In what’s become an annual tradition, The Wine Pub in Point Loma has awarded Peninsulans for their public service labeling them “homegrown community heroes.”
The Wine Pub at 2907 Shelter Island Drive has dedicated its seventh anniversary to these community-nominated heroes: Devon Lantry
• Obecian Devon Lantry, for trailblazing a web of community gardens where he works and lives. When he isn’t telling inspiring stories of local nonprofits and businesses, he is growing all types of vegetables to provide free food to the needy, inspiring others to create community gardens. Nicole Burgess
• Obecian Nicole Burgess, for her commitment to making the community a bike and pedestrian haven. She has striven to improve roads for two-wheeled travelers on Wabaska Drive that will make the commute safer and more accessible for children biking to Dana Middle School, and commuters heading to and from downtown. Stasi McAteer
• Obecian Stasi McAteer, for opening her home and building relationships with everyone around her. She’s been instrumental in organizing the local Buy Nothing Project, where neighbors connect through a gift economy, and hosts Friday Family Meals at her house to gather the community and cultivate local friendships. Tony Jeffreys
• Point Loman Tony Jeffreys, for dedicating his life to keeping Point Loma safe, having spent decades working for the San Diego Fire Department in Point Loma at Station 22. “Celebrating our anniversary only seems right when honoring the heroes that make this community a desirable place to live, work and play,” said Sandy Hanshaw, owner of The Wine Pub. “We love this neighborhood because it’s full of folks that fly under the radar, quietly making our lives easier and our community better.”
Lantry, a messaging strategist, said, when he realized that “our neighborhoods are covered in plants,” thought “why not swap some for fruit trees and berries? It was such an elegantly simple, common-sense solution to so many complex problems. … I started planting little gardens in tiny, neglected spots all along my route to work. Passerby anonymously pruned dead leaves and propped up plants knocked down in a rainstorm. People left thank you notes tied to stems.”
Lantry added, “I never felt connected to a neighborhood until I moved to Ocean Beach. It’s such a special place because everyone gives a little bit of themselves to the community creating a neighborhood that feels truly shared. I’m stuck with this obsession of planting free food in public, so I want to make it my little contribution to the neighborhood.” McAteer was nominated in part for her Friday Family Meals operated under the auspices of The Buy Nothing Project, a “gift economy” founded in Washington State which has grown into 56 neighborhood-based groups around San Diego comprised of 200-1,000 members.
“Ocean Beach and Point Loma grew so large that in 2015 they ‘sprouted’ into new, smaller groups,” said McAteer noting, “Everything I do in Buy Nothing is as part of a team. Buy Nothing is a hyper-localized gift economy with a simple mission: to get to know your neighbors, build friendships and strengthen community. We support one another by offering the gift of goods, services, time, talent and human connection.
“Anyway, the original idea was to bring the concept of asking your neighbor for a cup of sugar into the 21st century. So we go online and we ask for whatever we might need, or we offer something that we are no longer using. People then connect, in person whenever possible, to pass items along.”
For the past two years, OB mom Burgess has single handedly started a bike train, and then founded and led the District 2 bicycle/pedestrian working group. All of this was with the goal of making District 2, and specifically OB more bike friendly.
As a firefighter, Jeffreys, along with other first responders, puts his life on the line — and in harm’s way — to protect the public and their property.