Photos : Courtesy of Linda & John Tarvin
Linda is the Flower Lady for the AAUW Morgan Hill Annual Wildflower Run .
John and Linda in summer of 2013 , leaving for a 23-day road trip to Glacier National Park .
Fannie Mae , the Tarvins ’ Schnauzer , dressed up for the Howl-O-Ween .
of Morgan Hill ( President in 2004-2005 ). He was also selected as the Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year for 2014 . Currently he is on the board of the Morgan Hill Community Foundation .
Linda is a member of the American Association of University Women , where she has been involved in activities including the Wildflower Run , and the Ukuladies , a group of women who perform on ukuleles at various local community gatherings . She is also a member of a local chapter of the Red Hat Society known as The Stinkin ’ Red Roses .
A Passion For Helping Seniors
Some time ago , John and Linda joined a senior programs and services committee for the Morgan Hill Centennial Recreation Senior Center .
“ We like to help out our seniors ,” said John . “ Some of them tell us that going to the Senior Center gives them a reason to get out of bed in the morning .”
“ They also get key services ,” added Linda , “ including everything from haircuts to tax preparation .”
But during a recent year of city budget cuts , the CRC lost $ 29,000 of the city ’ s annual funding for the Senior Center .
“ We knew we had to come up with that money ,” said John . “ We had put together a video based on interviews with a dozen seniors . Then we arranged a ‘ Senior Center Protest ’ and invited the media . We all stood outside with signs , like ‘ Save our Seniors ’. It definitely got attention .”
John worked alongside other volunteers including Steve Rymer , Chris Gione and Cricket Rubino to establish a 5-year plan for the Senior Center . They formed a non-profit fund in 2011 called Friends of the Morgan Hill Senior Center under the auspices of the Morgan Hill Community Foundation . They also worked with the Kiwanis Club to hold an E-waste event and hosted a fall casino night at Fortino Winery . In 2012 , borrowing a page from Cricket and Mike Rubino ’ s expertise , they started a kind of “ high tech ” bingo fundraising program at the Morgan Hill Community & Cultural
Center , which is now held every Tuesday night and open to anyone over 18 . The program has already provided more than $ 28,000 in grants for the Centennial Recreation Senior Center .
Road Trippin ’
The Tarvins sold their printing business and retired in 2009 . At that point , they decided to start a new tradition and take a road trip every year . Longing to be able to hike a few miles at high altitudes and survive to tell about it , John went on a serious calorie-counting diet and lost a whopping 120 pounds .
Along with New Orleans and Southwest Idaho , they ’ ve been to national parks including Yellowstone , Glacier , Grand Canyon and Big Bend . They plan to revisit Big Bend , and they ’ d like to see Arizona ’ s Canyon de Chelly , the Guadalupe Mountain State Park in Texas , among other places .
“ Travel rule number one is that the dog has to come with us ,” said John , referring to the couple ’ s pet Schnauzer , Fannie Mae . “ Everyone thinks her name is some kind of joke about real estate loans . The truth is , Schnauzers don ’ t have much of a tail to wag . So we have to explain that her face may not tell you how happy she is , but her fanny may !”
The Tarvins not only love taking pictures on their road trips , but they blog about them , too . When they get home , those blogs and photos are developed into coffee table style travel books that would put some publishers to shame .
“ Linda ’ s got a good eye and she likes to blog . I ’ m good at laying out and working with the images on the computer and making the books ,” said John . And with a chuckle , he added , “ We figure with all these books , when we get old and drooly , we can still remember where we ’ ve been .”
In their travel blog they jokingly call themselves ‘ The Two Old Buzzards ’. Well , they are anything but that .
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 M O R G A N H I L L T O D A Y
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