How many of you know about the Pumpkin House in Skypark? An incredible display of carved pumpkins that make you feel like you are in a full blown pumpkin patch. But what is special is the fact that if you asked Jodie why she spends weeks carving pumpkins during Halloween, she will tell you that she, along with her husband Nathan do so because it brings joy to her neighborhood and our entire commUNITY.
But that is not all, she is involved in so many philanthropic projects and endeavors with one of them being visits to Ukraine to take those in need goods and necessities in the war torn country.
An incredible woman of positive influence is Jodie Fillhardt.
Before coming to Scotts Valley, where did you live?
Nathan and I lived in San Jose until Dec 2015 where I had been living since 2004 when I moved to the South Bay for college from Long Beach, CA.
What brought you to Scotts Valley and how long have you lived here?
I have lived in the Skypark neighborhood since December of 2015. When Nathan and I knew we wanted to start a family we began looking at different Bay Area communities and fell in love with Scotts Valley. Between the school ratings, the multiple parks, and the wide variety of local services we felt it would be a great place to raise a family.
What do you love most about living here?
I love the people the most. I know that our little community has gone through some growing pains, but every community has over the last 4 years. Overall though I love how genuinely the residents all seem to care for one another and the community. You can see this in all the different activities from the Multi-Cultural fair, to food trucks and go-go, to movies and music in the parks. Not to mention all the different sports teams and scout troops.
Residents are so invested in the community and one another. That is one of the biggest selling points about Scotts Valley, in my opinion.
Please describe what drives and motivates you to do more for others and for the people of Scotts Valley.
When we have a whole community of people invested in one another it makes it easy to want to do the same. Whether it’s our Halloween pumpkins or the after school Lego classes everything I work on is a direct reflection of community support. If people didn’t love the pumpkins, we wouldn’t carve so many. If people were not excited for the Lego programs, we would not be adamant about keeping our operation headquartered in Scotts Valley.
So ultimately, it’s the people who drive me.