Meet Elsie and Kasey!!!

Craft Talks is always a popular meeting at the Club...  so much so that John Headding brought Gene Tripp, Rick Grantham brought Bryan Griffiths and Dan Costley brought Paul Vincent to share in the day... Enjoy getting to meet Elsie Casida and Kasey Watson...

Elsie was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa.  She moved to Visalia, CA with her 3 teenage kids and opened up a restaurant serving breakfast and lunch only calling it Valhalla Restaurant and Gift Shop.  She, I’m sure with the help of her kids, ran her restaurant for 30 years.  Over that span of time, Elsie made many, many wonderful friends.  One day at the restaurant, she met a guy named Ken, he asked her out and on October 30^th, they went on their first date.  They were married 3 months later.  The Casida’s moved to Morro Bay a year and a half ago.  Elsie sold her restaurant to her daughter; it’s nice to be able to keep it in the family!!  Elsie is also quite the seamstress (which we were able to see firsthand as she made the Santa and Mrs. Claus outfits for the Lighted Boat Parade which were spectacular!!!).  As a fundraiser for her grandson’s scholarship fund, who very sadly lost his life at much too early of an age, Elsie began making aprons with 100% of the proceeds donated to the fund.  When it was all said and done, Elsie had made over 500 aprons meaning that almost $20,000 was contributed to that account. What a special gift she was able to give!!  Elsie wasn’t a huge fan of retirement, she as kinda bored and wanted more.  That was to our club’s advantage as she and Ken visited, became members and are now incredibly active, pitching in for pretty much everything.  I know that the Fish Fry, the Lighted Boat Parade, Evening with Heart, and the Valentine’s Day Social wouldn’t have been as successful without her/their help!!!  To top it off, Elsie has said that she will kick-start her apron making venture for anybody interested in ordering one…  and yes, with all proceeds going to Rotary.  Welcome Elsie and thanks so much for both your energy and generosity!!!

Kasey is a 5th generation Californian growing up in Bakersfield, going to Garces High School and then Long Beach State.  She returned to Bakersfield where she worked as a graphic artist at KGET, Bakersfield.  She is sooooo not bored as she is trying to juggle being a mom, a wife and a business owner.  She met her husband when she was 19 years old. She has 3 children – Ben is 20 and goes to Point Loma University where he double majors in Finance and Accounting; Joe is 15 and plays baseball at Arroyo Grande High School; and, Lilly is 9 and a State Champion baton twirler.  Kasey purchased and runs Garden House, a Morro Bay care facility specializing in Alzheimer’s and other Dementia care.  At Garden House, Kasey introduced Mneme Therapy which is brain based art therapy for those with cognitive disabilities.  The result of this is mind boggling.  The art work produced by these residents is inspiring!!!  But even more important, the increase in the quality of life for the residents is unparalleled as it allows them to feel accomplished, happy, and most importantly allows them moments of clarity that can carry throughout the entire day.  For anybody interested, they have produced a calendar which they sell as a fundraiser.  Evening with Heart was blessed to have been the recipient of 8 or 9 pieces of art for the silent auction – this writer wasn’t fortunate to have won one but will be contacting Garden House as they will also sell also sell them to the public.  Kasey, thanks for making our Rotary Club your home!!