Hanaeleh is Named California Non-Profit of the Year!

We are very pleased to announce that Hanaeleh is the California Non-Profit of the Year in our district! We were nominated by our Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez and incredibly surprised but very much honored to be chosen for this very illustrious recognition!

The honorees for the entire state were recognized in an awards ceremony on May 21st. Elizabeth and Kathi flew up to Sacramento for the day to attend the luncheon and were given a special tour of the State Capitol. Here is a short piece detailing Elizabeth’s thoughts during that day.

Wednesday Morning

I started off the drive to the Orange County airport thinking I was doing great and on time, but I had slept poorly because I was afraid I would oversleep and miss my flight; I was so tired that I drove by the exit for the airport and had to get off at Bristol and then turn around. Thankfully, there was no traffic at that time in the morning, so the mishap only put me back a few minutes. I got through security without an issue, but it felt odd being at the airport with no luggage and just my purse.

Kathi had a better boarding pass than I did on Southwest, so she said she’d try to save me a seat. It ended up working out well because the flight had several empty seats and we were able to have the middle seat open (score!). I realized that the library books I had on my Kindle app required me to have an active internet connection. I only had one book downloaded on my iPad, which was Dracula. I decided to put my iPad away for the flight- it was a bit early for vampires.

The flight was quick and landing was flawless. When we landed at 8:30am, I turned my phone on to get the text updates from the morning crew at the ranch, and we headed out to get a ride to the Capitol Mall. Again- it felt odd not having any luggage to manhandle around the airport. I was pleasantly surprised to see how modern Sacramento Airport is; the red bunny statue at the airport’s entrance was larger than I expected, but I was honestly more focused on getting to the Capitol Mall than I was in sightseeing. We walked out to the taxi area.

There were no taxis.

What did we do wrong? There should be taxis.

We started to walk towards a lone taxi about 100 yards away when a taxi finally pulled up, and he called out that another taxi was right behind him.  Soon we were in a taxi and on our way.

I have to tell you about this taxi though; it was an adventure in and of itself. The car wasn’t a minivan, but it wasn’t an SUV, either. It was an odd crossover with a minivan side door, but it was some odd construction of seats and doors. The seats had poorly-fitted seat covers tossed over them in a futile attempt to either protect or hide the upholstery underneath. The seats were also angled too straight to be comfortable, as if they wanted to ensure no one after a long flight would get the idea to take a short nap. A CB radio was set up on the passenger seat and the volume was set to full blast, so every other taxi driver in the Sacramento area was screaming about what pickups they had and who was waiting and who knows what else- it was too loud and too garbled to make much sense. If that wasn’t annoying enough, the taxi driver took a personal phone call while we were on our way, with the speakers up to about 25, and he was speaking loudly- over the noise of the CB radio- to whomever it was on the phone. The conversation was so loud that it was almost painful, and we counted down the minutes to when we would be at the Capitol Mall. As we were getting out, the taxi driver handed us his card and told us we could call him to take him back to the airport. Spoiler alert: We did not take him up on his offer.

Capitol Mall (see photos below)

When we got to the Capitol Mall, we met with Assemblywoman Sanchez’s scheduler, Grace, who took us into the Capitol. We had to go through security, and I almost forgot my sunglasses through the checkpoint, but thankfully a security guard grabbed them for me. We walked to the Legislative Assembly (done up in green- the Senate is done up in red. We found out later that this is to mimic the colors of the House of Commons (green) and the House of Lords (red) in England).  We met Assemblywoman Sanchez and took a few pictures with our award, then walked out to the rotunda area. On the way, we discussed some of the issues we had during the fire in September, and she seemed very interested in our opinions about how to better facilitate the evacuations in the future. She asked us to send us an outline of our thoughts and recommendations for the future, and we are putting that together to send over to her so we can hopefully improve the county evacuation procedures.

After our meeting, we took a short coffee break outside, which meant that we had to go back through security, and I almost left my sunglasses behind again! But- again- I was saved by security. The staffers had set up a private tour of the Capitol for us, and we were able to get some fun facts about the building (there are gargoyles in the ceilings!). Bears seemed to be the most obvious motif in the building, but we did manage to find sculptures of seahorses!

After the tour we headed out to the luncheon, but we were waylaid by- you guessed it- HORSES! The CHP was out on horseback no less! They were patrolling the area around the Capitol and were gracious enough to not only stop and take some pictures, but answer a few questions for us. The large creme draft is named Sampson. He’s a gelding and the bay is also a gelding. The grey is a mare and is the only mare on the patrol. The horses are owned by the CHP, and two of the three officers are mounted patrol only! The third officer was on rotation, so he was only able to ride when his turn came up. Yes, they all wore helmets! I think I asked the officers more about their horses than I probably did the staffer about the Capitol, but, to be fair- the Capitol doesn’t have much in the way of horses.

Luncheon

We walked over to the tent where the luncheon was being held. It was starting to get warm outside, but it wasn’t too hot under the tent, and there was plenty of water and iced tea. We were able to find our table without an issue, and were served a very lovely salad for lunch. There were speeches from several individuals highlighting the need for non-profits and it was quite inspiring to realize that everyone in that tent had a similar dream- they saw a problem and decided to take action. The people there were all doers- they didn’t just complain when they saw someone who needed help, or a system that needed changing, but instead decided to do something. These are everyday people who just want to make the world a better place. They’re not any smarter or wealthier or more dedicated than anyone else- the difference is their action.

Back to Orange County

After lunch we were starting to flag a bit- neither of us had gotten much sleep the night before, so we found a Starbucks for a quick caffeine boost (and restroom). We ordered a Lyft to take us back to the airport, and it was so quiet and boring and he didn’t take any phone calls at all during the ride, so all I remember was that it was a Prius.

The no luggage thing at the airport again was weird, but it was a long day and I was so tired I was just grateful at that point not to be hauling any additional baggage around. The flight back was about an hour late and completely full- Kathi once again had a better boarding pass, and we were able to sit next to other another. I decided to attempt the first part of Dracula on the way back, which was a terrible idea, because for the rest of the week I had nightmares about vampires.

Thankfully the flight was short and sweet and we got back late but with no other mishaps, which was fortunate because both Kathi and I were exhausted. When I landed I got a text from Charlotte at the ranch telling me which horses they turned out that evening, and that all of the horses were doing well. It was lovely knowing that they were all cared for even though I was gone for the day. One day? Was it just one day? Honestly, it felt like longer, but that might have been the lack of sleep.

Final Thoughts

I felt very honored to be able to go up to Sacramento and have this incredible experience meeting Assemblywoman Sanchez and her staff, touring the Capitol, and enjoying the luncheon. That being said, the award is not mine. The award is for every single board member, every single volunteer, and every single supporter who has helped create Hanaeleh and make it successful. Hanaeleh is only as successful as the network of people who have come together to make it successful, and I am honored to share the mission with so many people who want to improve the lives of horses everywhere.

For all of you, thank you for your continued support, and congratulations to each of you who have helped earn Hanaeleh the California Non-Profit of the Year Award. You have done an amazing job, and you deserve this award.

Thank you!