Dear Kate,  

Mayor Cohen has asked that I prepare Certificates of Recognition for each of the individuals listed below. I will have these drafted and pass them by you for review in a couple of days. Once we agree on the wording, I'll finalize and ask the Mayor to sign these. If you would like these mailed to you, please provide me with mailing name and address. If you would rather have someone pick them up at Menlo Park City Hall, please advise and I'll let you know when they are ready.  

Sincerely,    

Sherry M. Kelly
City Clerk
(650) 330-6625

From: Bryan, Kate [mailto:kbryan@jobtrainworks.org] Sent: Monday, April 28, 2008 4:20 PM
To: Cohen, Andrew M; Robinson, Heyward G Cc: _CCIN
Subject: JobTrain's Breakfast of Champions Award Winners - request for certificates  

Dear Mr. Cohen and Mr. Robinson,  

My name is Kate Bryan and I am the Development Specialist with JobTrain, formerly OICW. As you may already know, JobTrain, a 501c3 nonprofit, is an educational and vocational training institution on the East Palo Alto-east Menlo Park border. Our goal is to help break the cycle of poverty, crime, and drugs that is so prevalent in this area by allowing individuals to better themselves and their families, and as a result, to create a new, positive, and long-lasting model for other members of the community. We provide our students and their families with what they truly need - a hand up, and not a hand out.  

For our 24th Annual Breakfast of Champions event, we are recognizing 4 individuals with awards. As we do every year, we are requesting a certificate from the Menlo Park City Council for our honorees. The following is a list of those recipients for whom we are requesting proclamations:  

Rose Jacobs Gibson - Role Model Award
Rose Jacobs Gibson represents the 4th District on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. She was a member of the East Palo Alto City Council, and continues to improve the socioeconomic conditions of the community through nonprofit work and political measures and reforms. She is truly a role model both for our organization's mission and goals, but for our students and graduates as well.  

Vanessa Sanchez - Paul M. Cook Alumni Award Vanessa completed her GED with JobTrain and graduated from Project Build. A single-mother of two by the time she was 16, no one expected anything positive from her, and she began to act accordingly. She lacked motivation, discipline, confidence, and a positive attitude. Vanessa turned her life around at JobTrain, and now has a lucrative job in construction, provides a stable life for her children, and continues to perform exceptionally in a male-dominated profession.  

Gavin Gonzado - Paul M. Cook Alumni Award Gavin's lowest point came when his marriage ended, he was addicted to Meth, and was arrested for drugs. While in jail, he heard about JobTrain's culinary arts program and worked out with his instructor an arrangement for attendance. Everyday, he left jail to go to class and returned at the end of the day. After graduating and being released from jail, he was hired as a sous chef at a popular San Mateo restaurant, and was offered the Executive Chef position at Portobello Grill shortly thereafter. Both he and Portobello Grill have enjoyed great success since, and with the hope of providing the same opportunities and possibilities to others in the community, he continually hires JobTrain culinary graduates in his restaurant as well as current students for internships.  

Cheney St. James - Student Speaker
Cheney was only 8 years old when his mother was killed, and by age 10 he was selling drugs on the street to provide food and clothing for his younger siblings. After problems with the law as a result, he returned home from prison and, based on his convicted status, struggled to find work. His younger brother was a JobTrain graduate and urged Cheney to enroll. He did, and graduated from the Project Build program on April 24, 2008 with perfect attendance, an exceptional work ethic, and a mature interest in acquiring new and valuable skills. He is now certified in hazardous waste removal, and is interested in being employed in this area.  

We would very much appreciate having these certificates prior to the May 9th event - by Wednesday, May 7th if at all possible. I look forward to hearing from you as to confirmation of the issuance of the certificates, the timeline within which you believe they can be completed, and the means of delivery that would be most convenient for you.  

Additionally, I have attached the invitation and reservation card for our event, and would be honored if you both, as well as any other Council members, would be able to attend on Friday, May 9th in Santa Clara. If you would like to attend and would like further details about the event, or should you have any other questions or concerns regarding the issuance of these certificates, please don't hesitate to contact me at the number or email listed below.  

Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you soon!  

Most Sincerely,
Kate Bryan    

Kate Bryan
Development Specialist
JobTrain (formerly OICW)
1200 O'Brien Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Email: kbryan@JobTrainworks.org
Direct Dial: 650.330.6499             Received on Tue Apr 29 11:35:00 2008