Final 10th Anniversary PDF For Printer

Our 10th Anniversary Women of Distinction
Nancy and The Nice Guys
By Janice C. Booth
IT SOUNDS LIKE A
band, but they don’t ever
toot their own horn. That’s
what I’m going to do in this
article.
The Nice Guys of San
Diego, were founded in
1979, and have given over
$20 million to needy San
Diegans, including our military
families stationed here.
There are approximately 135
active members in the Nice
Guys and they all work on a
completely voluntary basis.
The group has no offices or
paid staff. The Nice Guys
do all the research on their
charity cases to make sure
the donations are placed
with people truly in need.
These are individuals and
families that cannot get help
within the ‘system’. For example,
they might help with
food, house bills, bus passes
or clothing just to get these
people back on their feet. So
one might say the Nice Guys
pick up the slack.
Nancy Hamzey, a native
of Michigan, came out to
California in 1984, on the insistence
of her brother, Bob.
She took a sabbatical from
her teaching job of 12 years
to check out this wondrous
place we call San Diego.
She fell in love with the
area and began a career in
real estate, 1st as a realtor,
then as a title representative.
Even though Nancy
pored herself into her work,
I know because Nancy only
does things with a 110% effort,
she still wanted to give
back to the community.
Nancy explored different
charitable organizations, but
it wasn’t until 1989, when
she found the Nice Guys
she felt they were a perfect
fit! When inquiring about
the group her 1st question
was “Are girls allowed?”
when they said yes, she was
onboard.
On down the road in
1998, Nancy became the
1st woman president of the
group. On the topic of first,
she was also the 1st female
in her extended family to
graduate from college.
Nancy’s support came
from a close knit family. She
is the eldest of 5 children.
Dad was a door to door insurance
salesman and mom
stayed home to care for not
only Nancy, her brother Bob,
but also, triplets Paul, Paula
and Pamela! Nancy graduated
from Eastern Michigan
University with a Masters of
Arts, she then taught grades
2-9 in Taylor, Michigan, in a
HUD housing development
area. She proclaimed “That
was quite an eye-opener.”
On her adventure out in
the west, Nancy also found
not just a charity group,
but a wonderful man that
captured her heart, Zach
Zacharias. Zach and Nancy
were married in 2004, built
a beautiful home and a great
life together.
Zach also became a
member of the Nice Guys
and he became president of
the group in 2009! Nancy
and Zach are now retired,
but still pursue their charity
work and they love to travel.
One of their frequent destinations
is Australia, where
Zach’s daughter and family
reside. Nancy’s life felt complete
now that she inherited
a fabulous daughter, a
wonderful son-in-law, and
now two awesome Aussie
grandsons!
Back to the Nice Guys…
not only do they have
monthly charity meetings,
but they also have a massive
event during the holidays.
‘Christmas at the Q’ is their
opportunity to give back
in an even bigger way. In
December, the Nice Guys
invite over 700 disadvantaged
families to a day of fun
events that culminates in the
check-out line where each
family gets bags of groceries(including
a turkey), and
a Walmart gift card to help
with clothing and other
household items.
The main task of the
Nice Guys is to obtain donations
to help San Diego’s
needy. Keeping in mind that
because the organization has
no overhead, for every $1
that is donated to the club,
$1 goes back out into the
community.
The Nice Guys host 2
annual events a spring auction
and the fall event honoring
a leading San Diegan,
called the Nice Guy of the
Year. This October 28th, the
Nice Guys will honor Padre
Co-owner, Peter Seidler.
Peter Seidler is one of the
leading local philanthropists
in San Diego. His main
focus is working with the
community to help alleviate
homelessness. For tickets or
to make a donation, contact:
sdniceguys@cox.net
If you want to learn
more about the Nice Guys
or would like to donate to
this worthy cause, you can
contact their email or send a
note to:
Nice Guys of San Diego
PO BOX 881456
San Diego, CA 92108
53