After that I went to work for a friend in the Bay a\Area who headed a company called Pinnacle Systems. He needed a Marketing leader and I had the experience. I commuted between Grass Valley and the Bay area for about 2½ to 3 years, lived in a condo during the week and spent the weekends at home. After I left Pinnacle Systems-I had enough of working for other people and companies-I did consulting in Marketing and absolutely loved it. After that stint I got involved in nonprofits and have been at it ever since.
4. Is there a history of community service in your family background? Briefly, how would you describe it?
I guess that community service started with me although my mother was very involved with several community service organizations. I saw some children being abused in dysfunctional families and became interested in helping to prevent children from becoming or being abused by addicts. I became a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and am still one after over 10 years. I soon became involved in a number of other groups that were helping families and children from slipping into alcohol and drug abuse. I just wanted to make a difference one person at a time.” I wanted to break the chain of drug abuse that I saw as I saw as a CASA, so I became involved in CoRR. (Community Recovery Resources, a drug and alcohol recovery company.) I am on CoRR’s board, a member of the board of the Child Abuse Council, a member of Multi Disciplinary Interview Team (MDIT), and also the Sacramento Regional Child Abuse Council, which covers 14 Northern California counties.
5. What do you consider to be the principal strengths and capabilities that have made you an effective civic community leader? Are they rooted in action, in your personal style, in your organizational, political, and personal relationships, or in something else?
I am highly organized. Long experience at Ampex and other businesses have equipped me to understand how to organize people to accomplish goals. I am also good at getting people to focus on the goals they are trying to achieve. My managing philosophy is “There is nothing you can’t achieve if you don’t care who gets the credit.” That’s not an original saying.
In which types of civic organizations on the list are you currently involved? Overall, how many total hours a month do you give to these organizations?
I would say mainly social services organizations and nonprofits, with a little involvement with media and government— but those are more incidental. I estimate that I spend 80 plus hours per month with all of my organizational involvements.
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