Rarely has the aphorism that "a rising tide lifts all boats" been more true than in the kid-centric educational space in Mill Valley and throughout Marin.

With deeply rooted local businesses like Sage Educators, Mathnasium, MV Code Club and C2 Education, there’s no shortage of places for parents to turn when their children need some academic guidance, not to mention the plethora of kid-focused arts organizations like PAAM and Poekie Nook.

Given the bevy of local educational options, C2 officials are thrilled at the growth of their learning center in Alto Plaza between Rocco’s Pizza and Thailand restaurant, according to Shawn Souza, a Sonoma native who went to Dominican University, lives in San Rafael and oversees C2’s efforts in Northern California.

“To know that we are a booming learning center that has the ability to continue helping students is very gratifying,” says Souza, noting that C2 Mill Valley has more than 100 students right now. “But most importantly, we want to make sure that we continue to provide the quality of service that our students and families have come to expect.”

​C2 Education was born as a private tutoring service out of a Harvard University dorm room in 1997, and has since grown to include more than 180 centers nationwide, serving more than 10,000 students. The business focuses primarily on personal tutoring and SAT, PSAT, ACT and AP Exam preparation.

“We’ve been able to develop a quality, diverse staff that covers the whole spectrum of our students’ needs,” Souza says. “And what makes us unique is that we have the ability to do long-term planning. For instance, for a high school sophomore who’d like to get into a UC (University of California system) school, we can work with them on an academic timeline and constructing their academic profile – grades, college essays, extracurricular activities and internships – to mimic those of students who go to those schools now. We take that holistic approach.”

Souza admits that C2 Mill Valley’s growth in the months after it opened in September 2014 centered on its proximity to Edna Maguire Elementary School and Mill Valley Middle School, but has steadily improved with students at Tamalpais High and Redwood High. The Mill Valley center’s students are now split into thirds: elementary, junior high and high school students, she says.

C2’s success to date in Mill Valley feeds the aforementioned aphorism. “I understand very clearly who we are and what we do, so if a family walks in the door with a specialty case, we won’t hesitate to send them to Mathnasium or another local provider,” Souza says. “We’ve built a rapport with the community for that reason. We’re here to service the needs of the children, even at the expense of growing our business.”

The 411: C2 Education is at 721 East Blithedale Avenue in the Alto PLaza shopping center. MORE INFO.

When Mill Valley Refuse Service sanitation worker Steve Cunningham didn't show up for his weekly Tuesday morning pickup at Saxton Yuill's house five weeks ago, the Edna Maguire first grader knew right away. That's because the 6-year-old Yuill had taken to waiting for Cunningham's 6 a.m. arrival each week – and waiting for his chance to pull the truck's lever to dump the can' contents into the truck.

Cunningham, a San Pablo resident who had been in a major car accident on the Richmond San Rafael Bridge on August 22 that left him paralyzed from the chest down, had developed a special bond with Yuill, 6, over the past year. So when Yuill's mom Ann informed the young boy that Cunningham was sick.

Yuill decided he wanted to do something to help Cunningham, a father of two who'd worked for Mill Valley Refuse for 15 years, and held a pair of bake sales, raising nearly $1,000 from neighbors and friends. The money has already been given to Cunningham's family, and family friend Traci Le Ann Woods says a separate Go Fund Me page has been created to help pay for Cunningham's medical needs.

"We love him so much and need to help provide him with the best care and tools to rehabilitate as much as he can," she says. "He may be confined to a wheel chair, but that can't stop him from being a daddy, a son and a friend. Please help us help him."

The 411: GO HERE to donate to Steve Cunningham's Go Fund Me website. And here's a KTVU piece on Yuill's generosity:

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Anki Gelb has been interested in art since she was a young girl, but "mainly as an observer," she says.

But after taking classes at the College of Marin – Gelb had moved from her birthplace of Stockholm, Sweden to the Bay Area in 1984 – her observation turned into action. 

