The winner of the the �Do something nice for Ocean Beach Contest is Rich Gillern whom wins a spanking new Matuse 4.3.2 Hoplight Wetsuit.

Rich and his wife have donated their architectural services for the new Sunset Co-op Nursery School building, as well as sat through the tediousness of City Planning getting the plans approved (how many of you have been thru City Planning- you know what I am talking about.)

Rich explains his entry pretty well in his submission letter-

�My name is Rich Gillern and I would like to submit the following in your Ocean Beach love contest. I am a long time Bay Area resident and surfer for over 25yrs whom has resided in San Francisco for the past 14+ yrs. OB and its great community is why I have chosen to live and raise my children here�.

�I am a parent of the co-op and a building designer. There are many players in this project and for that manner, any building project. I am not ignoring this fact nor wanting to discredit any of the people whom are involved in this great endeavor, but the simple fact is, my company, in collaboration with my wife�s architectural firm, have donated all our professional architectural services and fees in an effort to continue the much needed educational legacy this school provides to the Ocean Beach community. Education is key in protecting our environmental assets and this new school not only provides a much need community educational service, the building has been designed green and seeks to be a case study in good passive building design principles in an effort to minimize its specific environmental foot print and educate the greater community at large on how eco-friendly building designs can work�

�The bottom line is: I have spearheaded this project because the school is no longer a safe building in the event of an earth quake and rather than just addressing the current structural problems and fixing them, I have looked at it as a opportunity. An opportunity to give something back to the Ocean Beach community and future San Franciscan children whom will ultimately be the care takers of our global environment. In addition, use my profession to be environmentally sensitive and create a building that lessens its environmental impact and will hopefully be viewed as a case study for good passive environmental building design."

Rich goes on to say that a lot of the local community have been working hard to make this happen- so we would like to thank everyone helping out on this project that is giving our grommets a safe inspired place to learn and grow. If you are interested in helping Sunset Co-op you can email Rich at

We applaud Rich and all those who entered this contest- thank you and let�s not forget we all need to do our part in taking care of Ocean Beach and our community. Cheers!
Learn more about Matuse wetsuits HERE.