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Mathias "Matty" Matoian talks about growing up in Fresno, his family and his business, OK Produce and the importance of giving back to the community and doing the right thing in business.
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William Smittcamp talks about his business, Wawona Frozen Foods, his family, his involvement in the community and his thoughts on receiving the Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award.
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Talks about Fresno, attending Fresno State and meeting his wife there and going to work for New York Life Insurance, giving back to the community and being honored to receive the Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award.
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Discusses his upbringing and early loss of his mother, working at a summer camp and being inspired by it and playing baseball in college. He talks about working as a coach and teacher before going into a partnership to open Riverway Ranch Camp, a children's summer camp. He later bought Wonder Valley Ranch and raised his children in the business. He talks about surviving the MGM Grand fire in Las Vegas and how it affected him and how it inspired him to partner with the Alisa Ann Ruch California Burn Foundation to bring child burn victims to the ranch. He discusses the two books he's written as well as serving on the Chamber of Commerce, the advisory board of the Fresno Grizzlies and with the San Joaquin Political Academy.
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Talks about his businesses, the Electric Motor Shop, Industrial Waste and Salvage and Cedar Avenue Recycling and Transfer Station. He discusses attending local Catholic schools and Fresno State, learning about business from his father and the importance of service to the community. He also talks about his friendship with Leon S. Peters and how he was inspired by him.
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Talks about how he got into journalism while a student at Fresno State, worked his way up from reporter to editor at the Fresno Bee and eventually moved into the business side of the operation as general manager and publisher. He discusses the importance of ethics and values in business. He also talks about the influence and example set by the Peters brothers in giving back to the community.
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Talks about being mentored by Leon S. Peters and his respect for all the Leon S. Peters Award recipients and being honored to be among them. He also talks about his parents and upbringing, serving on local, state and national educational boards, and the support his family has given him.
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He talks about how his father came to America and Americanized his name from Bedrosian to Peters, later came to Fresno and got married. He discusses how his father rented a farm in Lone Star and grew grapes for raisins and how he was the youngest child of five. He talks about his mother passing away when he was eight years old and being raised mostly by his father and sister, Melba. He discusses how Leon saved enough money to buy Valley Foundry and going to work for him. He talks about how the business evolved from manufacturing pumps to winery tanks and eventually selling the business to Ametek. He also discusses serving in the army during World War II in Burma and India. He talks about how he and Leon became involved in the community, especially with Community Hospital and Rotary and their ethics in regards to giving back to the community.
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Talks about his friendship with Leon S. Peters and Peters commitment to giving back to the community. He talks about Peters' religious beliefs and spirituality and the importance of family to him. He also talks about his friendship with Pete Peters and the Peters family as a whole. He discusses Peters' relation to the Armenian community and how he supported Armenians both locally and abroad.
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Talks about moving to Fresno in 1945 during the war and living with her sister, Dorothy, getting a job as a legal secretary. She discusses getting married and having a child and her decision to return to work and becoming a realtor and real estate broker. She talks about starting her own firm, initially working out of her house before renting an office and breaking down barriers for women in the real estate business. She discusses how she became involved in giving back to the community, how her parents inspired her by participating in community organizations, and how she became involved with the Cancer Society, became the first female president of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce and served on the California Chamber Board and Blue Shield of California Board. She talks about her friendship with Leon and Alice Peters, what it meant to her to receive the Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award, gives advice to future generations starting out in business and philanthropy and discusses the future of Fresno.
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Talks about being born and raised in Fresno, the changes to the Fresno area over the years, the importance of downtown and establishing a trucking business. He discusses the challenges of the trucking industry, potential for economic growth in the valley, volunteering and getting involved in the community with Leon S. Peters and his thoughts on receiving the Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award. He talks about developing the Fresno Business Council and projects the council has helped with, including the Center for Advanced Research and Technology in Clovis Unified.
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Testimonial video for Leon S. Peters Legacy project.
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Talks about coming west to California as a Dust Bowl migrant, his family working as farm laborers, his friendship with Leon S. Peters, Jim Mayer, Jerry Brewer and community involvement.