"I've always had a yearning to create with paint, which finally found an outlet," Gelb says. "Always keen to take workshops to experiment with new techniques, and new mediums, I always seems to return to oil, a medium I finds fascinating to work with."

Though Gelb has exhibited in numerous juried shows throughout the Bay Area, she's chosen to hold her first-ever solo show at the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center (85 Throckmorton) throughout October, with a wine reception on October 4 (6–8pm) as part of the Mill Valley Arts Commission's First Tuesday Artwalk. The monthly celebration of local art includes a host of downtown venues, including the O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Seager Gray Gallery, the Mill Valley Public Library, Dolls and Dandy Salon, Fitwise Pilates, Zener Schon Contemporary Art, the Depot Bookstore & Café and City Hall. And for the second straight month, the members of the Mill Valley Design District, whose shops and galleries are primarily centered around Miller and Locust avenues, including Poet and/the Bench, Kress Jack at Home and 7 on Locust, have joined the Artwalk. Receptions at each venue are Tuesday from 6–8pm. Here’s the First Tuesday Artwalk Guide with venues and a map.

Gelb says her paintings reflect the light and colors from her native Sweden. "The range varies from the spare light of winter when colors are very subtle to the intense, long daylight of summer when colors are saturated," she adds. "Color and lines are very important in the expression of my art that’s often minimalistic. My subject matters reflect nature and my love for the natural world."

Gelb's oil paintings range from representational to abstract realism, but she's exploring landscapes abstraction, which is new to her, for her exhibit at the Mill Valley Chamber.

The 411: Anki Gelb exhibits her "Objects & Nature" paintings at the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center (85 Throckmorton) throughout October, with a wine reception on October 4 (6–8pm) as part of the Mill Valley Arts Commission's First Tuesday Artwalk. Here’s the First Tuesday Artwalk Guide with venues and a map.

Organizers of the 39th Mill Valley Film Festival are continuing the festival's tradition of producing an accompanying live music series of artists and bands connected to MVFF films. In doing so, they've ensured that the Sweetwater Music Hall will be home to an incredibly diverse lineup of music from Oct. 7-15 for MVFF Music, nine nights of shows from local, national, and international musicians. 

Here's the lineup:

Oct. 7 –  Thao Nguyen (of Thao and the Get Down Stay Down)
An established San Franciscan who packed the Fillmore earlier this year, Thao brings a special solo version of her “country-tinged indie folk-pop” (AllMusic) to MVFF Music. Film pairing: A Song for You: The Austin City Limits Story. MORE INFO & TIX.

Oct. 8 – Prezident Brown & The Itals
Join Jamaican roots reggae artist Prezident Brown and reggae veterans The Itals as they take the spirit of MVFF39’s Cannabis Focus day into the night. With decades of music-making behind them, The Itals are still going strong, stalwarts of the Jamaican harmony group sound. A hard working artist who’s been touring the US with his band for the last decade, Prez is a champion of the new roots and reality consciousness reggae movement that entertains, informs and inspires. MORE INFO & TIX.

Oct. 9 – Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas
Dubbed “the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling” by The San Francisco Examiner, Fraser, along with Juilliard-trained cellist Natalie Haas, presents an evening of Scottish fiddle and cello music of unrivaled beauty, eloquence, and passion. Film pairing: The Groove is Not Trivial. MORE INFO & TIX.

Oct. 10 – Erika Wennerstrom of Heartless Bastards (with Peter Stakee of Alberta Cross)
Best known as the leader and energetic core of the indie rock band Heartless Bastards, Erika Wennerstrom steps into her own spotlight as a solo artist, her powerful, soulful voice “exquisitely engaging in its world-weary twang” (Pitchfork). MORE INFO & TIX.

