Great Wonders, Great Jubilee: Bill Seiden, Solano Wine & Food Jubilee volunteer
Bill Seiden is a man clearly committed to his community, as he regularly volunteers his time to work on activities stretching from Rio Vista to Fairfield, and from Dixon to Vacaville. It’s a year-round effort that may find him spending days helping to rebuild the popular and well-used Great Wonders playground in Vacaville, to spending months helping to organize one of the county’s most popular fund-raising soirees, the Solano Wine & Food Jubilee.
As a member of the NorthBay Healthcare Foundation board of directors, Seiden’s most visible efforts may be for the Solano Wine & Food Jubilee, a popular social event held every year as a fund-raiser for NorthBay Hospice & Bereavement. The event simply couldn’t exist without the help of so many volunteers who chip in to do everything from setting up tables and tents to serving on committees, according to NorthBay Healthcare Foundation President Brett Johnson.
Bill got involved in the Jubilee several years ago after “seeing how hospice helped my mother in her struggle at the end of her life. I wanted to give more of my time to help and working on the Wine & Food Jubilee was the perfect way for me to do that.” At first Seiden helped with event set-up, but in recent years has agreed to serve on the committee, taking responsibility for coordinating restaurant participation.
Once the Jubilee is over, Seiden moves on to his other volunteer assignments. He recently returned to the Great Wonders playground in Vacaville, where he spent eight days helping to renovate the popular – and worn-out – children’s recreation area. It was not the first time Bill worked at Great Wonders; he was among the crew who built the original playground, and then almost immediately rebuilt it after it was destroyed by an arson fire.
Bill is also actively involved in Vacaville Rotary, and has been for more than 20 years. He is deputy director for the Northern California and Nevada chapter of American Airlines’ retired pilot association, is an ordained deacon and elder for the Vacaville Community Presbyterian Church, and was also recently appointed to the Solano County Airport Land Use Committee. He also serves as treasurer for his golf club in Rio Vista, as well as a marshal for area PGA tournaments.
Bill enjoys working with children and organizing activities for them. As a Vacaville Rotarian, he volunteered on fishing expeditions for special needs children, and then worked to establish a special kid’s day at the Dixon May Fair. “We now host more than 300 kids with disabilities and, together with volunteers, more than 500 people will enjoy a morning and lunch at the fair,” he says.
As for his work on Great Wonders, Bill doesn’t mind returning to a construction site that is by now quite familiar. “The results are a tribute to a community that really cares about its young ones.”