|
After a 7 year battle with cancer, John Semanik passed away on August 8th at the age of 67. John was an active community leader in District 4. This week, I adjourned our Council meeting in John's honor. Watch the video for the full tribute.
After becoming a local advocate for the needs of his Penitencia Neighborhood, John created the Penitencia Neighborhood Association. He walked door to door, recruiting people to be members of the nascent group. He continued to work tirelessly to build the PNA network, attended meetings, and made calls to help improve the quality of life in the neighborhood. PNA is now the largest community association in District 4, with over 400 members.
PNA has been an effective advocate for its community and has made an impact on addressing safety and security concerns and quality of life for those who live in the Upper Penitencia Creek region of District 4. John used his programming skills to create a website and news aggregator called San Jose Community to keep the neighborhood informed of what is going on in the city.
John was a caring, compassionate person and an inspiring community leader who received many awards and accolades for his decades of public service. He will be remembered for his kindness, generosity, love of family, passion for working to make the world a better place, and genuine capacity to share his time and talents with others. He is survived by his wife, Olivia, three daughters, Natalie, Dianne, and Jessica, as well as five grandchildren, Mia, Dominic, Antonio, Rocco, and Isaac, all of whom brought him immense pride and joy.
Our hearts and appreciation go out to the entire Semanik family. I thank them for their love of our community.
| 
