Panama RPCV Krista Cramer and ZachPeery were later married on a bluff off Swanton Road



Panama RPCV Krista Cramer and ZachPeery were later married on a bluff off Swanton Road

Peggy Townsend: Name Dropping
"Don’t you just see the strangest people in Santa Cruz?" KELLY SPELLMAN overheard the woman say at The Vault in downtown Santa Cruz.

The woman had apparently seen a couple running along West Cliff Drive that morning. The female jogger wore a wedding veil while the male jogger had a bow tie.

Kelly just smiled.

Because the couple running down West Cliff were her friends KRISTA CRAMER and ZACH PEERY, who were later married on a bluff off Swanton Road — not far from the cabin where they met.

The couple had decided to go for a run with friends on their wedding morning, but the friends surprised them with the veil and tie, and two signs which read "bride" and "groom."

Hanging the signs around the couple’s necks, the jogging wedding party took off, setting off waves, claps and honks from people along the popular beachfront promenade, reported BERDELL SPELLMAN.

Krista is an ex-Peace Corps volunteer and served in Panama five years ago. Zach is writing his doctoral thesis on an endangered bird, the marbled murrelet.

Krista had signed up to be on his research team two years ago. The team’s base was a small cabin north of Davenport and the pair studied the tiny birds in the waters of Davenport in the early morning hours.

And, well ...

That Sunday, 20 friends and family celebrated the couple’s wedding not far from the cabin.

Krista’s brother TODD CRAMER performed the ceremony, while his wife, HANNAH, was the wedding coordinator.

The couple is from Soquel.

When this story was posted in November 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Your vote makes a difference Make a difference on November 2 - Vote. Then take our RPCV exit poll. See how RPCV's are voting and take a look at the RPCV voter demographic. Finally leave a message on why you voted for John Kerry or for George Bush. Previous poll results here.

Kerry reaches out to Returned Volunteers The Kerry campaign wants the RPCV vote. Read our interview with Dave Magnani, Massachusetts State Senator and Founder of "RPCVs for Kerry," and his answers to our questions about Kerry's plan to triple the size of the Peace Corps, should the next PC Director be an RPCV, and Safety and Security issues. Then read the "RPCVs for Kerry" statement of support and statements by Dr. Robert Pastor, Ambassador Parker Borg, and Paul Oostburg Sanz made at the "RPCVs for Kerry" Press Conference. RPCV Carl Pope says the key to winning this election is not swaying undecided voters, but persuading those already willing to vote for your candidate to actually go to the polls. Take our poll and tell us what you are doing to support your candidate. Finally read our wrap-up of the eight RPCVs in Senate and House races around the country and where the candidates are in their races.

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Director Gaddi Vasquez: The PCOL Interview PCOL sits down for an extended interview with Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez. Read the entire interview from start to finish and we promise you will learn something about the Peace Corps you didn't know before. Plus the debate continues over Safety and Security.

Schwarzenegger praises PC at Convention Governor Schwarzenegger praised the Peace Corps at the Republican National Convention: "We're the America that sends out Peace Corps volunteers to teach village children." Schwarzenegger has previously acknowledged his debt to his father-in-law, Peace Corps Founding Director Sargent Shriver, for teaching him "the joy of public service" and Arnold is encouraging volunteerism by creating California Service Corps and tapping his wife, Maria Shriver, to lead it. Leave your comments and who can come up with the best Current Events Funny?

Peace Corps: One of the Best Faces of America Teresa Heinz Kerry celebrates the Peace Corps Volunteer as one of the best faces America has ever projected in a speech to the Democratic Convention. The National Review disagreed and said that Heinz's celebration of the PCV was "truly offensive." What's your opinion and can you come up with a Political Funny?

Read the stories and leave your comments.