University City depends on community volunteers to provide the pleasures of life and, in some cases, city responsibilities.
The 25th anniversary of the Banana Split, 600 feet in length, at Standley Park on Aug. 5, depended on the generosity of the Heimburger family, longtime U.C. residents.
One of the kids lined up for his mint chocolate chip, strawberry ice cream combination drowned in chocolate and caramel, and he also asked an intelligent question: “Who’s paying for this?”
Even though Sarah Anderson, Standley Park’s director, had made a public announcement about the Heimburgers’ 25 years of donations, the kid hadn’t been listening because he had been focused on the ice cream, as much as he wanted, thanks to the Heimburgers.
Jorgen and Margit Heimburger, along with their son Karsten, who runs the dairy business now, paid for the ice cream, enough to feed hundreds of U.C. residents.
This family deserves more than a round of applause.
Volunteers set up the tables, the troughs, the paper goods, the syrups, the sprinkles, the nuts, the whipped cream and then cleaned up after.
Anyone can volunteer. Simply place a call to Standley Park and say you’d like to volunteer: (858) 552-1652.
With summer concerts each Sunday, somebody has to set up the stage and take it down. Volunteers join paid staff in doing this at 2 p.m. for the set-up and around 7 pm. for the breakdown after the concerts. Come on board.
The Heimburgers are not new to volunteering in University City. Jorgen Heimburger was president of University City Racquet Club on May 20, 1981, when UCRC voted unanimously to take over the tennis facilities at Standley Park.
It is no secret that the city needed financial assistance in the Park and Recreation area. Outsiders wanted to take over the courts for profit, but it was a group of U.C. volunteers, with Heimburger at the lead, who decided to volunteer to run the tennis courts themselves.
Heimburger researched the La Jolla Tennis Recreation Center and the Pacific Beach Tennis Clubs. Both groups, self-supporting and nonprofit, were good role models for UCRC.
With the current financial debacle in the city, without UCRC’s volunteers and the foresight Mr. Heimburger and the UCRC board had, the tennis courts would be weeds and cracks. Now the tennis facility provides well-surfaced courts, a paid, talented instructor in Jim Ferarri, his assistants, and the public can play for a reasonable fee or join UCRC for an annual fee.
So not only is the Banana Split celebrating its 25th anniversary, it is UCRC’s decision to run the club by local tennis player/volunteers. This tennis facility would never have seen its 25th birthday with the city in charge.
Another longtime resident has been an extraordinary volunteer. Deborah Horwitz is one of the founding mothers of EdUCate, the nonprofit group that raises funds for all five University City schools.
She saw a need when a teacher at a local school wanted to attend a science workshop that cost under $300. This teacher wanted to come back to school and share what she learned with the staff, but found out the school didn’t have the money.
Debbie gathered some community leaders in her living room and brainstormed with them.
Look where EdUCate is today. Horwitz just received the 2006 Dee Warford-Kutch Volunteer-Administrator’s Award from DOVIA (Directors of Volunteers in Agencies of San Diego). The annual award is presented to the volunteer manager “who most exemplifies the highest principles and ethics in the field of volunteer administration.” The award is in honor of Dee Warford-Kutch (March 30, 1930-Nov. 25, 1988) who showed love for the people who give the most precious commodity ” time.
Deborah Horwitz has managed volunteers at Elite Racing for eight years (think Rock and Roll Marathon). She has also been involved in numerous organizations, where she has served on boards like San Diego Women’s Foundation and the National Board of Governors of the American Jewish Committee, the nation’s oldest human rights organization.
Besides getting this award, Debbie was honored by Supervisor Ron Roberts who declared Tuesday, Aug. 1, Deborah Horwitz Day in San Diego County and presented her with a Proclamation. Anyone who knows this dynamite lady would agree with the description in her nomination: “creative, resourceful, unbelievably organized, implacable, tireless, respectful of everyone, and unfailingly polite”¦Nothing is beyond her and she leads by example.”
Another neighbor who saw a need and decided to take action is Lori Miller, owner of First Properties Real Estate.
A U.C. resident who grew up in Point Loma, Lori organized a meeting for neighbors concerned about burglaries when she and her family were victims of theft at home.
She invited Officer Janine Van Antwerp and an alarm company installer to talk about what to do to avoid being a victim of theft.
More than 40 people sat in Lori’s backyard and shared stories with one another as well as learning from the police about being a good neighbor, an alert neighbor. Lori talked about vandalism and other issues at Marcy Park. She’s hoping to see security lights installed at the park, something that should come before the Standley Recreation Council.
Money is the missing ingredient for a lot of things needed in U.C.
However, Lori should be credited for bringing neighbors together and educating them about crime in the neighborhood. She welcomes anyone in U.C. to go to [email protected] with questions and concerns. Hopefully, Lori will hold three meetings a year.
The Heimburgers, Debbie Horwitz and Lori Miller are modest about their willingness to see a need and act on it, to share their gifts with the community they call home.
University City’s many needs include folks willing to look at the proposed closure of Swanson Pool again this coming year and find a way to stop it. Only last spring Swanson was scheduled to close for three months unless we came up with $80,000 to keep it open. Now we learn that on Feb. 19, 2007, Swanson Pool will probably face closure again for three months.
Will Councilman Scott Peters find the money at the 11th hour as he did last year?
The city paid Kroll $20 million dollars to research the city’s financial debacle. Like other communities, University City residents have paid taxes to keep our park and recreation centers and our pools open.
Just ask any pool manager what fallout closing Swanson for three months will have. Staff will probably move on to other jobs. Swimmers will either miss out or move on to pools they can count on being open.
Once again, we look at huge sums being thrown at consultants like Arthur Levitt, former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who reportedly receives $900 an hour for his expertise.
And our kids, seniors and community can hear the City Council cry: “Everybody out of the pool.”
Maybe the parents of the swimmers should follow the lead of Jorgen Heimburger and run the pool themselves. Otherwise, it will be business as usual each year as the pools are forced to close for three months.
Remember that old saying: “Problems are opportunities in work clothes.”
Sandra Lippe, a former high school teacher with a master’s degree in creative writing, was born and raised in Connecticut. She is a 33-year resident of University City with husband Ernie. They have two children and two wonderful grandchildren.