32 25+ Year CVHC Employees AA Masonry ABC Supply Bank of America Bill and Lucy Thomason Brabo & Carlsen, LLP Britni Edwards Brown Construction, Inc. Buster Construction Buster Family Foundation CA Desert Association of Realtors Carol Black Carole Harper California Community Reinvestment Corp. California Coalition for Rural Housing Chris Kretz Construction Community Economics, Inc. Congregation of Holy Cross - Matthew Kuczora County of Riverside District 4 CSG Insurance Services, Inc. - Craig Camenson Daniel Gardiner David Yrigoyen DC Electric Desert Empire Insurance Services, Inc. Elizabeth Viramontes Erika Martinez & Juan Cecena Estella & Richard Briceño Everyday Energy Family YMCA of the Desert Felicity Lyons Gasser First Bank First Foundation Bank Fred & Dawn Allard Fred Alsup Gales Creek Insurance - JD Fuller Gang of 5 Darling Family Greg Sparks Gubb & Barshay, LLP Guralnick & Gilliland, LLP HD Supply Hector and Beverly Viramontes Hyder Property Management Co. Inez Suarez Interactive Design - Reuel Young Inland Valley Sladden, Inc. J & SJ Contractors, Inc. Janice Waddell Jess D. Haro Thank You for supporting our Community Services programs Joe Mealey Jones Hall Josephine M. Sullivan Joshua Golden (ADP Total Source) Juan and Ana Muñoz Juliana Diaz-Smith Julie Bornstein Kay Wolff Kimball, Tirey & St. John Laurence and Estella Cox Leslie Strauss Luis and Alison Pinedo Margarita H. de Escontrias Martin Zone McFadden Architects MSA Consulting Mutual of America National Equity Fund National Rural Housing Coalition - Bob Rapoza NeighborWorks America Oscar Armijo & Associates Patricia Mealey Patricia and Rene Sabala Paul's AC and Heating Co., Inc Pedro and Brenda Rincon Pedro and Patricia Rodriguez Propel Insurance Rabobank, N.A. Rural Community Assistance Corporation Richard and Marlene Levine Rick and Deb Gentry Rigo Ramirez Roselyn Viramontes Rural LISC Sam Marin Drywall Plaster, Inc. Self-Help Enterprises SilverStar Painting SolarCity Southwest Networks, Inc. Stephen and Kristine Peck (U.S. Vets) Stowe Insurance Services, Inc. Sun Country Builders Teserra The Altum Group The California Endowment The Home Depot US Bank Wells Fargo YM Architects The Coachella Valley Housing Coalition is glad you are here to celebrate the career and legacy of its founding Executive Director, John F. Mealey February 19, 2016 La Quinta Resort & Club La Quinta, California
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After nearly 34 years, I have decided to retire as Executive Director of the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition after several years of answering the grey haired question “When are you going to ………?” It was a tough decision but I take with me the memories of families working together to build homes for each other: self-help home owners pulling trucks up full of furniture waiting for the final inspection approval so they can move-in; the “pachanga” afterwards; students living in CVHC
homes, receiving our scholarships and getting ready for college; hardworking farmworkers moving out of unhealthy trailers into beautiful ample new apartments; kids at computers, building robots, studying STEM, learning mariachi, ballet folklorico, or tennis; hearing children tell their parents “now I have my own room where I can study”. Can’t beat this job!
Can’t beat the fully dedicated “Coalicionistas” either who make everything happen successfully at CVHC. How lucky I was to meet, work and have fun with everyone at CVHC, and achieve with them the development of more than 4,500 homes for farmworkers, seniors, service workers, the homeless, those with mental or physical disabilities and people with chronic illnesses. And recently we broke ground to house veterans and their families.
Since CVHC’s creation more than three decades ago we’ve had strong, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, supportive, “let’s do it” Board Members. Lucky again! They helped me to make the difficult retirement easier by selecting Julie Bornstein, former CVHC Board President, California State Assemblywoman and Director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development, as my successor.
I’ve also had the opportunity to know, become friends and work with many partners in community organizations, corporations, banks, foundations, lenders, investors and government agencies across the country and even in Mexico.
I look forward to traveling and spending more time with my wife Patricia and our strings of families here and in various states, although after a few months I expect Patricia to give me hints that there are greeting jobs open at the big box stores. So I hope you’ll stay in touch.
Thank you for joining us in this celebration of 34 years that have passed by quickly. Have fun and look out for the Philly-inspired surprise at 10 p.m.
Sincerely,
John F. Mealey
4
Platinum
William C. Buster Family Foundation Hyder Property Management Co.
Gold
National Equity Fund/Rural LISC
Silver
Rabobank Sun Country Builders
Emerald
Brown Construction Interactive Design Corporation
Mutual of America Paul’s Air Conditioning & Heating Co., Inc.
Wells Fargo
Sapphire
ABC Supply Company, Inc. Community Economics
Everyday Energy First Bank
Gubb & Barshay, LLP Jones Hall
McFadden Architects MSA Consulting
Southwest Networks, Inc. Teserra
The California Endowment YM Architects
A special thanks to our generous donors whose contributions support CVHC’s Community Services programs.