Oct. 11 – BANG! Bert Berns Celebration feat. Betty Harris
Celebrating the release of the documentary BANG! The Bert Berns Story, MVFF Music in collaboration with Steep Productions presents a special live concert honoring the astonishing body of work by songwriter Bert Berns and featuring legendary soul singer, Betty Harris. The movie is based on NY Times best-selling author and SF Chronicle critic Joel Selvin’s book, Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues. Melvin curated and will host the concert, pairing some of the world’s most celebrated soul singers (Bert Berns originals) with dynamite backup singers for over a dozen of Bert Berns brilliant songs including “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love”, “Piece of My Heart”, “Twist and Shout”, “Cry Baby”, “Hang on Sloopy”, “I Want Candy” and many more. Mill Valley music producer and multi-instrumentalist Scott Mathews serves as music director of the show. Film pairing: BANG! The Bert Berns Story. MORE INFO & TIX.

Oct. 12 – Fred Hersch
Named the Jazz Journalists Association’s “Jazz Pianist of the Year” for 2016, the eight-time Grammy® nominee graces the MVFF Music stage with a solo performance to complement a new documentary about his life and career. Film pairing: The Ballad of Fred Hersch. MORE INFO & TIX.

Oct. 13 – Trevor Hall
Trevor Hall’s has toured with Michael Franti, Matisyahu, and Jimmy Cliff, presenting an eclectic mix of acoustic rock, reggae and Sanskrit chanting, unified around a refreshingly positive, universal message. MORE INFO & TIX.

Oct. 14 – Alejandro Escovedo Trio
After a multi-decade solo career encompassing everything from punk to country to Americana, Escovedo’s musical range manifests as guitar-forward roots rock with emotional depth and sing-along choruses. MORE INFO & TIX.

Oct. 15 – The Great Mill Valley Gospel Show featuring musician and multiple-Grammy-winner Narada Michael Walden (who produced hits for Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Whitney Houston, among many others) returns for a second year, curating a spirit-moving, hand-clapping performance to close out year two of MVFF Music. Show will feature: Narada Michael Walden on drums, Troy Lampkins on bass, Willis Hickerson on B-3, Kevan Peabody on Keys, Matthew Charles Heulitt on Guitar. Vocalists: Jeanie Tracy, Nate’ Soul Sanger, Cornell Carter, Rusty Watson (director of the Love Center Choir), Gospel Choir. MORE INFO & TIX.

Eight years ago, on the eve of a multi-year enrollment boom and facing a rapidly shifting, unstable statewide education funding landscape, Mill Valley School District officials decided it was time to try and seize some local control for its schools.

To do so, the district sought voters’ approval of an expanded parcel tax of $731 per year (with a 5 percent annual increase) over eight years, and the so-called Measure A received the necessary two-thirds approval on the ballot. The parcel tax has provided a degree of security ever since, accounting for around 20 percent of the budget for the six schools within the Mill Valley School District: Edna Maguire, Old Mill, Park, Strawberry Point and Tam Valley Valley elementary schools and Mill Valley Middle School.

Much has changed since the passage of Measure A, with the district’s enrollment spiking from 2,288 in 2006 to nearly 3,200 in 2016 – a 40 percent jump. The state’s educational funding structured changed in 2013, when Governor Jerry Brown signing into law the new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), giving school districts more authority over how the money will be spent. As part of that shift, the Mill Valley School District switched from being a “Community Funded District” (formerly known as a “basic aid district”) to a Local Control-Funded Formula district because the per-student funding provided by the state exceeded property tax revenues, for which the district drew the bulk of its annual revenue.

Despite that shift, district officials says locally controlled educational funds are more important than ever, and now it’s time to convince voters to renew that parcel tax, affirming the argument that locally based funding is critical to maintaining district’s top-notch educational standards.

Measure E, which will be on the November 8th ballot, seeks a renewal of the $981 parcel tax (the initial $731 plus 5 percent annual increases over eight years) for the next 12 years, with a 5 percent annual increase to match the projected annual rise in educational costs, according to ‘Renew for Mill Valley Schools – Yes on Measure E’ campaign officials.

The renewed tax would generate an estimated $9 million per year, and campaign officials emphasize that parcel tax revenue “is not subject to state budget cuts or changes in the economy, and stays in our district to benefit our six schools.”
“Without Measure E, deep cuts would be required, and could include teacher layoffs, class size increases and closure of school libraries,” Renew for Mill Valley Schools campaign officials say.

