By Alisa Arunamata
Town Crier Editorial Intern
Adobe co-founder Chuck Geschke will be the keynote speaker at recognition breakfast
The Community Services Agency (CSA) plans to recognize Los Altos Hills resident Judy Marcus at the Hometown Heroes Annual Recognition Breakfast for her outstanding community volunteer work. The recognition will take place at Hyatt Rickeys in Palo Alto on Friday.
The keynote speaker for the morning event will be Chuck Geschke, co-founder and chairman of the board for Adobe Systems.
CSA officials said Marcus has been a great asset to the community, devoting much time and effort to improving the lives of the people around her.
“Every year CSA honors an individual who has made an impact on the community. Marcus is an exemplary example of a volunteer who has given much of her time to the well-being of people,” said Debbie Wu, who served on the CSA board of directors with Marcus and is now the vice president.
Currently, Marcus is acting as the head of the development committee for the Community Breast Health Project. The project helps women who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. As head of the development committee, Marcus raises funds to support the program.
Marcus also serves on the board of the Humane Society of Santa Clara. She said the Humane Society is in the process of a capital campaign. She volunteers her time to obtain funds to support the creation of a facility to house small animals.
Just having joined the board for Avenidas, an outreach program that helps seniors in Palo Alto, Marcus is already fund-raising to help maintain the full daycare center for the elderly.
“Judy is an incredible woman with unending compassion. She devotes 115 percent of her life to helping others,” said Brown Taylor, who served on the CSA board of directors with Marcus.
To add to her extensive résumé, Marcus just finished her volunteer work with a program called Families in Transition in East Palo Alto. She acted as president of the board and worked with newly immigrated families to help them get jobs and settle down in the area.
Marcus, who has been with CSA for 20 years, was for a time president of the board of directors. She began at the agency as a volunteer and helped with events such as Christmas toy drives and various food drives. On the board, she helped to create fund-raisers such as a golf tournament and an event for Los Altos Hills called “Spirit of the Hills.” Marcus even set up a nutrition center to provide needy families with fresh food from the community. Two years ago Marcus left the board, but she still donates her time as a volunteer at certain events.
“CSA is such a great organization because everything you do goes right back to the community,” Marcus said.
Marcus even began the tradition of the annual breakfast where she will be recognized for her work. Six years ago, she wanted to create an event to thank individuals in the community who reached out to help people. Now CSA is thanking her.
“I like to volunteer in things that I believe in, and all of my efforts are incredibly rewarding. Not to mention that by meeting different people, I have opened up many avenues in my life and expanded my horizons,” Marcus said.
As a devout volunteer, she enjoys the personal satisfaction of seeing a difference in the community.
“Judy doesn’t volunteer because she is ego driven and wants to see her name in the paper. She volunteers because she has a genuine need to help the community and she’s always willing to help. When something needs to be done, just be sure to ask Judy. She’ll get it done,” Taylor said.
