit by cancer, as who hasn't?" Thomas adds. That's why it's relatively easy to interest underwriters and corporate and individual sponsors in contributing money, products or services to the gala. Both individual and group donors here give a significantly higher percentage of support than do those in Texas or Florida, the two say. The event is based on those held in Texas and is exclusive to the American Cancer Society.

Thomas will be president of the Grand View League next year, the organization that sponsors the benefit. There are 110 members. She has been president of the Junior League and was at the helm when that group hooked up with United Way to create the Volunteer Exchange program, whereby nonprofits can match their needs with the skills and interests of those on the volunteer roster.

Thomas has been active in Valle Monte and Montalvo fundraisers. She headed up the Capital Campaign for the San Jose Diocese with her husband, Joe, a stockbroker with Merrill Lynch, a few years ago when the new diocese was carved out of the San Francisco diocese and had no capital cushioning.

"You have to give till it hurts in order to ask others to give. I've been surprised at the total of some of the checks I've written, but how can I ask others if I don't do it myself?" she asks. "I work hard and have a good life and inspire others to do the same. The community is only as good as you make it.

"I love to work with strong women. I'm invigorated by strong people. The energy that surrounds you in working with others for a common goal should be an attractive elixir." The boundlessly enthusiastic and demonstrative Thomas says, "I'm not hyper. That's just me. I thrive on flow charts, procedure, structure."

One of the legacies the Thomas/Floyd team leaves for those who head the ball next time (Saratogans Lynda Edjen and Zoe Alameda) is the principle of procedure. "We wanted to elevate the quality, make sure this event continues to be something we would be proud of in every detail," says Floyd. To that end there are no comp tickets, and sponsors are to be treated in a fair and equitable fashion. In short, no deal-making.

Floyd says she looks at the continuum of the ball leadership as a trampoline. "We bounced off last year's leaders. Now next year's leaders will bounce off what we've done."

The two have a good time with what they are doing for their community. "It's an old saw, but I want to put the fun back in fundraising," says Floyd. "Jerry and I wore bunny ears when we served Easter dinner" to the elderly in the Independent Aging program, an arm of Catholic Charities, Floyd recalls.

Thomas and her daughter made Easter baskets as favors for the elderly to take home. Besides candy, the baskets contained fruit, prunes, cereal and stuffed animals. Both women were active in programs that brought children and the aged together, and both families helped serve Easter dinners through a program no longer in existence.

"I like to help people help themselves," Thomas says. Thus, Independent Aging was a natural outlet.

Jerry Floyd is president of the board of Catholic Charities, and he and Joe Thomas were co-chairs of the Gentlemen's Committee for the Cattle Baron's Ball. Jerry Floyd is a principal in a family-owned insurance brokerage firm, and the Floyds live in Willow Glen.

They were high school sweethearts--he, captain of the football team; she, head cheerleader. "Makes our kids gag," she laughs. The Floyds' most recent addition and delight: a 2-year-old granddaughter.

In her other life as a designer, Linda Floyd transformed The Inn at Depot Hill in Capitola, the old railroad depot, into a B&B. The work she did there is still being cited in magazines such as Country Inns and Better Homes and Gardens. She was recently featured in a program on the House and Garden TV channel about work she did on a French-furnished Los Gatos house.

"I'm a visionary," Floyd says. "I'm used to working with floor plans. So when people said something couldn't be done, I could say with confidence, 'Yes, it will work,' and lay it out for them. During the ball people came up to me and said, 'This is exactly the way you said it would be a year ago.' " The Thomases' landscape gardener drew a scale plan of the Mirassou Vineyards site.

"I don't give up. I carry things through," Thomas says, citing tenacity as her strongest trait. "What might shake someone else doesn't shake us." The two together have enormous enthusiasm and energy and are both detail-oriented.

"We both believe in leading by example. I think we've inspired others to come after us. I believe you should do your part, then step aside so others can learn. It's only through direct experience that we learn," Thomas says.

Both are active in their churches, have strong family ties, are from Chicago and have a grown son and daughter. "I'm Italian. I'm demonstrative. I touch, I hug," Thomas says, hugging Floyd and urging a lemon cookie from an aunt's favorite recipe on her.

Now that their work on this project is nearly over, what next? Floyd will resume her business travels and will head for a design class at Oxford. Thomas will concentrate on her health, physical fitness and trimming down. "I have clothes for sizes from 5 to 14. I've been all those. I could clothe a sorority house," she laughs.

Maybe there'll be a breather, but it's a sure bet not much time will elapse before the next project is under way. And very little doubt about who'll be heading it up.

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