Educating with Passion by Richard Gomez

August 16, 2007

AND

August 19, 2007

TODAY'SEDITORIAL

Educating With Passion by Richard Gomez

When Dr. Frederick Loveys first joined the Santa Ynez Band of Mission Indians’ team as the education director in 2002, he walked in with enthusiasm, excitement and a desire to create a program where tribal students could thrive.
He approached every task with an educator’s eye toward perfection, and in the course of five years, established a number of successful endeavors, including a computer lab and a tutoring/mentoring program.
In addition, Dr. Loveys reached out into the educational community to build partnerships with local colleges and universities as well as establish and strengthen important relationships with local school administrators.
With so many of our tribal children attending local schools, Dr. Loveys believed that it was essential to work closely with school officials to ensure that our children were getting the most out of their education.
This past June, we celebrated and honored some 50 tribal children at the annual graduation dinner hosted by the tribe’s education committee. We honored graduates who received diplomas from the eighth grade, high school, community college, vocational school, undergraduate, graduate and, for the first time in our tribe’s history, a Ph.D. Dr. Loveys played a significant role in the success of these students, having been an instrumental part of their educational journey.
At the graduation ceremony, our education committee also honored Dr. Loveys and recognized the impact he has had on the tribe’s education department, our children, the parents and the tribe itself over the past several years. In his honor, the education committee named the computer lab at the Tribal Hall, Loveys’ Lab.
Dr. Loveys has been there for our tribe and the educational community for the past five years, and now it’s time for us to be there for him. Earlier this year Dr. Loveys was diagnosed with cancer. True to the spirit of his enthusiasm and positive attitude, he is looking forward to returning to work after completing his cancer treatments.
A fundraiser to help defer the cost of his treatments will be held for Dr. Loveys on Monday, Aug. 27, at the Royal Scandinavian Inn in Solvang. Dinner, which begins at 6 p.m., will be prepared by Grappolo’s chef Alfonso Curti.
The fundraiser will have a silent auction component featuring a wide variety of donated items available to bid on, including concert tickets, spa treatments and special gift baskets.
Tickets for the event are $25 for adults and $10 for children. One hundred percent of the proceeds from this event will go toward deferring costs of Dr. Loveys’ treatments. If you are interested in learning more about this fundraiser, please contact Gayle Smith at the Tribal Hall at 693-8155.
Throughout our lives, we encounter people who have it within them to make a difference in our lives. Dr. Loveys is that type of person. He came to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians with a goal to capture the attention of our children and teach them about the joy of education. He did this, and in the process also captured our hearts and our respect.
Richard Gomez is the Vice Chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.