Marti Garcia, left, Santa Barbara-Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee board president Sebastian Aldana and board member Gil Garcia at a barbecue event hosted by the Garcias. 
Event emcee Yvonne Pedersen, left, and contest winner Marcia Neitsen show off Neitsen’s tequila prize for performing the best rendition of a chicken call. 
Barbecue chefs Carlos Velasco and Michael Hernandez. 
Yuli Mayuta and Sukie Orneles have a great time on the dance floor. 
Bartender John Otchis celebrated his 75th birthday at the event. 
Sister City Committee members Ronnie Alvarado and Ann Hefferman. 
The Sister City fundraiser meeting sold out at 50 socially distanced guests. 
A portion of the $30,000 in emergency food donated to needy Puerto Vallarta residents by the Sister City Committee. 
Volunteers help distribute food during the pandemic in Puerto Vallarta. 
The community medical clinic in Boca de Tomatlan is supported by the Santa Barbara-Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee. 
During the pandemic, the Santa Barbara-Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee continued its longstanding support of the Santa Barbara Physical Rehabilitation Clinic of Puerto Vallarta, which was founded in 1988. 
An artist works on a 50th anniversary mosaic bench in Puerto Vallarta.
The Santa Barbara-Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee recently reconvened in person for the first time in 15 months because of the COVID-19 shutdowns. A barbecue event was held in Gil and Marti Garcia’s backyard in downtown Santa Barbara, and it was at capacity at 50 socially distanced members.
Although members of the nearly 50-year-old organization weren’t able to meet in person during the past year, they kept busy helping their needy neighbors south of the border in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, which was hard-hit during the pandemic because of the significant loss of tourism-related jobs in the resort city.
One project that the group accomplished was to raise $30,000 to support the Volcanes Food Bank, which supplied meal ingredients to more than 500 families who have been economically devastated by the loss of tourism-related jobs because of the pandemic. The group continues fundraising to send enough to keep the families fed with basic foods until the end of pandemic, which they estimate will be July or August, when they hope tourists and jobs will return. Volcanes is one of the poorest areas of Puerto Vallarta.
Board president Sebastian Aldana thanked the assembled members for their financial support and volunteerism to help residents in Puerto Vallarta.
“This money is helping a lot of people,” he said.
Longtime committee member Margaret Saavedra announced that the group is planning its annual visit to Puerto Vallarta this year.
Emcee Yvonne Pedersen kept the event lively with games, acting as the DJ, and hosting the auction and raffles. The barbecue menu included tri-tip and chicken (prepared by chefs Carlos Velasco, Michael Hernandez and other volunteers), vegetables, beans, potato salad, green salad, bread and salsa, and apple pie donated by Anna’s Bakery.
Also supporting the event was the board of directors, including president Aldana and members Saavedra, Pedersen, Carlos Velasco, Gil Garcia, Tony De Paco, Cheli Hidalgo, Carmen Flores, Mike Hernandez, Aileen Chambers, Alma Ruth Vaja and Jacqueline Duran.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Santa Barbara-Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee continued its longstanding support of the Santa Barbara Physical Rehabilitation Clinic of Puerto Vallarta, which was founded in 1988 by Sister City Committee members dedicated to forming a physical rehabilitation, multidisciplinary team to improve the quality of life throughout the region for disabled children and low-income adults. The clinic is located in Puerto Vallarta's Zona Hotelera Norte. Early in the pandemic crisis, the committee donated a solar panel and air conditioning for the clinic.
The Rotary Club of Puerto Vallarta initiated the building phase of the clinic and requested help with furnishing it. The Rotary Club of Santa Barbara North submitted a grant request to Rotary International to provide much-needed medical equipment. The grant total was $40,000.
The Sister City organization also supports a community health clinic in Boca de Tomatlan.
Near Boca de Tomatlan, there are several small communities that have access to medical attention only through bad roads or by boat about 10 miles south of Puerto Vallarta. A volunteer nurse, Martha Lopez of Boca de Tomatlán, is the only medical help available in that area. The Santa Barbara-Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee took the lead in establishing the clinic.
Lopez and several local Boca citizens acquired permission from the ejido (a land trust) council to secure land to develop a local clinic. While the Santa Barbara-Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee was the leader, the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara North and the Goleta Rotary Evening Club contributed more than $4,000 to the effort. Overall, $40,000 was raised, which was matched 3-to-1 in Mexico. The Boca de Tomatlán Clinic also serves the communities of Yelapa and Quimixto.
Also during 2020-21, the Sister City Committee raised $1,300 to support the Aid for Families of Children with Cancer program in Puerto Vallarta. Part of Families of Children with Cancer, Aid for Families of Children with Cancer supports 22 families who have a child diagnosed with cancer in the Puerto Vallarta region. Donations support the care services provided by community volunteers to improve quality of life by helping families with economic support for the many high-cost needs of the children.
Nearly $1,000 also was donated to the David “Marin” Garcia Zuniga Disability Assistance Fund. Zuniga is the owner of the Islas de Marin Restaurant in Puerto Vallarta. He is seriously ill, and financial assistance was provided for his medical bills. Zuniga and his family are longtime active members of the Sister City program in Puerto Vallarta.
Ten Sister City members continued to sponsor elementary and high school students with yearly scholarship support.
Next year, the Sister City Committee will celebrate its 50th anniversary. In recognition of five decades of service to the Puerto Vallarta community, Puerto Vallarta artist Ayde Juarez is creating a mosaic bench. Nearly $6,000 was raised for the commemorative bench to be constructed in Lazaro Cardenas Mosaic Park, in Puerto Vallarta's Romantic Zone.
Click here for more information about the committee or how to donate or become a member, or email info@sbpvsistercity.org.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Rochelle Rose can be reached at rrose@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.