South Lake Tahoe neighborhood gets together for pay-it-forward breakfast

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A pay-it-forward holiday breakfast enjoyed by a South Lake Tahoe neighborhood left $700 in tips for the waitress and cooks, and they encourage others to spread more cheer.

A New Hampshire woman saw an idea posted on Facebook about how a group of friends when to a local restaurant, each committing to spend $50 each/$100 per couple. They chose an inexpensive restaurant so the tips for their server were much larger than those earned during a normal shift.

South Lake Tahoe resident John Gomez heard about the idea and said he fell in love with it, deciding to carry it forward locally. He created a Facebook event on the Upper Montgomery Estates group page. It resulted in a group of 12 people choosing Denny's because the lower price point at the restaurant would result in a bigger tip. Additionally, he assumed the servers at Denny's probably make less than other servers at more expensive restaurants.

After their breakfast of excellent service, their server, Paula received a $500 surprise tip and each cook in the back received $100! Paula shared that today was also the one-year anniversary of the loss of her cousin who was like a child to her. Clearly, he was looking over her from heaven, said Gomez.

"Our main intent was to thank hard-working employees that would rather go to work and earn their own income than rely on government handouts," said Gomez.

Gomez said he was absolutely blown away by the generosity of his neighborhood. Several neighbors could not attend the event but insisted on contributing to the tip.

"I could not be more proud of my neighbors and the generosity of our little Upper Montgomery Estates enclave," added Gomez.

The Facebook group was created by Felicity Hendricks with the focus on becoming a fire-adapted neighborhood and creating an old-fashioned camaraderie of neighbors. After the Caldor Fire, their neighborhood got together to do a block party fundraiser to thank the entire firefighting team for saving their homes. It resulted in over $7,000 being donated to the Lake Valley Fire Department for them to disperse to many local charities.

Gomez said he is really hoping that by sharing this story, it will motivate others to do something similar and thank those that still have that old-fashioned work ethic. Even a group of four to six people can make a small difference in a hard worker's life knowing they are appreciated and it doesn't have to be a holiday.

"Please carry this idea forward," said Gomez. "Happy holidays to all and let's think about how we can put aside our differences to appreciate and focus on the beauty in our world."

Pictured from left to right starting from back: Paula our waitress, Jim Yasueda, Nick Hendricks, John Gomez, Terre Poland, David Greco, and Michelle Gomez. Iris Yasueda, Felicity Hendricks, Greg Gangitano, Michelle Gurner, Angela Howel, and Alan Burk.

Not pictured, but made a donation to the tip were Robert and Ronda Baker, Kathy and Karl Winkleman, Mike and Carole Enderby, Pam and Greg Shaw, Jim and Leslie Paterson, Cathy and Dave Huffman, John and Sheila Boothby, Chris and Vicky Jenson, and Tiffany Davis.