Like Measure A in 2008, the parcel tax renewal requires at two-thirds support from voters, a high hurdle considering that 75 percent of district voters don’t have a student in one of the district’s six schools. Seniors can apply for an exemption from the parcel tax.

Luckily for Measure E campaign officials, they have practice in clearing that high hurdle. In 2012, the district was faced with stagnant property tax revenue, continued enrollment growth and funding “take backs” from the state, and decided to go to the voters with a $196 per year secondary parcel tax on the top of the then-$731 per year parcel tax.

In making their case for the additional parcel tax, the Measure B campaign leaned heavily on a “shared solutions/sacrifices” strategy, touting renegotiated contracts with the Mill Valley Teachers Association and other district employee groups, as well as increased financial commitments from both the Mill Valley Council of PTAs and Kiddo!, the local private educational foundation that supported arts education in Mill Valley for three decades and has expanded that support to also include technology and physical education with an annual contribution of nearly $3 million. Voters approved the additional parcel tax in 2012 and it runs through through 2020, accounting for approximately 4.5 percent of the district’s annual budget. Seniors were able to apply for exemption to that parcel tax as well.
​
The 411: Go here to learn more about Measure E. You can register to vote here or by calling the Marin County Registrar of Voters at (415) 473-6456. Visit www.MarinVotes.org for more information about voting.

The 60th edition of the Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival, one of our community's iconic events, drew 10,000 people to Old Mill Park on Sept. 17-18 for some fantastic art from nearly 140 artists, great live music and children's entertainment and, on one of the hottest days of the year, some precious shade in the park's gorgeous redwood grove. 

The festival also featured the 2nd Annual Art Lovers Save Discount Program, which gave thousands of festival attendees a chance to get discounts at merchants and restaurants all over town by presenting their "Art Lovers Save" sticker. More than 45 Mill Valley Chamber Member businesses stepped up to offer discounts.

At the conclusion of the weekend, festival organizers handed out awards, as decided by a panel of judges: Jeffrey Levin, co-owner of the Poet and/the Bench jewelry shop and art gallery on Locust Avenue in Mill Valley; Susan Snyder, owner of the Caldwell Snyder Gallery in San Francisco; and Heidi Paul, owner of the Made shop in Stinson Beach. The honorees, pictured below, are (from left to right): Lissa Herschleb, mixed media (San Rafael); Sharon Payne Bolton, mixed media (Benicia); David Giulietti, jewelry (Berkeley); Bruce Mitchell, woodwork (Inverness); and Judith Lemmens, pottery (Mill Valley). 

​​And here's a kinetic art sculpture that was on display at the festival from San Diego-based artist Amos Robinson:

Over the past decade-plus, the Mill Valley Film Festival has made its name on a handful of attributes: an incredibly eclectic selection of films from all over the world; an almost eery ability to showcase films that end up garnering Academy Awards; and celebrity appearances by actors and directors to receive tributes and to accompany awards-worthy screenings.

For its 39th edition, set for Oct. 6-16 in downtown Mill Valley and at venues all over Marin, MVFF organizers have once again knocked it out of the park in the first two categories – and  set the bar at an all-time high in the third.

The roster of celebrity appearances at MVFF39 starts with one of the biggest names in show business: Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman, who will appear in person to receive a tribute to her career on Oct. 9, when she will present her latest film, “Lion.”

The lineup also includes a pair of actresses well on their way to having Kidman-esque careers in Hollywood: Emma Stone, who will appear at a screening of “La La Land,” the widely acclaimed musical from director Damien Chazelle (“Whiplash”) she stars in with Ryan Gosling; and Amy Adams, who stars in the equally lauded science fiction film “Arrival” from director Denis Villeneuve (“Sicario”). Both actresses headline their respective Opening Night screenings on Oct. 6.

