The city of Santa Fe goes all out when it comes to protecting and promoting the welfare and well being of it's youth. Children and education are tops among the many charitable institutions in the City Different. The Boys and Girls Clubs is a place where any kid in Santa Fe can feel safe and protected.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Fe held their annual Christmas Gala at Bishops Lodge on December 21. I was so privileged to be able to attend this event for such a worthy Santa Fe cause. Bishops Lodge is a breathtaking venue just a few minutes from the downtown plaza. A resort and spa, it is named for French missionary priest Jean Baptiste Lamy, the first Archbishop of Santa Fe. The property consists of buildings nestled in a hilltop. At Christmas the pink hued adobe at dusk topped with traditional iluminaria is an awe inspiring sight.
The celebration was all about the children of Santa Fe. There was the inevitable appearance of Santa and his place of honor giving out toys and bags of delicious candy. This is Santa's season and if he decides to make the party you can bet all attention is generally on him, this year the most important person in the room was Congressional Medal of Honor winner Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy A. Petry.
Sgt. Petry, an alumnus of the Boys and Girls clubs of Santa Fe is the City Different's very own hometown hero. While in Afghanistan Sgt. Petry lost his hand in a heroic grenade incident. He now sports an amazing bionic hand which I was privileged to shake. The feel of his hand is a touch I will never forget.
Afghanistan is a word to most of us. Of course if you have a loved one in the military you are more intimately acquainted with events in that far away country but I would venture to guess many people would be hard pressed to find it on a map and only associate it with newspaper headlines and a CNN crawler. Sgt. Petry makes it real. A handsome and devoted family man, its hard to imagine the smiling face
that I see tonight with the pain, terror and trauma he and his family have endured.
He wears a dark blue uniform jacket covered with honors and medals. The Purple Heart hangs closely about his neck. So obviously a hero.
When I met Sgt. Petry I saw the future of New Mexico. Something very genuine and caring exudes from him. There is a special aura about him that is evident to anyone who approaches him. I saw a man of intense integrity and honesty. A man who cares deeply about his family, his state, and his country. The ball room of Bishops Lodge was decorated in the rich red hues of Chistmas. There were political dignitaries and contributors everywhere you looked and the dinner was scrumptious.
I sat with Sgt Petry's family and they told stories of a brother whom they obviously admire. They spoke of his sense of humor and his bravery. His mother's eyes as he received his Senate Proclamation were full of the pride of a mother, a look that is without question something every mother wants to have looking at her son.
Sculptor George Rivera, Pojoaque Pueblo Governor, is donating his time to create an interactive eight foot bronze of Sgt Petry that will eventually stand in Santa Fe.
It was a night of inspiration, pride, mariachis, and interesting people. I even got sit on Santa's lap!
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