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Talks about growing up in Toulumne County near the Merced River, moving to Fresno at 12 years old and attending Polytechnic High School. He discusses becoming a soap salesman before purchasing a portion of Producers Dairy and working in the business 50 years. He talks about his children and grandchildren and working with Leon S. Peters and deciding to give back to the community. He talks about his support of Fresno Community College, and his hopes for the future of Fresno.
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Talks about being born in Cincinnati, Ohio and moving to Avenal in 1940 before going to college at Purdue for civil engineering. He discusses moving his business from Avenal to Fresno, getting involved with the Chamber of Commerce, the Fresno Metropolitan Museum, Channel 18, Measure C, and the Fresno Regional Foundation.
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Talks about his friendship and working relationship with Leon S. Peters and serving in Rotary International with him.
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Talks about his surprise and gratitude at receiving the Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award, talks about growing up in Fresno, working as a farm laborer, joining the army and attending Fresno City College and Fresno State. He discusses running for City Council and winning and facing discrimination and overcoming it through hard work and perseverance. He talks about working as head of the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission and how rewarding it was to help low income people in the community. He talks about meeting Leon S. Peters as a student and following in his footsteps by serving on boards at both Fresno State and Community Hospital. He also talks about his family and advice for young people just starting out on their own as well as challenges facing the Fresno community.
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Talks about being born in Texas and coming to Fresno as a child, running a business, serving as president of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, as well as the challenges Fresno faces and giving back to the community.
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Talks about growing up in Fresno, attending Fresno State, getting drafted in World War II and starting his ceramics business. He discusses becoming involved in the community, working with the Fresno Metropolitan Museum and the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame, Fresno State football and other organizations and receiving the Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award. He talks about his friendship with Leon S. Peters, his failures in the restaurant business and working to get the Save Mart Center built.
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Talks about being born in Seattle and raised in Fresno, attending Fresno High School, swimming competitively in high school, serving in the Air Force, working for Shell Oil Company, and joining his father's insurance company, Shepherd, Knapp, Appleton. He discusses Fresno's development and future and talks about his friendship with Leon S. Peters and receiving the Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award.
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Talks about how honored and humbled he was to receive the Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award and about becoming involved in the community and giving back. He discusses his early life and moving from Visalia to Clovis and attending Temperance-Kutner Elementary and Clovis High School, graduating from Fresno State and later supporting Fresno State and being involved with Rotary, Community Hospital and talks about serving on the Fresno County bench as a judge. He talks about hosting the Rose Ann Vuich and Leon S. Peters Award ceremonies in past years, and issues Fresno faces going forward.
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Talks about his family history in Fowler and relationship with his uncle, Leon S. Peters. He discusses how his father, Karnig and Leon purchased a ranch and started farming and how his uncle mentored him as a child. He talks about Leon S. Peters became involved in the Armenian American Citizens League and how he helped other immigrant Armenians. He discusses how Leon S. Peters broke barriers by being the first Armenian to buy a house on Van Ness Avenue and the first to join a country club. He talks about how the Leon S. Peters Foundation has carried on his legacy of giving back to the community.
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Discusses his feelings on being awarded the Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award and his friendship with Leon S. Peters. He talks about starting at Peerless Printing and eventually marrying the owner's daughter and buying the business. He discusses his education at Fresno High School and serving in the Army Air Corps at Hammer Field and Pinedale and talks about the changes that have taken place in Fresno over the years. He talks about his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and his participation in the Fresno Chamber of Commerce and Rotary and gives advice to young people just starting out in business.
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Talks about being born in Michigan and growing up in Southern California, attending UCLA, joining the army, attending law school and working for the US attorney's office before relocating to Fresno. He talks about practicing law in Fresno with Clark Savoy and how small Fresno was in the 1950's. He discusses his community involvement including the Fresno Business Council, Chamber of Commerce and giving back and receiving the Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award.
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Talks about his early life helping his father in the cotton industry and traveling the country with him, going to college in North Carolina and meeting his wife. He talks about serving in the army in the Counter Intelligence Corps, moving to Memphis and getting started in the cotton business before relocating to Fresno, seeing opportunity in the San Joaquin Valley for cotton. He discusses the agricultural and political importance of the cotton industry, the future of industry in America and the trend towards technology and the importance of giving back to the community. He also talks about his impressions of Fresno's future and raising his daughters.
