Thanksgiving Opportunity Drawing Winners Announced

Dear OCEA member,

Our Thanksgiving is going to look a bit different for many of us due to the unprecedented health crisis we're facing. Our partners at Orange County's Credit Union (OCCU) wanted to join with OCEA to give thanks to all OCEA members for their public service, so together we held an opportunity drawing for five (5) Thanksgiving Dinner Giveaways. Each giveaway consists of a $100 grocery store gift card that may be used to purchase a Thanksgiving feast! Here are the winners:

Michael Kubisty, OC Public Works; Connie Santoyo, CSS; Jamie Botts, Housing Authority; Jennifer Duarte, SSA; and Van Bui-Vo, Harbor Justice Center. Congratulations.

I want to share a short note about two of our lucky winners. Mike Kubisty is a Sr. Land Surveyor in Public Works. His son Julian, 24, recently suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident. "Two weeks ago, we didn’t know if our son would make it through the night but now we have hope," said Marne Kubisty, Mike's wife. "Julian began getting stronger and when we won the drawing, we decided to celebrate our thankfulness!"

Van Bui-Vo works at the Harbor Justice Center. When she got the news she had won, the first thing that came to mind was how she could help others. "Wow! Thank you sooo much and I’m sooo lucky to get selected," Van wrote to Michelle Arellano at OCCU. "I will definitely share it with a family (that is less fortunate than me) that I know of."

I want to thank our partners at OCCU for helping to make this Thanksgiving a little bit easier for OCEA members who have remained on the job serving the public in the midst of a historic pandemic.

Please stay safe as you enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday.

In Solidarity,

Charles Barfield
OCEA General Manager

Publication Date: November 26, 2020