Photograph by Mark Kocina
Los Gatos' best waitress, Pam Manes, always serves food with a smile at Gilley's. Manes lives in town and has waited tables in several places before coming to Gilley's, which she says has a real 'family' feel.
Best of Los Gatos 2001: People at Work
Some of the world's most selfless professions can be found in this category, where people work long and often difficult hours for the sake of making the world a better place for others. Where would we be without firefighters and police officers to guard our personal health and safety and the integrity of our homes and property? Likewise, where would future generations be without the teaching and guidance provided by school teachers and clergy? Even bartenders have earned praise for providing therapeutic listening ears for patrons' woes.
People at Work also takes in more standard, but no less hard-working, professions as well, including that of eager-to-please waiter and waitress, intrepid mail carrier, whimsical hair dresser and no-nonsense plumber.
Best Accountant
Eric Childs
Los Gatans have voted Eric Childs, one of their homegrown boys, as the best accountant this year. Childs grew up here, went to Daves Avenue School, Fisher Middle School and Los Gatos High School.
His business is a one-man Certified Public Accountancy on N. Santa Cruz Avenue. "By staying by myself, I can keep things personalized," he says. When things get hectic during tax season, his wife also helps out.
Childs had been in business for 20 years. He started in San Jose, but in 1996 he moved his business back to his hometown. He specializes in individual taxes but also does accounting for small business, partnerships and corporations. He says he has clients from all over Santa Clara County.
Eric Childs, CPA, 250 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.395.2777
Best Chiropractor
Thomas Bloink
It's not just the Hawaiian shirts Thomas "Tom" Bloink wears nine months out of the year, his theme rooms and artwork or his great sense of humor that Los Gatans like. "He's warm-hearted and cares about his patients," Bloink's receptionist says. And Bloink says he won't let a patient out of his office until he's helped them.
But there's more. Bloink specializes in craniopathy, which means in addition to regular chiropractic treatment, he adjusts the bones of the head which he says frees up cranial nerves so they can do their work properly. Bloink says he's successfully treated all kind of problems with this treatment.
He says he integrates his care with traditional medical doctors, too, especially dentists and orthodontists. Bloink says traditional medicine and holistic medicine can work better together than they do apart. He should know, as he gets many referrals from doctors. Among those Bloink treats are several Grammy-winning bands, including Spyro Gyra and the Rippingtons.
Thomas Bloink, D.C., 431 Monterey Ave., 408.395.8006
Best Waitress
Pam Manes
"I must love it. I've been doing it for 32 years," Pam Manes says about being a waitress. She's also the waitress Los Gatans have dubbed this year's best.
The attractive blonde with a warm smile and ponytail down to her waist has been waiting tables at Gilley's for the last seven years. Customers say her mood is always up and friendly. "She deserves the title," one customer says. "She's fun!" another says.
"In this job, I get to know everyone in town," Manes says. "There's nothing boring about this job."
Over the years, Manes has done banquets, cocktail parties and worked in fancy restaurants. She and her late husband worked together at the Brave Bull in San Jose, and at Mimi's Rooftop Cafe in Old Town. He also worked with her for a time at Gilley's. Manes served meals at the Diner of Los Gatos for five years as well.
She hails from Southern California, where she was once a waitress at the upscale Balboa Bay Club in Carona Del Mar. There she served celebrities like John Wayne and Joey Bishop. But Manes likes the small-town atmosphere of Los Gatos and has been working and living here for many years. She says she loves the family feeling among the staff at Gilley's.
Pam Manes at Gilley's, 47 N. Santa Cruz Ave.,408.354.9710
Best Waiter
Brian Wood
"Brian did a great job tonight," customers often tell Larry Stepek, general manager at Café Marcella. Apparently, Los Gatans think enough of Brian Wood's service that they came out this year to vote him best waiter. Stepek says Brian is his most requested server.
Wood is an athlete and swimmer, tall and imposing, but Stepek says he's genuine and helpful, and customers like his personal service. "He's the consummate server," Stepek says. He explains that Wood was a server for 16 years at Emile's restaurant in downtown San Jose before leaving to try new ground.
