From a Former President: Points of Light, Points of Fact

The challenge for corporate America, says George Bush, is to “have a successful business and a big heart at the same time.”

Speaking at a benefit honoring Orange County and national businesses, the former president said corporate volunteerism provides a community with a “human dimension that government programs are seemingly incapable of providing--no matter how well-intentioned.

“Too often we hear what’s wrong with corporations,” Bush told guests at a dinner hosted by the Volunteer Center of Orange County and the Washington-based Points of Light Foundation.

“I am very proud to be a small part of pointing out the good and decent things our leading corporations do every day.” Bush, who waived his speaker’s fee for the appearance, is honorary chairman of the foundation board.

Annually, the Points of Light Foundation--founded in 1990 to promote volunteerism--sponsors a benefit to reward companies for good works, said Barbara Lohman, foundation spokeswoman. Past events have been held in Houston, Minneapolis, New York and Chicago.

It made sense to bring the benefit to Orange County, she said. “This is one of the biggest markets in the country with some of the best volunteer programs going.” Besides the local companies, six national corporations were honored. Proceeds from the event will be divided between the foundation and the volunteer center.

Singled out for the foundation’s annual Award for Excellence in Corporate Community Service were members of the Orange County Combined Volunteer Project. The project, formed 13 years ago, comprises more than 60 local companies that have made commitments to give back to the community.

Speaking before 600 people last week at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Bush, 73, began his remarks with a tongue-in-cheek tribute to his family:

“Truth is, I suffer somewhat from an identity crisis. . . . I used to be president of the United States, and now I’m either the father of the governor of Texas or the husband of Barbara Bush.”

He has found retirement satisfying, he said, speaking from a flag-adorned stage in the Grand Ballroom. One highlight: a parachute jump from a plane last year in Arizona. “The only scary part was telling Barbara” about it, he said.

“But I got over that when she said, ‘I haven’t seen a free-fall like that since the ’92 elections.’ ”

Receiving the Award for Excellence in Corporate Community Service on behalf of the Orange County volunteer project was Bob Fluor, vice president of corporate relations for Fluor Corp. in Irvine.

“Fluor started its community involvement team 20 years ago,” Flour said during the cocktail reception. “Our team members pick the projects, and I provide the overall management support.”

One example of the work accomplished by the 250-member team is the renovation of the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana. “I provided them with $7,500 for materials, and they met on three consecutive Saturdays, redoing the entire club,” he said.

Privileged to be honored by Bush, Fluor said he would accompany the president on a chartered plane to Palm Desert the following day. “The president is going to spend a few days relaxing,” he said.

Also among dinner guests was Ray Gallegos, 47, of Anaheim, whose employer, Nissan Corp., encourages him to give back to the community. A former Los Angeles gang member, Gallegos speaks regularly to Orange County and L.A. schoolchildren about gang prevention. “I had a friend die in my arms. And I’ve been shot, stabbed--experienced all of the violence that goes along with being in a gang,” he said.

“There’s no place I won’t go to talk to a kid about staying out of gangs.”

Guests dined on filet of beef and sea bass at tables set with vases filled with carnations and lilies.

In deference to the president’s tastes, there would be no broccoli served at the dinner, quipped Carol Stone, CEO of the Volunteer Center of Orange County.

Concluding his remarks, Bush told guests that the “spirit of democracy was being felt around the world.” With the fall of the Soviet Union, “the world is a better place,” he said. “It’s freer . . . and, you could say, a little kinder and gentler. So please, keep up the good work.”

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UCI Medal: Three individuals and a family received the UCI Medal--the equivalent of an honorary doctoral degree--during a benefit dinner at the Hyatt Regency Irvine.

“The University of California doesn’t give honorary degrees, so this is the way we recognize our best friends and people who have meant a lot to our campus,” UCI Chancellor Laurel L. Wilkening said during a pre-dinner reception last week for new and former medal winners.

Winning medals: the Chao family of Orange County, who have made contributions of more than $3 million to the newly renamed Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCI; Spencer C. Olin, founding UCI faculty member; Michael P. Ramirez, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and now an editorial cartoonist for The Times; and Richard F. Sim, group president of investment properties for the Irvine Co.

Former medal winners Peggy Goldwater Clay and David R. Dukes co-chaired the event. Guests also included Irvine Co. Chairman Donald L. Bren; former UCI Chancellor Jack Peltason; and Joan Irvine Smith. Proceeds will go toward university scholarships.