MVFF39 also features appearances by actors Ewan McGregor (“American Pastoral,” director and star), Gael García Bernal (“Neruda”) and Aaron Eckhart (“Bleed for This”) as well as groundbreaking filmmaker Julie Dash (“Daughters of the Dust”) – all of whom will sit down for onstage conversations after the screening of their films. as festival honorees.

“When you look at turning 39 and heading into our 40th year, the amount of energy and change and innovation we’re doing with this festival is extraordinary,” MVFF founder and Executive Director Mark Fishkin said in unveiling the lineup earlier this month.
The festival closes Oct. 16 with the hotly anticipated “Loving,” Jeff Nichols’ film “Loving,” the tale of an interracial couple that fought for the right to marry, a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court in 1967. Nichols and actors Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga will appear in person at the screening, which will be followed by a Closing Night Party at Cavallo Point.

The 411: The 39th Mill Valley Film Festival is Oct. 6-16 at venues in Mill Valley, San Rafael, Corte Madera and Larkspur. MORE INFO & TIX.

Fresh off a free Movies in the Park screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens that drew more than 300 people to Old Mill Park in August, the series returns this Friday, September 23 to honor the late, great Gene Wilder with a screening of Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

The free outdoor film series, a collaboration between the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce, Mill Valley Recreation and the California Film Institute, kicked off in 2014 as an opportunity to celebrate film in one of the most gorgeous settings in the Bay Area: the redwood grove of Old Mill Park.

Mel Stuart’s 1971 adaptation of the classic 1964 Roald Dahl novel features Wilder, who passed away August 29 at the age of 83, as the title character, who has hidden five Golden Tickets amongst his famous "Wonka Bars," with Golden Ticket winners receiving a full tour of his tightly guarded candy factory as well as a lifetime supply of chocolate. What follows is a test of the character of each of the children and their parents amidst Wonka's oft-surreal world.

The free film screenings are set in the redwood grove adjacent to the playground in Old Mill Park. Seating is general admission, and attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket and/or low beach chair. The film begins at sunset, approximately 7:15pm on September 23.

The Movies in the Park series concludes October 14 – as part of the 39th Mill Valley Film Festival – with Pixar’s Oscar-winning 2015 film Inside Out, which takes place inside the mind of a young girl whose five personified emotions lead her through life.

Don't miss this chance to see amazing films in the beautiful Old Mill Park – FOR FREE! Old Mill Park is at the corner of Throckmorton Avenue and Cascade Drive. NOTE: Due to a number of events in the area on Friday evening, parking will be limited around Old Mill Park. We encourage you to walk, bike or carpool.

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To kick off its 17th season, the acclaimed Mill Valley Philharmonic is brewing up a community collaboration with the emerging Throckmorton Chorus, a two-year-old sonic venture from the stalwart Throckmorton Theatre arts organization.

For the first time, Throckmorton Chorus, which launched in 2014 as a group of 30 singers and is now headed by Choral Director Richard McKinley, will join the Mill Valley Philharmonic to perform Ralph Vaughan William’s "Serenade to Music," Leonard Bernstein’s "Make Our Garden Grow" (the finale from Candide), and the world premiere of "Love Songs," with music by Beth Custer and lyrics by Bernard Weiner.  MVP’s symphonic piece is Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 in Eb, op. 70.
  
Katrina Zosseder, leader of Throckmorton Chorus’s soprano section, will join the orchestra as the featured soloist in the world premiere of "Love Songs," three songs by Beth Custer (music) and Bernard Weiner (lyrics). Katrina’s sister Elisabeth will join MVP again on harp. Custer is a well-known San Francisco clarinetist, singer, and composer. In addition to more than 35 recordings with her four ensembles, Custer has composed for theatre, film, dance, television, installations and the concert stage. Weiner, Custer’s lyric partner who also commissioned the work, is an award-winning playwright and photographer and formerly the San Francisco Chronicle’s theater critic for nearly two decades. 
 
