Article Source:  David Nigel - San Bruno Park & Rec

City of San Bruno

Parks & Recreation Commission

San Bruno, CA 94066

 

City of San Bruno Parks & Recreation Commission meeting held on Wednesday, April 16 at 6:30 PM at the beautiful newly opened Recreation & Aquatics Center was highlighted by a very special honoring.

Chairman Mike Palmer greeted and thanked the large crowd in attendance as well as the Commissioners who composed the subcommittee which presented the nomination to the Parks & Recreation Commission: Commissioners Dave Nigel, Lorry Greenberg and John Seevers. Chairman Palmer then called on Commissioner David Nigel who described the Community Recognition Award which is the most prestigious award conferred by the Commission; a tradition which began in 1993. Commissioner Nigel then introduced Kris Gonzales; the honoree for this evening’s observance and began describing Mrs. Gonazles’ significant accomplishments to the City and community of San Bruno. Nigel’s presentation was as follows:

“Tonight, it is my honor and privilege to introduce the 2025 Community Recognition Award. This award is presented each year by the Parks & Recreation Commission to an individual in the San Bruno Community that;

• Has given unselfishly to the city or community;
• Has performed an outstanding task for the city and/or the community;
• Demonstrates service to the city, its citizens, and the community, and;
• A person who goes above and beyond the call of duty for the city and community

The award for 2025 is being presented to Kris Gonzales. Please allow me to tell you a little about Kris: Kris has been a resident of San Bruno since 1997.

Not long after arriving in San Bruno Kris began to make an impact on the community as a member of the St. Roberts Women’s Guild. She participated in many of the activities of the Guild including its fund-raising activities. One of the main fund-raising activities was working at concession stands at Oracle Park for Giants games and at Candlestick Park for Forty-Niner games. Her time at Oracle (it was PacBell Park back then) included working the concession stand for all playoff and World Series games for all three years that the Giants were World Series champs!!

Kris has also been a dedicated member of the San Bruno Rotary Club since 2009. She is a self-described “worker bee” planning, organizing and taking part in The Rotary Club’s many programs and activities. Following is a list of some of those:

·       Operation Smile – This is a Rotary-funded program which provides financial assistance to families in other countries whose children suffer from “Cleft Pallett” (Dave will elaborate a bit on this because of the connection with The Philippines);

·       For the past 8 years Kris has been an integral part of the Rotary Club’s “Teachers Cash for Class” program – This program provides teachers in the San Bruno Park School District with a dinner and, night out with their colleagues, and the chance to grab some “Cash for their Class”;

·       Kris participates in the Capuchino High School “Last Practice Dinner” held annually after the last practice for all senior Varsity football players and senior Varsity cheerleaders. When the Cap/Mills football rivalry was taking place, it was a luncheon and that is when she began taking part in this annual event. Because those two teams do not play each other on a regular basis this activity has now changed to a dinner for these seniors. This is hosted by Kris, and the Rotary Club, and takes place in the cafeteria at Capuchino;

·       She participates in Rotary’s annual ceremony to recognize one General Education and one Special Education Teacher in the San Bruno Park School District as “Outstanding Teachers”;

·       As a Rotary Club member Kris was instrumental in the placing of the time capsule located in Centennial Plaza. She spent many hours contacting schools, San Bruno service organizations, clubs and other groups for items to be included in this time capsule;

·       In addition to all of the things that I have already mentioned Kris also assists with the Recreation Department’s annual Easter Egg hunt in City Park, she is always present when the Rotary Club has a booth, or a table at any function, such as serving snow cones at San Bruno Community Day, and Kris was a KEY connection in Rotary sponsoring the K-9 dog for the San Bruno Police Department!

In addition to all of the activities that I just mentioned for the San Bruno Rotary Club, Kris also. . .

• Was a past member of the San Bruno Chamber of Commerce attending all of its social functions including award nights and mixers;
• She coached an AYSO team for 3 years and is especially proud of the one year she coached when one of her players was deaf;
• Kris has been a member of the Parks & Recreation Commission since 2014 and has served as Vice Chairperson since 2016;
• Kris was appointed as one of the Parks & Recreation Commission’s representatives to the Construction Advisory Board for the construction of the new Recreation & Aquatics Center. She is one of only two people that served on that Board from its inception in 2017 until its work was finished in 2024;
• Since 2019 Kris has a been a volunteer contributor for the Cake 4 Kids organization which provides free birthday cakes for underserved children who might not otherwise receive one;
• For the past 6 years Kris makes arrangements with the city to close down the street where she lives to provide a safe Halloween Trick or Treat experience for any children that visit that neighborhood. This event is very well-attended with hundreds of kids coming to Trick or Treat there;
• And... drum roll please; Kris has nominated every single individual that has received the city’s prestigious Extraordinary Service Award for 25 years of service to the San Bruno Community;

David then made some pertinent comments describing Kris’s fabulous dedication to volunteering and her strong ethical beliefs. David’s high school classmate at the American School Manila, Jackie Rodriguez, Past President of the Manila, Philippines Rotary Club and other high Rotary positions, spoke to our local Rotarians when visiting San Bruno. Jackie and Kris, with other Rotary members arranged for doctors and medical staff to visit the southern Philippines where they performed more than one hundred Cleft Palate operations changing and improving the lives of those youngsters. This program was so successful that it will be repeated this coming June.

The next speaker was Kirsten Pinochi, a close friend and San Bruno Rotary Club colleague and the person who nominated Kris for the Community Recognition Award. Kirsten is the General Manager of San Bruno Recology. She gave a wonderful description of Kris and her numerous accomplishments.

Mike Palmer then asked for comments from the Commission, City Staff, and then from members of the audience.

Chairman Palmer and Kirsten Pinochi then presented an impressive plaque award to Kris. Kris was called-upon to address the folks in the audience. She was very gracious and very honored for this high recognition.

Following Kris’s remarks, Chairman Palmer stated that the City of San Bruno is very fortunate to have a person like Kris Gonzales as one of its citizens and that he is fortunate to be able to call her my friend and colleague.

The large audience was thanked for their attendance.

I was noted that there were twelve outstanding and commendable 2025 applications submitted for consideration.