Stepek took over Café Marcella a year ago and was thrilled when Wood decided to come to work for him. Wood, who works both lunch and dinner shifts, has been serving at the bistro for some nine months.
Brian Wood at Café Marcella, 368 Village Lane, 408.354.8006
Best Salesperson
Crosby (the dog)
So why couldn't a four-legged blond be best salesperson? Err... salesdog. A good salesperson draws customers into a store and makes them feel comfortable, so they will hopefully spend money. Eighteen-month-old Crosby, a strapping, 90-pound golden retriever who likes to plop down by the diamond case, does just that.
"Customers come into the store just to see Crosby," Diane Disbrow, co-owner of The Yellow Brick Road jewelry store says. Gary Shepcaro, the other owner, adds, "Crosby greets everyone."
The couple/owners who've sold jewelry in Los Gatos for some 25 years say some people bring toys to Crosby. They say parents bring children in to play with him while they peruse the store's gems, and everyone heads for Crosby's bone-shaped toy chest next to the back counter for a toy to toss at the long-haired pooch.
With Crosby around, Disbrow, who has a master's degree in counseling, says people don't feel intimidated by a jewelry store. "Crosby makes things seem more laid-back," says Shepcaro, who once dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. Disbrow claims Crosby keeps everybody's blood pressure down.
Although he's mellow during the day, Shepcaro says, at night Crosby runs through the Los Gatos Mountains with his girlfriend dog. Shepcaro and Disbrow have lived in the mountains since 1978 and have always had a golden retriever.
Crosby at The Yellow Brick Road, 17 N. Santa Cruz Ave. 408.395.9225
Best Personal Trainer
Ron Manicki
Los Gatans have voted Ron Manicki best personal trainer for three of the four years he's been in business in town. When Manicki started as a personal trainer 16 years ago, there were just a few around. Now it's big business.
Manicki says there are nine personal training facilities within five miles of his building. "That only shows there's a need for fitness services," says Manicki. The tag line for his business--The Fitness Group of Los Gatos--is "personal training at its best." He says his job is to motivate, educate and inspire his clients to keep on training because he believes fitness is a journey, not a destination. "You have to keep fit all your life," he says.
His facility offers three levels of personal training: one trainer to one client, one trainer to two clients and the group circuit. The group program is like aerobics with weights, he says, and the entire group moves from station to station together.
Manicki credits his staff for much of his success. His dream is to open the Fitness Groups in many of the cities of the Bay Area.
Ron Manicki at The Fitness Group of Los Gatos, 16905 Roberts Road, 408.356.5717
Best Letter Carrier
Mary Doll
"It's always a good day for Mary," one Los Gatos customer says. "She's never down."
After 10 years of lugging any manner of catalogues, letters, parcels, cards and junk mail to her downtown Los Gatos customers, Doll has kept her happy disposition. Maybe that's because of her off-duty life. Doll and her letter carrier husband spend lots of time in the great outdoors camping. The adventurous couple has also traveled to places like Nairobi, Switzerland, Egypt, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Peru's Macchu Picchu ruins. And the twosome will be off again in December for Mexico's train ride through Copper Canyon.
Doll has been a Los Gatos mail carrier for the last 17 years and has the distinction of being the letter carrier model for one of the cute little caricatures on a cartoon map of Los Gatos.
Best Grade School Teacher
Julie Thomas
In first grade teacher Julie Thomas' classroom, activities flow into one another without missing a beat. During the morning opening at Daves Avenue School, when Thomas and her first-graders do roll call, review instructional material, sing songs and salute the flag, the students don't notice the transition between activities because they're so engaged in what they're doing, says principal Susan von Felton. And, von Felton says, the whole day is like that.
"[Thomas is] enthusiastic and energetic," von Felton says. "She truly believes in what's best for kids, and makes her decision about learning [while] keeping the whole child in mind. She's an all-around exemplary teacher and has a good rapport with the incredible teachers at this school."
Thomas, a native Los Gatan who has taught at the school for six years, graduated California State University, Chico with a degree in hotel management. But after working in that field, she found her true calling, and obtained a teaching credential from San Jose State University.
