GOLDEN GATE MOVEMENT^®

Credentials

• B.S. Zoology
• M.S. Education Administration
• High School and Middle School Administrator

My Story
Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie credited his success with surrounding himself with people better than he. Subscribing to that concept, I have endeavored to do that all my adult life. There are many examples of this, but the most notable one of late is that of the formation of the Golden Gate Club.
Inspired by former Bingham High School student Savanah Vigil’s remarkable altruism in being willing and even eager to befriend otherwise friendless students, hall monitor, Jolynne “Momma Jo” Ward approached me with the idea that we should form a club. Believing that to be a very good idea, and looking to name the new club, I recalled the story of a young man who jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge in the 1970’s ending his life. According to the story, when investigators checked his apartment, they found a note on a table that said, “If anyone smiles at me on the way to the bridge, I won’t jump.” I mentioned the story to Mrs. Ward and suggested that we name the new organization, the Golden Gate Club. She enthusiastically agreed. I drafted a “Pledge” and individually recruited the first student members. Jolynne wrote the club charter, filed the requisite paperwork for starting a school club, and also actively recruited members, and the Golden Gate Club was born.
Little did we imagine the extent to which it would continue to grow and the number of lives it would affect!
In less than a year, another school (Paradigm High School) formed a chapter. Antetum Elementary School in Virginia adopted the club, and several more high and middle schools have formed branches. The middle schools adopted the middle school version of the Golden Gate Club, which is now called, Be the Change.
As more schools are showing interest, we realized that the name Golden Gate and its accompanying story of a suicide might not be appropriate for younger children. So we adopted the name Starfish Kids for the elementary version of the Club.
Now, after just over two years of its existence, the Golden Gate Club is attracting the attention of service organizations, government officials, news outlets, religious leaders, and others from as far away as Australia and Japan.
As the message to reach out to others and to “Stay Kind” (the slogan on one of the tee shirts designed by Mrs. Ward) is disseminated, more and more individuals and organizations continue to express their interest. We believe that people are looking for organized and structured opportunities to reach out. One of our original members, when speaking to her mother stated, “This club gives me an excuse to reach out and be nice to people.” We intend to continue to provide opportunities and excuses to all who are interested. Our goal of spreading kindness, inclusion, outreach, and warmth is simple. Global domination. And wouldn’t that be nice?