Pat serves as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Fox. When we need a team of people for an event, Pat puts out the call. Pat has rallied volunteers to assist us in producing Movies On The Fox, the Fullerton Film Festival, Hollywood in Fullerton and most recently found 50 dedicated folks to sit in a cold football stadium during the filming of a movie to be released next fall.
Pat is retired from IBM where he worked as an electrical engineer. He became involved with the Fox in February of 2004, after a public meeting at the Wilshire Auditorium.
I was born and raised in Fullerton. Quite honestly, I don't have any distinct memories of going to the Fox as a child, only as a teenager and young adult.
The Fox has been a fixture in the City of Fullerton for over 80 years - it is a piece of the history of the City. It is one of those things that has always been here and the City of Fullerton wouldn't be the same without it. The Fox was threatened with demolition for no other reason than it was old and in a state of disrepair, and it occupied a prime location downtown. As long as there was a chance to save it, I knew I had to do whatever I could.
Pat may hold the Fox record for the number of volunteer hours he has provided for the organization. No task has been too small or too large for Pat.
I began as a gofer for whoever needed errands run, and I still do some of that, as well as odd jobs around the office. I've been at the Fullerton market booth every Thursday during the season since April, 2004 I've done both “Hollywood in Fullerton events.” I've put up and taken down event posters around town.
In the theater, I've removed vines from the building, shoveled mud out of the basement, done demolition work backstage and in the Tea Room, done painting on the box office, in the courtyard and on the Firestone, helped clean out the boiler room, helped dismantle the screen frame, and hauled more debris than I care to think about. No, that's no true. Knowing what the work is being done for, I've relished every moment of it.
Volunteering for the Fox gives me a sense of accomplishment and of giving back to the community. In a few short years, after the Fox has re-opened, the City will have its “crown jewel” again, people of all ages and walks of life will be enjoying what the Fox has to offer, the downtown will be even more vibrant than it is now, and I'll be able to say to myself that I had a small part in making it happen. It doesn't get any better than that.
I've also met a lot of terrific people while volunteering for the Fox, some of whom I would consider good friends.