Photograph by Paul Myers
Officer Leyton Howard (in car) and Captain Duino Giordano tied for the title of Los Gatos' best police officer. Howard is very visible in town in his role as school resource officer; Giordano is a Los Gatos native and a 30-year veteran of the local police force.
Best Cop (Tie)
Captain Duino Giordano
Officer Leyton Howard
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Capt. Alana Forrest says that her colleagues who tied for best cop are both "shining lights of the department." "They're compassionate; they're caring," she adds.
Officer Leyton Howard, a Los Gatos High School grad, joined the department in 1988 after being with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office for five years. Howard is the school resource officer in the department; he teaches D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) to elementary school students, works at Fisher Middle School and is on the high school campus on a part-time basis.
"It took 18 years for me to get the best job," says Howard, who lives in Willow Glen with his wife and two children.
Captain Duino Giordano, a Los Gatos native says that although 99 percent of his time is spent in the office, he still enjoys working with and meeting different people. The 30-year veteran of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department still trains the SWAT team, which he was once a part of, and supervises the reserve officers and the Disaster Aid Response Team. Giordano, a father of two, was promoted to captain in 1993.
Best Firefighter
Bruce Ingle
Bruce Ingle says that what drives him is a love for the community. Los Gatos, he says, is "the best place to work in the whole county--it's a great town full of great people." For 23 years, this Bay Area native has been able to live and work in the town he loves so much, by being a firefighter and volunteering at local schools.
"Everything you do is to help the community and help people out," he says. "I can't imagine doing anything else." Ingle says that firefighters are naturally liked in the community because of their work, and after the tragic events of Sept. 11, people have been even nicer to the firefighters.
In addition to his job, Ingle is also involved in Daves Avenue School and Fisher Middle School, where both of his children are students. Ingle participates in the Community Read-In, Career Day, volunteers in the classroom and gives kids tours of the fire department. Those activities, combined with his residence in Los Gatos, make him very visible to the public.
Best Middle School Teacher
Clyde Laird
In Clyde Laird's classroom, animals are the best teachers. The room is filled with animals--snakes, frogs, fish and insects, just to name a few. There's even a black widow, which was found in the principal's office last year. Laird, who teaches seventh-grade life science at Fisher Middle School, believes that students can learn about life first-hand by observing the animals themselves.
His students also engage in a lot of experiments, which, according to Principal Ken Lawrence-Emanuel, appeals to 12- and 13-year-olds. "Kids this age don't want to be sitting in their chairs, watching or listening to it. They want to be doing it," Lawrence-Emanuel says.
Laird has taught at the school for more than 30 years, and had a lot of his students' parents as students. "He's a fixture around here," Lawrence-Emanuel says, adding that Laird remembers every student he's ever had.
Best High School Teacher
Ann Martyn
Freshman and senior English teacher Ann Martyn takes her stage experience to the classroom. The Los Gatos High School teacher, who performed and wrote songs after she finished college at UC-Irvine in 1987, loves drama, and often has her students give oral presentations, conduct mock trials and read plays.
Martyn, who started an honors thespian society at the school for advanced drama students, also participates in skits during Spirit Week and other school events.
Although she has only taught at the school for three years, the LGHS graduate knows the community and is comfortable in it. Principal Trudy McCulloch says Martyn didn't go through some of the pains that other beginning teachers usually go through, and that she picked up the profession quickly. "Sometimes, you have teachers who are meant to be teachers," McCulloch said. "She had a comfort level right from the beginning."
Photograph by Paul Myers
St. Luke's Episcopal Church is the first parish the Rev. Andrea Felsovanyi has served, but it's obviously a good match, since readers voted her the best member of the clergy. Along with giving sermons, she enjoys getting to know parishioners and ministering to their emotional and spiritual needs.
Best Member of the Clergy
Rev. Andrea Felsovanyi
Some years ago, Andrea Felsovanyi left her job as a lawyer in Washington, D.C., and went to a seminary to become an Episcopal minister.
Now in her first parish at St. Luke's in Los Gatos, Felsovanyi is the congregation's people person as the coordinator of outreach and children's ministries.
St. Luke's Rector David Breuer says Felsovanyi is the "first line of reception" as new people become interested in the parish. And she's the first to hear about parishioners' health and emotional needs, before going out to minister to those needs.
