Taking a ride on Oprah’s roller-coaster

<p>After riding an emotional roller-coaster leading up to their appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” two Petaluma sisters each returned home with $25,000 worth of gifts and more importantly to them, greater awareness of the charitable group they started.</p><p>“I've been contacted by women in Novato, Santa Rosa and Lake County who want to do the same type of thing we are doing with Fabulous Women of Petaluma — help out people in need,” said Karen Gawronski, who was instrumental in founding the group in 2006.</p><p>Gawronski, 40, was invited to attend Winfrey's show mainly due to the assistance that is being provided to local residents in need through “Fabulous Women of Petaluma, “ which she and her sister, Sandy Acevedo, 50, helped to start. Gawronski was allowed to bring a guest, so she chose Acevedo, and as they headed to Chicago for the taping, they had no idea what they were about to experience.</p><p>“I didn't know what the show was about and didn't have any expectations,” Gawronski said. “I thought that we probably were being invited to be audience members during a taping of the show.”</p><p>Gawronski and Acevedo were aware that once each year, Winfrey has a “Favorite Things” show that honors people who are making a positive difference in others' lives.</p><p>“I knew that there was going to be a Favorite Things show in November, and thought that it might be on the day we were coming,” Gawronski said.</p><p>Her suspicion gained credibility on the day of the taping. As the sisters began chatting with other people in line to get in, they discovered that virtually all of them had remarkable stories to tell about helping others.</p><p>“But before the show began, a lady who came out to warm up the crowd said that the show would be airing in January,” Acevedo said.</p><p>The hopes of the sisters and other audience members suddenly deflated, but not for long.</p><p>“Oprah then came out in a black dress, and said that we must be exhausted from all the giving we've done to others,” Gawronski said. “She said that we need to channel and replenish our energy, so we need to meditate for a moment.</p><p>“The crowd got quiet and we did a little meditation, and then, as ‘Jingle Bells' was played and ‘snow' started falling, the whole studio opened up to become Santa's workshop.”</p><p>Meanwhile, Winfrey was pulling off her dress to reveal a full-length, sparkling Christmas gown underneath.</p><p>“I knew then that it was the giveaway day,” Gawronski said.</p><p>All of the approximately 200 people in the audience, which consisted entirely of givers and their guests, were told they would receive 25 gifts, collectively worth around $25,000, Gawronski said. The gifts included a Royal Caribbean cruise for two, diamond watch and 52-inch Sony 3-D television.</p><p>“It was exhilarating — people were crying,” Gawronski said.</p><p>Winfrey then said she wanted to “kick it up” just a little bit, and the group Black Eyed Peas emerged, singing “I Had the Time of My Life” in a gigantic snow globe. After the filming, Oprah talked with audience members off-camera about the importance of their work.</p><p>“It was the best part of the whole thing,” Gawronski said.</p><p>Show personnel had another tease up their sleeves, though.</p><p>“The producer came out and said that we were given wonderful gifts, but that there would be tax ramifications,” Gawronski said. “We all became concerned, but then she said we won't have any hardships, because they will pay for all of the taxes.”</p><p>The final tease came as the audience members were leaving.</p><p>“We were walking out of the show with our bags of presents, and saw a group of people on the other side of a window who were there for another taping of the show that day,” Gawronski said. “When they saw all of our presents, they were devastated, because they had thought that they might have been invited to participate in the giveaway show.”</p><p>“It turned out that they were asked to come there for another giveaway. It's the first time that Oprah has had two giveaways in one year.”</p><p>The sisters and millions of other people watched the show when it aired on Friday.</p><p>“It still seemed surreal,” Gawronski said. “It was exhilarating and exciting — almost like winning a lottery.”</p><p>To their great surprise, they received considerable visibility during the show.</p><p>“We were shown more than any other people in the audience,” Gawronski said.</p><p>Gawronski and Acevedo have been very visible in the Petaluma community since they moved here 11 years ago. Gawronski and her husband, Paul Gawronski, own the Mr. Pickles sandwich shop in Petaluma. They have two children, Frank, 12, and Vince, 8. Acevedo is an attorney who is married to Ronald Fetter. They also have two kids, Alexandra, 12, and Austin, 9.</p><p>The sisters are widely known for their work in helping people in need. Among other things, Gawronski has been serving as a volunteer at Corona Creek and Meadow elementary schools, and for cancer awareness activities, while Acevedo has been representing children in high-conflict divorce cases.</p><p>“Our parents (Armando and Gail Acevedo) instilled in us the need to share,” Gawronski said. “Also, our father said to us, ‘Don't be a follower — be a leader.' If everybody operated on that premise, the world would be so much better off.”</p><p>As adults, the sisters have been inspired by Winfrey's goodwill efforts and her motivational talks. </p><p>“I attended a women's conference in San Francisco with my mother and sister,” Gawronski said. “It was about empowering women, and Oprah was the keynote speaker. She asked us, ‘What is your gift and how can you make a difference in the world? If you don't know what you're supposed to do, go home and pray about it.'</p><p>“I went home, and felt profoundly moved to do something beneficial to the community.”</p><p>“It got us thinking about what we could do to make a difference,” Acevedo added.</p><p>After the father of a student at Corona Creek Elementary School died of a staph infection, Gawronski, whose child was attending the same school, wanted to help his widow.</p><p>“She had a brand new baby, and all of her family members were in England,” Gawronski said. </p><p>Gawronski began meeting with other women, and they decided to hold a fund-raising event.</p><p>“It seemed like the right thing to do. We raised enough money for her to ship all of her personal items to England,” Gawronski said.</p><p>A group of around 20 women eventually decided to form a group to help other people in need.</p><p>“Fabulous women started to help people in need in our community. We want to find ways to lighten their load,” Acevedo said.</p><p>“We began meeting in homes, and talking about who to help. Every time we shared, someone would say, ‘That's fabulous' in response to a suggestion, and that's how we got our name,” Gawronski said. </p><p>The group now has grown to include some 300 women, and around 100 of them normally turn up at fund-raising events. </p><p>“We've become so large that we've needed to move our gatherings to public venues,” Gawronski said.</p><p>Men also are invited, and a few have participated.</p><p>“Our events are open to everyone. We always have a few men,” she said.</p><p>The Fabulous Women of Petaluma have raised money for several local residents and groups, including more than $6,000 for the family of Eddie Martinez after he suddenly suffered several health problems; more than $2,000 for Mentor Me Petaluma; more than $4,200 for Robin Russell, who was diagnosed with a rare form of multiple sclerosis; more than $2,300 for Ava Mortier, a 7-year-old girl diagnosed as having lymphoma; and nearly $9,000 for Petaluma teen Danny Cox, who was paralyzed in a diving accident.</p><p>“We're currently raising money for a school in Rwanda,” Acevedo said.</p><p>Earlier this year, Gawronski noted the efforts of Fabulous Women of Petaluma when she decided to respond to a request for people to write about what the Winfrey show has meant to them.</p><p>“I said that I would love to have the opportunity to share what our small, dynamic group is doing in Petaluma,” she said.</p><p>After further screening, Gawronski and Acevedo soon found themselves sitting in the show's audience on a very special day — but not the only special day Gawronski has had recently. Earlier this year, she was named the Petaluma Woman of the Year, an award given by the Petaluma Women's Cancer Awareness Group, after being recommended for the honor by several members of the Fabulous Women of Petaluma.</p><p>“I try to be a light, a source of inspiration,” she said.</p><p>(Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com)</p>