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Gaeto lends skills to Eldorado Kiwanis fundraising efforts

Treasurer helps club ‘stay on track’

Mirror photo by Greg Bock / Eldorado Kiwanis club Treasurer Joe Gaeto stands on the ballfield at Seitz Field.

It’s the height of the Eldorado Kiwanis club’s annual Christmas tree sale and Joe Gaeto is at the club’s facilities on California Avenue, checking over the volunteer list to see who is scheduled to work.

The money brought in during the yearly sale means the club can donate to other organizations in the community, such as Toys for Tots, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Blair County, and although they hold a variety of fundraisers each year, the annual tree sale is crucial.

“Our tree sale’s our biggest sale,” said Gaeto, who is the club’s treasurer. If we didn’t have it, we couldn’t do a lot of things.”

A tree shortage — and difficulty getting people to work the sale — added to the challenge of putting on the sale this year, Gaeto said, but the 200 Fraser, Canaan and Douglas firs the club had for sale will likely be sold out heading into this week.

“We get a lot of repeat customers,” said Gaeto, who spearheads the fundraiser.

“Basically, he’s a good guy and he is always there whenever anything needs to be done,” said Chuck Kivitz, president of the Eldorado Kiwanis, who also worked with Gaeto as a volunteer with the Altoona Teener League for 16 years.

Kivitz pointed out that Gaeto not only was a coach, he was an umpire, and has been instrumental in making improvements to the league’s field — Seitz Field, which is part of the Kiwanis facilities on California Avenue.

Kivitz pointed out that Gaeto is there with his equipment and expertise and with such a heavily used field, it’s no easy task to keep the ballpark in shape as well as make improvements.

Seitz Field has seen a lot of improvements over the years — the addition of grass to the infield, a new maintenance building, a batting cage building and just two years ago, new lights. Gaeto was involved in each of these additions to the facility. When the lights were installed two years ago, he was there with his equipment to help set the poles, and he also wired the lights.

The kids — and not just his own four boys — are the reason Gaeto said he has stayed active as a volunteer with the organizations over the years, he said.

“I have four boys and they all loved baseball,” said Gaeto. “They all played baseball here and when they were done, I just stayed.”

Gaeto downplays his contributions, noting that he’s stepped back a bit and mainly now just concentrates on Kiwanis.

“My wife is an angel,” Gaeto said, of his wife of 35 years, Patricia Ann. “There are a lot of hours I’m here and not there. But I never missed the kids’ functions.”

As Kiwanis treasurer for the past decade, Gaeto makes sure the club’s finances are sound so they can give back to the community.

“He’s been great with the money — making sure we stay on track,” Kivitz said.

Along with the Kiwanis and Altoona Teener League, Gaeto has also been a big part of the Miracle League of Blair County’s success over the past 11 years. That field is adjacent to Seitz Field, and President Joe Reed pointed out when he set out to start the league for children with disabilities, he asked Gaeto to be on the board.

Reed said Gaeto is a great example of an average guy who works hard in the community in a number of roles without a lot of attention.

“He’s easy to get along with,” Reed said, noting that when they set out to build the field for the Miracle League, Gaeto’s expertise was as important as the equipment he provided.

“Joe is a good guy,” Reed said. “He likes to be around the kids.”

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