In addition to her outreach work, Felsovanyi also carries an equal load with Breuer in preaching Sunday sermons. In sermons, says organist Dick Coulter, "She speaks the truth."
The Rev. Andrea Felsovanyi, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 20 University Ave., 408.354.2195
Best Artist
Claire Burke
At the tender painting age of 28, Claire Burke has gained a foothold in the small but competitive gallery world of Los Gatos. Her landscapes-in-oil paintings hang on the walls of the Los Gatos Company. Gallery owner Marnie Bivetto says her fellow Los Gatos merchants have a discerning eye for talent, so a slot anywhere in town is an honor.
"She's not a flash in the pan," says Bivetto of Burke. "She's got staying power."
Burke's paintings are a flash of color that catch the vibrant California light, and she's had plenty of time to study the hues of the Golden State as a recent graduate student at UC-Berkeley's program in fine arts.
Bivetto says Burke's style lies somewhere in the strain of the California Plein Air School, although Burke paints in her studio, unlike the on-site painters of the Plein Air School.
Claire Burke at Los Gatos Company, 17 1/2 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.354.2433
Best Real Estate Agent
Lucy Wedemeyer
Lucy Wedemeyer, an agent for Coldwell Banker, is willing to go to any lengths to help clients sell their homes, and commandeers anyone she can to help. Even the football players at Los Gatos High School find themselves moving trees and planting flowers for her clients. Wedemeyer stays late helping clients and even brings items from her own house. She owns an arbor that keeps showing up in gardens around town.
"I sign my clients up first," Wedemeyer says, laughing, "because sometimes, when we get all done fixing up their house to sell, the owners want to stay." Wedemeyer loves to go from start to finish with her clients. If sellers don't want to make changes in their house, then she works with the buyers on what they can do with a house while still getting a good deal. Throughout the process, Wedemeyer builds relationships with sellers, buyers and other real estate agents, so years later they come back to her.
Wedemeyer is also known nationwide because of the work she and her husband Charlie--who has ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's Disease)--have done to help others with the same disease. The couple's story has been the subject of a PBS documentary and a CBS television movie. They've also appeared on the Oprah show and wrote the autobiography Charlie's Victory.
Lucy Wedemeyer at Coldwell Banker, 449 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.355.1500
Best Developer
Dave Zicovich
Dave Zicovich knows the words "best developer" curdles the blood of locals who oppose runaway growth. If he had his way, his local operation might be classed in the "Best Construction Firm" category.
"In fact, we don't do much development," Zicovich says, referring to the large land buys and re-zoning development firms might undertake.
What Zicovich, 43, does do--building large estate homes in the West Valley--he does well, according to voters who overwhelmingly declared the Saratoga developer the best in Los Gatos. He has a long list of positive references on the Internet to show for it and the only effect he says he's seen from the economic slowdown is "we're turning away less work than we used to."
Often, he says, people come looking for him if they've had a bad experience with builders in the past and they want a project "done right."
Zicovich Construction, P.O. Box 2735, Saratoga, 95070. 408.399.0606
Best Local Band
dredg
With gigs across the country, a contract with the national Interscope label and its 1999 album Leitmotif re-released nationally last month, the designation as Los Gatos' finest might seem a little small for dredg--yes, the lowercase is intentional. But locals refuse to let go of their favorite sons: Los Gatos High School graduates Dino Campanella (drums), Mark Engles (guitar), Gavin Hayes (vocals) and Drew Roulette (bass).
Gatans' dig dredg's lyrical sounds and the opportunity to spy band members occasionally at The Great Bear coffeehouse.
The group has continued to tour from late summer into fall, from Vancouver to St. Louis. For most of the past few weeks, the foursome teamed up with Alien Ant Farm and Pressure 45, which joined dredg on a number of twin bills in September.
The band has also branched out into movie-making in the past year, putting together a silent stream-of-consciousness narrative called--surprise--Leitmotif: The Film. The production features Los Gatos high grad John Fisher.
Even with the new creative ventures, the band's music hasn't suffered. In fact, it's planning to release a new album on its new label this spring.
dredg, www.dredg.com or 1.800.971.5923
Best Bartender
Ray Dorst
He's not flashy behind the bar, and with dark hair and a beard, 45-year-old Ray Dorst looks more like a symphony conductor than a hotshot bartender.