The symphonic work in MVP’s Fall program is Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 in Eb, Opus 70. Since Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, composers have been cowed by its masterpiece, and societies by its impact. The Soviet government expected Shostakovich to compose a large, majestic ode to commemorate the Soviet Union’s World War II victory. Shostakovich was caught between celebrating the Russian victory over Nazism and complying with Stalin’s demands. He produced a playful, abstract and mocking symphony. This difference—between expectation and product—offended the Soviet government so deeply that they banned the work, pointing to the composition’s “ideological weakness’ and its failure to reflect the true spirit of the people of the Soviet Union.” The ban on the symphony was lifted after Stalin’s death in 1953.
 
All concerts are free. Walk-in seating. Free advance tickets for November 6th concert only, available in October.

Alan Abrams, a longtime Mill Valley resident whose heralded career included stints as an advertising executive, wine industry entrepreneur and as a dedicated community and Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center leader, died September 12 after a battle with cancer. He was 70.

His wife, Michela O’Connor Abrams, the longtime CEO of Dwell, has invited family, friends and those who worked with Alan to join her and her daughter Taylor at a funeral mass on Saturday, September 17 at 2 pm at St. Hilary's Catholic Church in Tiburon.

“Alan was a warrior to the end,” O’Connor Abrams says. “He endured so much over the past year, from surgeries to treatment to dashed hopes, all without an iota of change in his positive, humorous self. He was never delusional but he was not going to give up hope right to the end.”

Abrams was a longtime board member of the Mill Valley Chamber and served on a number of local leadership committees over the years, including the City of Mill Valley's Business Advisory Board, the group created in 2009 “to advise the City Council on economic development and business issues.” The BAB, as it was widely known, advocated on behalf of businesses at City Hall and led an overhaul of the Chamber of Commerce. Abrams was also a key member of the City’s Traffic and Congestion Reduction Advisory Task Force and the Miller Avenue Streetscape Committee.

“Alan was instrumental in helping to revitalize the Chamber of Commerce six years ago, and served as the first Board Chair in the transition,” says Chamber Board Chair Ann Aversa, whose family owns La Ginestra Restaurant. “He had a wonderful, funny, charming personality, and became a dear friend to me over the years. I will miss him, and the Chamber and the larger business community will as well.”

“Alan played a critical role in a number of important City committees over the years, and he always brought sharp analysis, critical thinking and a fantastic sense of humor to all that he did here in the community," City Manager Jim McCann adds. "He was one of a kind and he will be greatly missed, and we wish his family well at this difficult time."

Alan Abrams was born on January 31, 1946 in Dallas, Texas, the only child of Elmer and Maxine Abrams. Elmer founded the Jones, Brown & Abrams dry goods business and sold it “right before there was no need for dry goods anymore,” O’Connor Abrams says. The younger Abrams clearly got his sense of humor from his father. Elmer proposed to Maxine on a bank deposit slip of the bank where she worked, and Alan later proposed to Michela using a cartoon from The New Yorker.

“He was the center of their universe,” O’Connor Abrams says of Alan’s parents. “He always said they lived that ‘Leave It to Beaver’ existence.”

Abrams earned his B.S. in finance at Southern Methodist University, and then served a stint as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, specializing in air traffic control in Japan. He went on to get his master’s degree in marketing at the Wharton School of Business.

Alan Abrams and Michela O’Connor first met in September 1987 when a pair of couples invited them separately to a dinner party in Ross – a surprise setup that neither of them were seeking, Abrams says. “But they didn’t give us a choice,” she says.

Humor trumped the annoyance of some unwanted match-making, however. Michela had been asked to bring a main course, and prepared ravioli in pesto sauce. When Alan arrived, he took a glance at the ravioli, then over to the three dogs in the house and deadpanned, “Oh, is that the dog food?”

“I looked at him and said, ‘You did NOT just say that,’” Michela says. “But it was exactly that humor that completely intrigued me about Alan from the beginning.”

The evening continued with a game of Pictionary. “We beat the pants off all of them,” O’Connor Abrams said with a laugh.

