Two of the coolest guys in Santa Barbara watch over the Page Youth Center!
While they might not qualify as “kids” — Don Mueller is 82 and Andy Ponce is 81 — it is highly unlikely that a lot of real kids would be able to keep up with them.
For example, take the stormy night of Dec. 11, when Santa Barbara’s years of drought were ended with one of the worst rainstorms ever. That night the Page Youth Center, sitting on Hollister Avenue next to the Foodbank, took quite a hit when its 25-year-old, patched and sealed roof could no longer hold off the downpour.
Longtime, part-time PYC custodians Mueller and Ponce, out of bed and “on the ready,” met at the center at 4 a.m. to begin the cleanup. As PYC Executive Director Bob Yost, who joined them there, says, “What employees do you know who would do that?”
Two years ago, Mueller and Ponce were each given Life Achievement Awards when the Page Youth Center held its Award Night. These two “kids” just keep on achieving, and the Page Youth Center is so proud to have them be their angels.
“We just do our jobs,” they say.
But we know better, don’t we?
If you’d like to honor “Local Angels” Mueller and Ponce, you can do so by donating to the Raise the Roof Fund, Page Youth Center, 4540 Hollister Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93110, by calling 805.967.8778 or by going to “Donate” at PageYouthCenter.org.
— Wana Dowell is the development director for the Page Youth Center.