Commissioners' Corner: Favorite Gift Received

Everyone who ever awoke to a bicycle under a Christmas tree remembers that morning. A doll given during Hanukkah could bring years, even decades, of happiness. 

The holiday season is a season of giving. Some of those gifts leave an indelible impression on those who receive them. The gifts bring joy, elicit fond memories, and foster love.

In this month's Commissioners' Corner, we asked each District Commissioner: What is the best gift you have ever received? We didn't limit them to a Christmas or Hanukkah present. Their answers appear below.

STEVE ENGEL (Pictured with wife Ellen)
I was coming home on leave after Army basic training. I called home to let them know my flight arrangements. My grandmother got on the phone and asked me what I would want when I came home. I said, “Your potato pancakes, what else?” I was living in Bayside, Queens at the time. I got home, opened the door and there was a platter of maybe two dozen potato pancakes waiting for me. I ate them all. Best potato pancakes I ever had and the best gift I could have gotten. It was home.

ERIN WRIGHT (Commission Chair)
The best gift I've ever received are my sons Colby and Austin. They're good people. I think we've raised them to be good contributors to society and treat people right.

One of my favorite memories with them is going this time of year to the Mizner Park area where they have that musical tree that talks and says goofy jokes and stuff like that. And they would wander around the train. We'd spend hours and hours there. That would be my really good holiday moment.

CRAIG EHRNST (Treasurer)
Seeing enjoyment and appreciation of my family – wife Julissa, daughter Sophia, and sons Dylan and Eric – along with the public enjoying Boca Raton's enhanced parks and beaches is the best gift I've received. One memory that stands out as funny to me came when Dylan wanted to advance from playing recreational soccer and join Team Boca travel soccer. Until then I had been his soccer coach, but Dylan set his sights higher. He told me: “You're just a dad. I want to be on Team Boca.” I had to laugh.

BOB ROLLINS (Commission Vice-Chair)
Faith, Family and Friends. I am blessed with the first two but for gifts, I am fortunate to still maintain friendship today with four people I met in college in 1964 - Jack Hawkins, Bruce Higdon, Buddy Eslava and Douglas Patterson. The five of us and our spouses meet somewhere every summer and in between we communicate regularly by email or telephone. I know that if I was ever in need, for anything, help would be just a phone call away things. Outside of my family, these people mean more to me than anything in the world. Their friendship is the greatest gift I have received. They would do anything for me and I would do the same for them. I don't know many people who can make that statement and have close friends that they have known for over 50 years.

SUSAN VOGELGESANG
In 1991 a very thoughtful and generous teenager felt that the best life for her child would be with a family that could provide a full life of faith, family, education, and love. We received the gift of our beautiful, talented, and amazing daughter, Stephanie. When we adopted her she was 30 hours old. What a joy she has been and what a perfect beginning to our family. The gift we gave in return to Stephanie's birth parents was the fulfillment of our promise to make sure she was given every opportunity to live a life filled with faith, education, appreciation for the arts, and participation in a variety of sports. There is nothing of material value that can compare to the unselfish gesture of an individual that has provided countless hours of happiness to a grateful family.

Happy Holidays to All!