Carolyn Reese has nine grandchildren and most have been involved one way or another with Road to California.
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Carolyn with son Mike’s family that includes grandson Matt and granddaughter Sarah[/caption]
Sarah Reese Moore and Matt Reese are the children of Carolyn’s oldest son, Mike. Sarah has had all sorts of involvement with Road from modeling as a kid at the Hoffman Challenge Fashion Show, handling Road quilt entries and helping out with customer service. She has worked in the Road Booth and currently oversees the accounting and tax responsibilities for the show. Matt is Road to California’s current Show manager.
Erika Reese, Carie Reese Ruiz, and Mary Beth Reese are the daughters of Carolyn’s second son, David. When the Reese family started with Road to California, these three granddaughters were freckled faced little girls who asked guests for their tickets at the dinner tent and modeled in some of the fashion show events. Erika is Carolyn’s oldest grandchild. When she was in junior high, Erika worked in the Fabric Patch booth. In 2003, she and Carie took over as co-coordinators doing all the planning and prep with Carolyn and were also co-show managers during the show. In 2005, Erika began working for Road full time as the lead Show Manager. At the time, she was the only other full-time employee (besides Carolyn) that worked year round in planning the show. Erika left full time work with the show after the 2008 Road to California to pursue a career based on her bachelor’s degree in science. She still helps out at night and on weekends as needed.
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Carolyn with David and Susan Reese and granddaughters Ericka and Mary Beth[/caption]
Carie, is a full-time wife and mother living in Virginia, and is not able to be actively involved with Road at this time.
Mary Beth has worked at the Road souvenir booth and currently is the Night Manager for the show, overseeing all of the evening classes. Her day job is an insurance underwriter at Mercury Insurance.
Carolyn’s youngest son, Darrell, has three children: Rachel, Glenn, and Jillianne. All three have helped their dad with the set-up and taking down of the show and have worked at the Road Booth. In addition, Glenn has worked at the Information Booth and Jillianne has assisted with Vendor Relations.
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Carolyn with son Darrell’s family which includes grandson Glenn and granddaughter Jillianne[/caption]
Now, the next generation is getting on board!! Carolyn has five great-grandchildren and one on the way, a great-grandson due in October.
Great-granddaughters Adrienne (5) and Paighten (3) are the daughters of Sarah and her husband, Adrian Moore, Jr. When they come to visit Road with their parents, the girls like to ride around with Gg (Carolyn) on her motorized cart, meeting all the guests and getting lots of attention!!!
Kevin Junior (KJ) (4), Laura (20 months) and Robert Glenn (6 weeks) are the children of Carie and Kevin Ruiz. Hopefully, they will be able to visit Road to California soon. 
Being a grandparent and great-grandparent, not to mention owner of the Best in the West Quilt Show, is hard work—and a lot of fun!!!
Happy Grandparents Day to Carolyn Reese.
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Kim, age 19 from Simi Valley, California, attended Road 2016 with her mom and grandmother, a third generation quilter. Kim got into quilting when she decided she wanted to make a quilt for her best friend. Since then, she has also made a couple of wall hangings. She finds quilting to be a nice break from school and work. Road 2016 was her third time at the show. “I love it.” Kim likes seeing all the quilt entries. “They are mind blowing.”
These three generations of quilters visited Road from Bakersfield, California. Grandmother Kay, Kay’s daughter Judy along with Kay’s granddaughter and Judy’s niece Alyssa, age 13, enjoyed spending the day together, enjoying the variety of quilts and skill levels on display.
Kay has been quilting for 30 years and is 90 years old. Judy started sewing in the 8th grade and has been quilting for the past 25 years. Her first quilt was made from fabric she bought at J.C. Penney. She cut out hexagons, created her own pattern and sewed it together. Today, she prefers to applique. Alyssa started quilting 5 years ago. She likes to piece together fabric to make pillows. While her aunt and grandmother have been to Road dozens of times, Road 2016 was Alyssa’s first visit. “I liked it,” remarked Alyssa. She especially enjoyed the Carol’s Zoo Booth.
Who in your family do you bring along to Road?
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