“I was picked up in a police car, put behind bars, and then Sharkie bit my head off. I’m calling everybody under the sun,” said Stewart Reichardt, loan center manager at the downtown Washington Mutual on El Camino Real.
Reichardt had no business being behind bars. But instead of mortgage financing, his goal for the day was to secure $1,950 to spring him from jail as part of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s “Lock Up” event at Armadillo Willy’s last Wednesday, Jan. 31.
MDA brought 30 “jailbirds” — most of them local business leaders, but also leaders and educators such as Keith Moody, principal of Mountain View High School — to the Los Altos restaurant in order to “do time” in the name of raising $20,000. Twenty other jailbirds asked friends to donate money on the MDA Web site (www.mdausa.org).
The voluntary jailbirds — beset by Sharkie, the San Jose Sharks mascot — needed a good sense of humor, cell phones and some generous friends to bail them out. The event commenced with former Council member Mike Kasperzak announcing bail for the jailbirds as they donned a uniform, posed behind bars and got cracking on the phone.
For one of the jailbirds, Costco general manager Stephanie Gordon, who raised over $3,000 behind bars, the gesture was personal. “Our GM, who attended this event two years ago, passed away recently,” she said. “Our company is active in the community and I wanted to carry on in his memory.”
Another jailbird, Lynda Newlon, owner of Los Altos clothing store Acacia C, had friends Doris Padilla and Kelly Davis of the Heritage Bank looking up names and numbers in the Chamber of Commerce directory.
“These are my partners in crime,” she said. “I did this once before and it was difficult. But I’ve raised more money this time.”
Heather Riley, MDA’s district director, said the funds will support 470 clients in Northern California. Uses include purchasing wheelchairs and communication devices, supporting a pediatric and an adult clinic at Stanford, taking dozens of “Jerry’s Kids” to summer camp, and running support groups.
Besides Reichardt, Gordon and Newlon, among the many business leaders in attendance were Bryan Foertsch, Golden Bay Credit Union financial services representative; Warren McCord, owner of Dean’s Automotive; Dave Isackson, founder of WideBand; Kathy Anaya, corporate sales manager of Gold’s Gym; and Andre Boiteux from KFC.
Volunteers from the community also helped manage the event at Armadillo Willy’s. Four Mountain View police officers livened up the go-directly-to-jail theme by assisting jailbirds to their mock cells. And Helen Robbins ushered guests from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“The mood has been very exciting here, especially when Sharkie bit my head,” she said.
The event ran into a glitch early on when its original venue, La Rioja Latin Bistro on Castro Street, closed before the event was to take place, apparently without notice to event organizers.
Riley said hosting the event at Armadillo Willy’s worked out well, and hoped the event will raise more money in the coming weeks. Future Lock Ups are planned in Sunnyvale, San Jose and Milpitas.
For more information on the Muscular Dystrophy Association or the Lock Up events, contact Heather Ripley at (408) 423 9345 or at hripley@mdausa.org.
E-mail Zunaira Durrani at zdurrani@mv-voice.com
