North Bay Woman

20 NORTH BAY WOMAN | F A L L 2 0 1 5 and killed in a Rohnert Park crosswalk, leaving Ling herself with serious injuries. "When Calli's life was taken, we rallied around Ling," Gawronski says. "It was the first time I was surprised at the impact and outreach we had. We raised $32,000 to help them with medical bills." Another family's struggle hit even closer to home. Heather Banaszek is not only a close friend and neighbor of Gawronski, she was also a founding board member of The Fabulous Women. When her 11-year-old son CJ was diagnosed with chronic my- elogenous leukemia in 2012, the group rallied around the Banaszek family, organizing a bone marrow drive for the Na- tional Marrow Donor Program. After CJ passed away in 2014, the group lent its support to Alex's Lemonade Stand Foun- dation, a childhood cancer charity that Heather champions in memory of her son. "To me CJ is a daily inspira- tion," says Gawronski. "He was an amazing kid. He did a lot of writing as a young man. He was an old soul." Seeking to honor the memories of these friends and their struggles, Gawronski came up with the idea of writing a book: "I wanted to create a legacy in which their life lessons could carry on." And so work began on "Soul Purpose: Finding the Courage to Fly." "From silly diaries to private journals, writing has been a gift in my life," says Gawronski. "Once I trusted myself to write down my experience, I began to expand my vision for myself and the community around me. I would really love it if this book makes people review their lives." The goal of "Soul Purpose" is to spread the notion of community charity beyond the city of Petaluma: "I would love it if there was a national movement. Charity is not a 'have to,' it's a 'get to.'" With chapter titles such as Turbulence, Leaving the Nest and Leap of Faith, the book has a flight theme that Krista hopes will resonate with readers. The content in the second to the last chapter was inspired by a speech given by James Forni, a young Petaluma high school teacher and coach who recently passed away from melanoma. "James was phenomenal," says Gawronski, adding that her older son and so many other students at Petaluma's Casa Grande High School idolized the varsity basketball coach. As The Fabulous Women helped the Forni family organize a memorial service for James this past summer, Gawronski was struck anew by the coach's signature mantra during his long battle with cancer: "Vincero" – "I will win" in Italian. "James won in every way that mattered," says Gawronski. "Every single day he was charitable. He took time with people. We need to redefine what charity is. It's daily interaction. Chapter 19 is a dedication to his spirit." Though Gawronski's been writing the book off and on for several years as a way to document the stories of families The Fabulous Women have helped, she kicked the project into high gear in early 2015 by signing up for an intensive eight-week writing workshop. "It's been a whirlwind," she says of the last several months. "I just finished the book at the end of July." She accomplished that by scaling back her hours at the family sandwich shop and by carving out time in her busy schedule to write: "A regular practice for me is to wake up before everyone else." The hard work and long hours have paid off: "Soul Purpose" is scheduled to be released by OptiMystic Press this fall and will be available through Amazon. "This book talks about life as a whole," she says. "We all have this calling and it's up to us to figure out what it is." Beyond chronicling the birth of The Fab- ulous Women and the stories of the families the group has helped, "I want to inspire other people to start groups – that's the bonus on top." A portion of the proceeds from sales of "Soul Purpose" will benefit The Fabulous Women as well as Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, the nonprofit near and dear to the heart of friend Heather Banaszek. As Gawronski witnessed her journey of giving play out since that day of inspiration in 1999, she was eager to thank Oprah, the woman who first planted the seed. She had a chance to do just that in 2010 when she and her sister, Sandy Fetter, were selected to participate in a Hometown Heroes episode of Oprah's television show. "Sometimes, miracles hap- pen," Gawronski says. "At the end (of the taping), we were able to talk. It was a full circle moment to say 'Thank you for the inspiration.'" Reflecting on the path her life has taken over the last 10 years, Gawronski says, "I've been blessed. The group affords me the opportuni- ty to relate to people in a different way." Five years from now, she sees herself travel- ing to speaking engagements to promote The Fabulous Women and "Soul Purpose." She envisions a national movement to pro- mote community charity along with more Soul Sister Campfires, a concept she introduced this year as a way to gather women for a day of motivational speaking, camaraderie and support – all capped off by a campfire. "We bring local women together to create friendships and gain inspiration. Women in general are craving a space to talk." And who knows what might transpire after one such gathering? "There's magic in the community if you can just tap into it," Gawronski says with a smile. About the Fabulous Women: The Petaluma-based group is planning a community event on October 24 at Petaluma Valley Athletic Club to celebrate the release of "Soul Purpose" and to honor the families whose lives are chronicled in the book. For more information, visit thefabulous- women.com. Gawronski family, left to right: husband Paul, sons Vince and Frank, Krista. – Photo provided by Krista Gawronski.

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