Polenta feed raises funds for Santa Rosa Junior College athletics

A family dinner for 200-plus Saturday evening brought Santa Rosa’s Becker Center alive with music, talk, laughter and the chill-melting aroma of homemade polenta.

The clan was a tight-knit group of people, most of them alumni of Santa Rosa Junior College, who enjoy an excuse to get together and raise some money for the athletics, dance and kinesiology programs at the JC.

As guests arrived at the hall alongside St. Eugene’s Cathedral and school, the New Horizons Swing Band was serenading the social hour. There were appetizers and cocktails to enjoy, friendships to refresh and silent-auction goodies to eye.

Come dinnertime, everyone took seats at long, communal tables. Young men on Coach Marty Kinahan’s soccer team served the meal of polenta, salad and ice cream, prepared by Randy Apel and his crew.

Members of the hosting Bear Cub Athletic Trust welcomed the diners and introduced the always-popular 50/50 drawing and Heads or Tails game.

The polenta feed and a golf tournament are the primary sources of the funds the trust places in SRJC’s Larry Bertolini Athletic Endowment. Over the years, the endowment has purchased scoreboards, athletic equipment and uniforms, video technology and championship rings.