When the Cotati Accordion Festival was deemed buried and retired after the 2004 event, a handful of people decided to step up and make sure that the show went on. Because there was no money left in the account, and the original producers had decided that the festival had run its course, it was going to be hard to rally community support. As it turned out, there was enough interest to bring it back better than ever.
One of the first businesses to reach out and offer cash for the promotion’s seed account was Volker Financial & Insurance Services. Little did I know that my old friend Ray Volker, my brother’s teammate, and fellow PSHS alumni, had learned the accordion as a youth. Keeping the festival alive had struck a nerve. Ray contacted me and asked how he could help. Ray has helped all right. To date he has contributed over $40,000.00 to the festival these past 15 plus years.
It is because of proactive members of the community like Ray that the festival exists today. All of us at the festival want to thank Ray for being part of our financial backbone and giving us the chance to come back each year.
