A Close- Up Look At People Who Matter : 2 Nominated Volunteers Do Unto Others

Ken Banks has a simple way to get people to volunteer: he rolls up his sleeves and works right along with them.

“If you believe in something and are able to show that kind of enthusiasm, it’s contagious.”

For the second year in a row, Banks has been named one of five finalists for the Fernando Award, given to honor a lifetime of community service. Banks, a North Hollywood insurance broker, has been active in groups like the Rotary Club, the East Valley YMCA, the Police Activity League and the NoHo Arts District.

“I don’t know how he could handle all the things he can,” said Paul Seider, president of the North Hollywood Rotary Club. Banks, 58, brings volunteers in his wake as he gets into a project without a lot of self-promotion, Seider said.

“He goes into everything with his sleeves rolled up,” Seider said. When Banks was president of the North Hollywood Rotary Club in 1989, the club raised $64,000 to fight polio, twice the projected amount.

“He got me to do a lot on it,” Seider said. “He does more by leading by example than directing. He’s not the world’s greatest salesman.”

In the 37 years of the Fernando Award--given in early November--some winners have been nominated as many as five times before getting the award.

“It feels like an honor to have it happen twice,” Banks said. “In the Fernando Award, I don’t believe there is anybody that loses.”

Another Fernando Award finalist is Walter Mosher, 61. The president of Precision Dynamics Corp. in Pacoima and chairman of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. said being in the final five caught him off guard.

“It’s probably the first time I’ve been nominated for any award,” Mosher said. “This blew my mind away because I wasn’t expecting something like this.”

Mosher’s corporate philosophy encourages employees to help in their communities. “I don’t want to be the richest man in the graveyard,” he said.

Mosher’s company, a manufacturer of health-care products employing 350 people, has been in Pacoima since 1981. He had moved it there from Burbank when space became unaffordable, and chose one of the poorest communities in the Valley.

“It was part of the reason we wanted to move there,” Mosher said. He did not want to just bring jobs into the community, but a corporate philosophy that encourages employees to get involved.

Mosher allows employees to work on volunteer projects on company time. The company runs an annual Christmas food drive and picks up the tab when employees attend fund-raisers. One of his vice presidents and several staff members work on community outreach projects as well.

He spends only 15 hours a week on company business himself, allowingtime to pursue volunteer work with groups like the North Valley Counseling Center, the LAPD Jeopardy program for at-risk youth and Holy Cross Medical Center.

“I like to give people help when they need it,” Mosher said. “They made a wrong turn somewhere in their life and they need a little help to get back on the path.”

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