At the time, O’Connor was a regional sales manager for PC World magazine, and Abrams was a advertising brand manager for Grey Advertising with a specialty in the beverage business. One month after the unexpected setup, on their first official date, the waitress at a Japanese restaurant in Embarcadero 1 asked Alan for his order and he replied, “I’ll have the nachos.”

“I’m hiding my head behind the menu, the waitress is looking at him with three heads and says, ‘We don’t have nachos here,” O’Connor Abrams says. “Alan replies, ‘Of course you don’t.’ He was just so clearly a character. I wasn’t really looking for a relationship at that time, but I knew he was going to be a fun person to hang out with. I just found him so interesting and intelligent without anything egotistical or any hubris. And the rest is history.”

The couple got married in October 1989, two years to the day of their first date. They continued to live in San Francisco until moving to Mill Valley – in the home they’ve stayed at ever since – in November 1995.

In 2001, as O’Connor Abrams was brokering the sale of Business 2.0 magazine to Time Warner, Abrams was considering his next chapter. He’d spent years in the advertising and beverage business, with roles such as senior brand manager at Hiram Walker focusing on Canadian Club and nine other spirits brands. At BBDO Advertising, Abrams oversaw the Almaden Vineyards account, and later handled advertising for some of the best-known wine brands in the world, including Mumm Champagne, Mumm Napa Valley, Charles Krug, Sterling Vineyards, B&G French wines and more.

O’Connor Abrams urged him to consider leveraging his years of experience and expertise to do something on his own. “His love of wine and his depth of knowledge of the business and the brands was incredible,” she says. “Unlike most of us who learn enough to make us dangerous, he approached it like he was getting his masters in it.”

Abrams had hosted informal wine tastings and auctions over the years, often to help raise money for friends battling illness or later for Marin Horizon School, where their daughter Taylor attended. But after he went to UC-Davis to become a certified wine educator, and then got his sales license through the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Abrams got into the corporate wine tasting world.

It took off.

“It’s a great way to kick off a board meeting,” O’Connor Abrams says with a laugh.

In 1997, Abrams designed the family wine cellar, doing so with such meticulous detail that even his wife was amazed. “He was always so self effacing that he didn’t think of himself as an expert, but when people would visit and see the cellar, they’d look at him and say, ‘You did this’? You should be doing more of this,” O’Connor Abrams says.

Abrams added wine cellar design to the tastings, consulting and wine education parts of the business under his Alan’s Wine Cellar umbrella. BusinessWeek profiled one of his creations, a cellar made entirely of stainless steel dowels. And the wine auction-fueled fundraising continued for myriad local events supporting Marin Horizon, St. Ignatius Preparatory School and the Mill Valley Chamber. Just a week before he passed away, St. Ignatius announced the creation of the Alan A. Abrams Scholarship Fund to benefit kids who are unable to afford tuition, which will be established via the proceeds from this year’s wine auction.

“He always used his business to help everybody else,” O’Connor Abrams says.

In August 1987, Michela O’Connor joined a friend who was going through a tough time on a “journal-writing weekend.” She recalls being told to write down whatever came to her mind, and then scribbling, “I want to meet someone who can wear a pair of 501s and bring a six-pack and then go to the symphony and know exactly the piece their playing and who the composer is.”

One month later, she met Alan Abrams. “I’d found him,” she says.

Flash forward nearly three decades, as the couple lay in bed last Friday night, with Michela reading and Alan quietly nearing the end of his battle with cancer, O’Connor Abrams gave him a verbal nudge.

On queue, Abrams perked up and leaned toward his wife, two fingers extended like he was going to poke her in the eyes.
“During the hardest times, he’s still making jokes,” she says. “He was never going to be overly sober about all of this."

A funeral mass will be held for Alan Abrams on Saturday, September 17 at 2 pm at St. Hilary's Catholic Church in Tiburon. In lieu of flowers, the family is accepting donations to the Alan A. Abrams Scholarship Fund for Saint Ignatius. Go here to donate.