Windsor Year in Review: People

As 2021 comes to a close, SoCoNews continues its tradition of looking back on our coverage of this past year’s event. This article looks at the people living in, working in and running Windsor, and the organizations that operate out of the town as they made the news this past year.
 

Businesses, organizations and residents

On Jan. 15, Windsor resident Rob Daly, former CEO of Taylor Lane Coffee, purchased the coffee portion of the Acre Coffee business from founder Steve Decosse. Decosse continues to run Acre Pizza. Daly had worked as general manager for Acre Coffee, and began his career in the coffee business at Wolf Coffee in Santa Rosa 25 years earlier.

The Windsor pizzeria PizzaLeah celebrated its first anniversary in February, having survived opening just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. PizzaLeah was opened by award-winning chefs Leah Scurto and Clarence Wainer.

Long-time Windsor resident and supporter of local businesses Beth Henry became executive director for the Windsor Chamber of Commerce in July. Henry replaced Lorene Romero as leader of the chamber after the latter’s position of chamber president and CEO was eliminated by the board of directors in April.

In August, local Nepalese convenience store owners opposed a tobacco ordinance they said would send their customers down to Santa Rosa, where a wider selection of tobacco would be available. Pratik Ghimire, of Windsor Market and other convenience stores, and Prandeep Pandi were among several business owners who spoke up at summer council meetings in opposition to the new ordinance.

Ultimately, the ordinance passed, however, the store owners were able to lobby the town council to achieve amendments that lessened the blow.

“It’s better than nothing, but they probably wouldn’t have changed it if we hadn’t kept showing up to speak,” Ghimire said of the amendments to the ordinance his community’s protests achieved.

Chef Eric Foster was able to open his downtown restaurant Grata during the pandemic, taking steps to adapt service to the pandemic while ensuring his employees weren’t overworked during the worker shortage. Foster opened the restaurant with his wife Christina Keeney.

Foster told SoCoNews, “I think it’s important to be grateful,” Foster said. “A lot of it was the hard times that everybody was going through. It was a concept that I think was significant to everybody and anybody. For me, I work a lot of hours. I put a lot of my life into what I do, so it’s important to remember to be grateful for the opportunities we have — everything life has to offer. Even difficult times can be learning experiences. Time is precious, and you have to be grateful for all experiences.”

Grata means “grateful” in Italian

Over the summer, four Windsor fifth graders—Landon, Ryan, Zayne and Larson—participated in the National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): Pathways to STEM conference in San Jose. The interactive event saw the Windsor Christian Academy students learning about the respiratory system under the guidance of the Stanford University School of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine professors, building their own robots while designing bridges for it to cross and working together to build an amusement park ride with its own motor circuit.

In September, Girl Scout Troop 11301 constructed and dedicated a Little Free Pantry outside the United Methodist Church as part of a Bronze Award project for seventh grader Sienna Horning.

Horning worked with her troopmates Addison Straub and Miel Schaefer to construct the pantry, which offers space for the community to take and leave non-perishable food, much like a Little Free Library.

In October, SoCoNews touched based with downtown businesses impacted by the nearby construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Windsor Road and Windsor River Road. Brenda Lynch, owner of Mutt Lynch Winery, instituted the “Hard Hat Happy Hour” to draw in locals and make up for business lost because of the construction.

Laurie Shimizu of Mark Shimizu Design, a jewelry store, also leaned into the construction theme, decorating her shop with caution tape. Both entrepreneurs created themed yellow hard hats to look the part.

In an accomplishment of an international nature, Windsor resident Maximus Anderson, 14, was accepted into the prestigious Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham, England, with the help of his mother, Eva Anderson, and his mentor Sander Blommaert.

Anderson, whose family still lives in Windsor, had found it difficult to advance his dancing career with a lack of instructors for male students, and complications from the pandemic. He enrolled at Elmhurst on Nov. 1.
 

Windsor Unified School District

This past year, the Windsor Unified School District (WUSD) saw several shake ups to leadership positions at schools and the district itself.
In April, WUSD pulled two recruits for top positions from Cloverdale. Susan Yakich, then principal of Jefferson Elementary in Cloverdale, was hired to take over at Mattie Washburn in Windsor, while Cloverdale High School Principal Chris Meredith was hired to take over as human resources director for the district.
A month later, it was announced that Windsor High School (WHS) Assistant Principal Amy Zigler would take over as the next principal at Windsor Middle School (WMS). Zigler’s move to WMS corresponded to WMS Principal’s Brian Williams’ move to take over as principal at the high school.
Williams replaced Interim Principal Steve Jorgensen who had replaced Lamar Collins following his resignation to “pursue another professional opportunity.”
In yet another new appointment, WUSD announced in August that SoCoNews’ own Heather Bailey had been hired as coordinator of district communications. Bailey had been a long-time editor at The Windsor Times and SoCoNews, and according to a press release the new position “arose from the recognition that a unified communication strategy would help keep staff, students, families and the wider Windsor community accurately informed about everything happening in the school district.”
In a cheerful holiday story published at the beginning of December, we met Windsor couple Tory and Jesse Cowder who, in true Christmas spirit, donated 800 Christmas trees to families in need. “Operation Christmas Tree” began on social media and is now an official nonprofit organization serving families across Sonoma County.
 

The Crowders started their efforts last year, noting that the high cost of living in Sonoma County could make purchasing a Christmas tree too burdensome for some families. They credit the community for their generosity, which allowed an almost 400% increase in Christmas tree donations this year, up from 216 last year.
 

Town

Shannon Cotulla was named Windsor’s new public works director on Feb. 22. Cotulla had formerly led a staff of 84 at the South Tahoe Public Utility District, and a staff of 150 at the Virginia Department of Transportation.
“I am honored to be appointed as Windsor’s Public Works Director and look forward to continuing the tradition of delivering high quality services to the community. The depth and breadth of my knowledge and experience align perfectly with the responsibilities of this position and I am excited to join the Windsor team,” Cotulla said.
The Town of Windsor announced Mike Raasch would become Windsor’s new police chief, effective May 12. Raasch told SoCoNews that growing up as one of 12 kids in a broken home ultimately led to his becoming a law enforcement officer. Raasch, an advocate for community-oriented policing, has been with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office for 25 years.
Editor’s note: This article has been edited to reflect Lamar Collins’ reason for resigning from principal of Windsor High School.