For the first time since 2019, members of the Los Alamitos Chamber of Commerce on Thursday gathered in-person, indoors for its traditional holiday dinner.
“I want to thank you all for your participation and support of the chamber,” said Los Alamitos Chamber President Nesi Stewart as she welcomed the group of nearly 100 guests at the Rush Park Community Center in Rossmoor.
Although the Chamber has recently begun holding meetings in-person outdoors, this is the first of this type of indoor, in-person larger meeting the group has shared since 2019.
The Chamber honored Restauranteur Art Garcia, the owner/operator of Maderas Steakhouse on Katella, by highlighting his long tradition of feeding wounded veterans on Christmas Day.
Stewart said she had accompanied Garcia in year’s past, when he was able to feed the dignity of the most severely wounded veterans in the spinal cord unit by serving them a four-course, filet mignon meal, including a heart-shaped cheesecake.
“It was a rewarding experience,” said Stewart, who expressed astonishment at how much Garcia “gives back” to the community.
Garcia is visibly moved when speaking about his work with veterans. In addition to the Christmas meal, Garcia has often been seen at Joint Forces Training Base (pre-COVID) serving troops as they deployed on various missions around the world.
Garcia uses donations of $25 to prepare a steak dinner for each hospitalized veteran. He is still accepting donations, he said, but he asked for a few ‘volunteers’ to accompany the group on Christmas Day.
“We must honor their service,” said Garcia, never forgetting that they are confined to a hospital forever because they were serving all of us, he said. Garcia said he was moved by the Lord to begin doing this years ago, and he absolutely loved the chance to “honor their dignity” by showing up with fellowship and a meal.
Since COVID, said Garcia, things have changed. Because of the pandemic, Garcia said he was not allowed to feed wounded veterans at all in 2020, and in 2021, he could only drop off the meals.
While volunteers will be allowed to enter the hospital this year, said Garcia, there will be no direct contact with individual veterans in year’s past.
Nevertheless, he wants a group of yule spreaders to join him as he brings the meals to the hospital to show the veterans the respect they so richly deserve.
Garcia was honored by the City of Los Alamitos and State Sen. Tom Umberg for his work with veterans.
Council member Tanya Doby, presenting a certificate on behalf of Los Alamitos, told Garcia, “First, I didn’t know I was making this presentation and second, I know things about him (Garcia) that I found out on my own.”
Although he owns a restaurant, she said Garcia always brings “awesome or magnificent” food or snacks whenever other businesses open in the city, including those who may compete with his. “And that really speaks to the type of community we have,” said Doby.
“Everyone here recognizes just how great you are when it comes to making sure that Los Al is a very welcoming place,” said David Ochoa, a district representative of Sen. Umberg.
“Thank you for all the work you’ve done, especially with the meals that you give to the veterans on Christmas. It’s extraordinary work,” said Ochoa, presenting Garcia with a certificate from the state Senator.
Before the Chamber took up their routine business, they were gifted with a performance of holiday show tunes by the award-winning Los Alamitos Show Choir, under the direction of David Mollenkamp.
Following a heart touching performance of Karen Carpenter’s “Merry Christmas, Darling,” the choir broke into singing, clapping and dancing a choreographed routine that include a medley of well-known Christmas carols as the 20-minute show officially ushered in the holiday season.
