COEUR DE CUISINE ™ 2008

 

Vintage 2008

 

Will Celebrate and Honor the Wohlford Family – an Escondido Family with a Heart for the Community

 

I wonder if you always thought Lake Wohlford was named after the owners of the property on which it was located?  Guess what!  I learned that is not the case.  Lake Wohlford was named after the engineer who laid the plans in the late 1800’s and created an intricate system of flues designed to provide water for agriculture from Lake Henshaw clear to Lake Hodges.  That engineer was a fellow named Alvin W. Wohlford and he was the grandfather of Escondido Rotary’s own Burnet (Tig) Wohlford. 

 

It is a remarkable family.  In addition to engineering Lake Wohlford, Alvin was a founder of the Bank of Escondido that stood in what is now known as the Crone building.  His wife, Sally, was one of the founders of the Escondido Women’s Club.  In the 1920’s Alvin and his son, Burnet F. Coleman (“Wully”) Wohlford started planting citrus groves. 

 

“Wully”  founded Escondido Mutual Water Company, to provide irrigation for the growing agricultural community of North County.  In the 1930’s the lemon packing house was established.  In the 1950’s avocado groves were added to the Citrus groves. 

 

Throughout the decades the Wohlford family has continued to be active in the North County Community.  In addition to carrying on the family’s consistent championing of agriculture in North San Diego County, Tig and Elizabeth have contributed their time and resources to the Boys and Girls Club, Wild Animal Park, and United Cerebral Palsy- and, Rotary. 

 

The family’s latest venture, Eureka Springs, is a residential community which strives to honor and merge the rural traditions of North County with the needs of our current and future residents.   

 

Eighty years ago, in 1928, Wully Wohlford was president of this Escondido Rotary Club.  It seems only fitting that this family is honored at Coeur de Cuisine 2008.  

 

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COEUR DE CUISINE ™ 2006

 

Edna Sahm

Edna Sahm joined Rotary in 1998 but in her heart she has been a Rotarian all her life. Her generosity toward charitable causes has been unequaled as she lives the Rotary motto of Service Above Self on a daily basis. 

Rotary International’s Paul Harris Fellow award indicates that the person receiving that honor has given $1000 to be used  to build world understanding

and peace. In her Escondido Rotary Club she has been personally responsible for the bestowal of the Paul Harris Fellowship on fourteen of her fellow members. She also is a Paul Harris Fellow. Clearly, like the mythical Auntie Mame, she believes in “spreading it around a little” and Edna is “for real”.

 

COEUR DE CUISINE ™ 2005

The Baker Family

For four generations, The Baker Family has been a consistent and supportive contributor, in both hands-on and financial ways, to the Escondido community. Mark Baker, a member of the Escondido Rotary Club since 1980, and his family serve well the Rotary theme of “Service Above Self.”

It is our privilege to honor The Baker Family, beginning with the “first generation”, LeRoy and Constance Baker, who came to Escondido in 1937and opened a modest electric shop at 121 West Grand Avenue. Their son, Neville and his wife, Helen, and their one son, Kent, moved here in 1941 from Shreveport, Louisiana, where Neville had been working in the construction of oil wells for a variety of companies. Neville took charge of the business. Two more sons, Jerry and Mark, came along in, respectively 1944 and 1946. The third generation of Bakers all attended Orange Glen Elementary School, then a K-8 school.

Subsequently all graduated from Escondido High School. All are active in the family business.

COEUR DE CUISINE ™ 2004

 

Bill Brecht

1939-2003

Friends and associates described Brecht as the most important advocate for BMW in the county, a passionate enthusiast at his Brecht BMW dealership during weekdays and also on weekends ----- racing BMWs.

"He was Mr. BMW in the San Diego market," said Jim Ryan, who retired last year as senior vice president for BMW of North America. "Bill was instrumental in starting BMW of San Diego in the early 1970s."

Brecht came to North County in 1985 and opened Brecht BMW in Escondido. Over the years, the dealership became the largest BMW retailer in the county. Last year he opened Brecht MINI in Escondido as the county's exclusive MINI Cooper retailer.

Brecht's service to BMW extended beyond selling, said Scott Swenson, Southwest regional sales manager for BMW of North America. Brecht was a member of an advisory group that helped BMW deal with technical and other product issues.

In the community, Brecht was active in numerous groups, including the Escondido Chamber of Commerce and the San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park. He was a founding member of the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

Brecht also served on the boards of the Escondido Automobile Dealers Association, the Escondido Rotary Club, First Night Escondido, the Redwood Foundation and the Escondido Corps of The Salvation Army.

Last year, the Escondido chamber honored Brecht's dealership as its "Business of the Year."

On a personal level, Brecht radiated optimism and a love for people, starting first with his family. This served him well both in friendships and in business.

"He had the ability to make each and every person around him feel special,"  "He could sit down with a person and home in on the conversation until that person felt he was the most important person in the room."

While that kind of a personality is helpful in selling and in motivating employees, Swenson said Brecht wasn't putting on an act.

"He was a true people person and it was totally sincere," Swenson said. "I know of his service in the community ... and his family was certainly his number one priority."

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