David G. Soash; Headed Trade Organization, Aided Minorities

David G. Soash, 75, longtime president of the Merchant and Manufacturers’ Assn. Soash headed the organization now known as the Employers Group for 33 years and made it the largest of its kind in the U.S. In the 1970s, Soash worked with Chad McClelland and other business leaders to form the Management Council for Merit Employment, a pioneer program to improve training and employment opportunities for minorities. He also organized a study group that became known as the California Round Table. Educated at Occidental College, Soash taught psychology at Caltech and was a trustee for the California Medical Center. He also served as vice chairman of the California State University Advisory Board, trustee of the Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation, founding director and vice chairman of Pacific Care Inc. and a member of the Governor’s Council for the California Department of Employment. On Friday in Palm Desert.