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California Hall of Fame

What do Walt Disney, Amelia Earhart and Cesar Chavez have in common? All three are inductees into the new California Hall of Fame.
    The brainchild of First Lady Maria Shriver, the initial 13 inductees to the hall are meant to capture the broad scope of industry, diversity and influence on the local and global stages.
    Chosen by committee in early 2006, the inductees are: President Ronald Reagan, Cesar Chavez, Walt Disney, Amelia Earhart, Clint Eastwood, Frank Gehry, David Ho, Billie Jean King, John Muir, Sally Ride, Alice Walker, the Hearst Family and the Packard Family. Inductees and families of deceased inductees will receive the Spirit of California Medal at a ceremony on Dec. 6. 
    This is just one of several new efforts being made by the offices of the Governor and First Lady to recognize Californians — past and present — who make a difference.   
    Serving as a “visual, encyclopedic record,” the hall of fame will become a permanent exhibit at the California Museum for History, Women and Arts at 1020 O St., one block from the Capitol. To nominate a hall of famer, visit the California Museum of History or use the nomination form on the museum’s website.

Toys for Troops’ Kids: Gift List Grows

Begun locally in 2003, the nonprofit Toys for the Troops’ Kids toy drive now reaches out for donated play things throughout California, as well as parts of Nevada and Hawaii.
    Founder Bill Stein explains, “This is not Toys for Tots. What’s important about our toy drive is our limited beneficiary group of children of those who are gone due to service.” Stein is devoted this season to collecting and distributing 50,000 toys this year. The goal: Two toys into the hands of every child of a military parent overseas during the holidays, or a military parent who was killed in battle since 2001. The past toy drives reportedly have exceeded that expectation and 2006 looks to continue the trend. Cash donations are also welcome.
    Todd Kierdorff, who serves on the steering committee, points out that the toy drive “gives the region the opportunity to be responsive to our military and extend our appreciation.”
    Major drop sites are in Citrus Heights and in South Sacramento, along with nearly 60 other locations in the Sacramento Metro Market.
— Haley Myers

On a Tank of Corn

General Motors rolled out its new line of alternative fuel vehicles at Sacramento State recently, offering test drives and up-close looks at the E85 ethanol and hybrid vehicles. According to GM, the company offers more choices of E85 FlexFuel vehicles, which run on fuel typically produced from corn and other grains here in the United States, than any other maker. Models for 2007 include the Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, Silverado, Impala and the GMC Yukon to name a few. The event was part of GM’s national “Fuel Economy Tour.”

 

Tubby’s True Pitch

Being the subject of an upcoming Disney movie is great and all, but for Yuba City’s Kathryn Johnston Massar, the real thrill was throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium.
    “It’s what I’ve dreamt about since I was a little girl in New York,” says Massar, the first female to play Little League and a lifelong New York Yankees fan.
    In 1950, girls weren’t allowed to play Little League. So 12-year-old Kathryn tossed her hair into a cap, nicknamed herself “Tubby” and tried out for a team in her hometown of Corning, N.Y. “Tubby’s” secret soon emerged, but Johnston got to play out the season.
Rick Maya, president of Bank of America Sacramento, heard Massar’s story and lobbied the Yankees to allow Massar’s dream moment. Bank of America is a sponsor of Major League Baseball and the Yankees, but coaxing the team was hard work, says Eric Stanion of market development at Bank of America Sacramento.
    When the call came, Massar had just a few days to get to New York with her husband, Cy, and Stanion. The night was Sept. 27, and the Yankees were playing the Baltimore Orioles. For Massar, though, it will always feel like yesterday. “A lot of things had to be shifted for one person’s dream to come true, and we were glad to be able to do it,” Stanion says. The Disney production, tentatively titled “Who’s On First,” is scheduled to open next year.
— Sukhjit Purewal

Rick Lenny's Sweet Wisdom

Hershey CEO and Chairman Rick Lenny made a special visit to Robert Lorber’s class at the and dispensed numerous morsels of advice, including the importance of young professionals having mentors.
    Lenny was Hershey’s first CEO hired from outside the company, and he says the experience taught him the importance of building relationships. “Everyone knows when a new leader takes over change is going to happen, and the most important task of any new leader is to set the team up to win. You have to make the changes early on. For us it was less about changing the people and more about changing mindsets.”
    On the ageless quest to find great employees, Lenny paraphrases, “Good to Great” a business bestseller by Jim Collins: “How do you motivate and discipline employees? You can’t, because you really can’t change people. You need to hire motivated and self-disciplined people.”
    Lenny says self-discipline is also a key quality that separates trustworthy CEOs from those who break the rules and end up hurting companies.
    “Sarbanes-Oxley (accounting standards) will not separate the good people from the bad,” he states. “The fact that I sign the Qs and the Ks when financial results come out is interesting, but I either have integrity or I don’t. Since when did a signature get in the way of someone not doing what’s right?”

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