But week after week, for the last 20 years, the regulars have come back to see Dorst--lately at the Los Gatos Brewing Company--because he has that air of sophistication.
"He reminds me of a New York bartender," says Dennis Bennett, one the weekly regulars at Dorst's bar and a Big Apple native. "He's just real sharp."
Dorst has called Los Gatos home for most of his life and he still pours drinks for customers whom he once served when he was just starting out. Lately, he has become more of a confidante than usual, with many of his regulars suffering through lay-offs recently.
"You can throw anything down and Ray keeps it," says Bennett. "There's that confidentiality."
Ray Dorst at Los Gatos Brewing Company, 130 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.395.9929
Best Massage Therapist
Donna De Armond
Is there such thing as a bad massage? Good and better, perhaps. Donna DeArmond takes it one step further: "I approach it through a spiritual avenue," she says.
DeArmond has studied several different international healing traditions, from Asian Reiki to Native American medicine to Celtic methods, and she blends them all into her massage sessions. Typically, she uses different scents and musical selection depending on a patients' needs.
"You never know what kind of massage you're going to get," DeArmond says.
A Los Gatos native, DeArmond, 49, worked for 12 years in corporate fitness before starting her massage work four years ago. People come to her strictly through word-of-mouth, and they sometimes come in the sorriest of states.
"Life today can be almost paralyzing," she says. "I try to empty the cup so new thoughts can come in."
Donna DeArmond at the Los Gatos Athletic Club, 285 E. Main St., 408.379.5231
Best Hairdresser
Michael Bertoldo
A sign of Michael Bertoldo's jammed schedule hangs in his right ear: a hands-free microphone for his cell phone, which he sometimes dons to keep up with business and personal calls while sculpting hair at the back of a house-turned-salon on University Avenue.
After almost a decade in Los Gatos, Bertoldo's vast network of word-of-mouth customers book months in advance and even hairdressers across town are beating a track to his door. "He did a fabulous job on my last cut," says Francisco Ortiz of Durand salon.
There have been some difficult moments in Bertoldo's hairdressing life. Several years ago he had to shave the head of friend whose hair was falling out during chemotherapy.
But there are also more upbeat times for Bertoldo, 43, such as when several clients gather with wine and cheese for a regular Friday evening "Hair Night."
In the future, Bertoldo says he might move out of the hair business: he's studying to be an outdoor educator for at-risk teens.
Michael Bertoldo, Who Does Your Hair?, 314 University Ave., 408.354.1192
Best Landscape Designer
Joni Holland
Joni Holland, a popular employee at Green Thumb Nursery, doesn't pretend to be an expert. "I'm more of a teacher and a helper than a designer," she says. Holland only recently joined the ranks of landscape professionals after honing her skills in her own garden for 10 years and then at Foothill College while working in the local grocery business.
But her down-to-earth style has drawn rave reviews from the community. She's accessible, a little cheaper than the rest, and brings a "passion that borders on obnoxious," she reveals.
Joni Holland at Green Thumb Nursery, 15796 Winchester Blvd., 408.395.6050
Best Plumber
Thorne's Plumbing
Pure and simple: Henry Thorne's a household name in Los Gatos. Several weeks ago he was in the downtown post office and a customer asked for a business card so she could remember his number. Four heads turned toward Thorne and the customer and blurted out in unison "356-8500!"
After 31 years, Thorne's honed his operation into something sleek. He keeps his repairs to things "above the floor"--drains on sinks, toilets and bathtubs. But some of his job involves salvaging things like rings, contact lenses, and snakes--boa constrictors to be exact.
A couple of years back he got a call from a frantic household, which had lost its pet boa in the toilet. Thorne calmly opened a clean-out valve under the house and the boa eventually slithered out through the valve.
Thorne, 59, added Tommy Lewis as a business partner some 25 years ago. He says he and Lewis have always tried to be at a job on time and "that seems to work."
Henry Thorne at Thorne's Plumbing, P.O. Box 231, Los Gatos, 95031, 408.356.8500.
Best of Los Gatos 2001
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