Michael W. Allman, president and chief executive officer of Southern California Gas Company (The Gas Company) honored by SCMBDC for Leadership

George Mc Quade, a former Gas Company Media and Corporate Communications Mgr. will MC SCMBDC Awards Dinner in Beverly Hills.

"Back to the Future"

A note from the author

George S. Mc Quade III

It is like going back to the future for me, and I never underestimated the power of networking and public speaking.  I have been asked to be master of ceremonies for the Southern California Minority Business Development Council at their 26th Annual Awards honoring President and CEO Michael W. Allman, Southern California Gas Company, a Sempra Energy Company.

Congratulations to Mr. Allman. To read more about him and his achievements visit: S.C.M.B.D.C. website: http://www.scmbdc.org/

October 1992 – 1995, I joined The Gas Company as media relations manager, later doing coporate communications. There I created the Employee Grapevine, a 3-5 minute dial-in voicemail newscast about events of the day or upcoming stuff.  What was interesting is every day something new happened at The Gas Company.  One day there was the first shooting of a female meter reader, the next day there was an armed robbery at a bill payment center, another day a vote on whether or not to do away with  Disneyland night for Gas Co. employees vs. taking coffee stations out of the Gas Co. Tower. It was all about cutbacks and reducing costs, and downsizing.

The Gas Co.  had to moved the phone line onto a new trunk, because during reorganization, The Grapevine overloaded the customer lines, an it skyrocketed in calls from 50 per week to 375 per day, 18,500 in four weeks and without advertising.

So, it’s fun to return to your roots and see old friends and employees you worked for in years past.  Ironically, after I left the gas company I later provided media relations for the S.C.M.B.D.C. and now I am the MC of an annual awards dinner we promoted more than a decade ago. So I feel like Michael J. Fox in “Back to the Future.”

I look forward to a fun evening.  The event will be held at The Beverly Hills Hotel, located at 9641 Sunset Blvd.  The reception begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m.  You should never turn down a speaking engagement if it fits your schedule, because for a public relations specialist or anyone for that matter,  it sharpens one’s speaking skills, presentation skills and helps brand your company and attract media to a nonprofit. They rarely get any media exposure without help. We do a lot of celebrity charity work, and often get brought in for social media. You feel good about helping others, and later they return the favor, but one should never expect it.

Michael W. Allman
Pres. & CEO SoCal Gas Company

 Los Angeles, CA– Michael W. Allman, president and chief executive officer of Southern California Gas Company (The Gas Company), will receive Southern California Minority Business Development Council’s (SCMBDC) 2010 Leadership Award at its 26th Annual Leadership Award dinner on Friday, October 15. (http://www.scmbdc.org/)

The Gas Company’s business excellence and strong commitment to working with diverse suppliers and vendors make it an outstanding choice, and Michael Allman, as president and CEO, the ideal executive to honor as our 2010 Leadership Award recipient,”  said to SCMBDC President John W. Murray, Jr., noting the company is a longtime corporate member of SCMBDC.

“Michael joins a prestigious group of prior recipients whose outstanding work make a substantial contribution to not only Southern California’s economy but also to diverse businesses, which are a cornerstone of our economy,” Murray added.

PERI Software Solutions (www.perisoftware.com), which has offices in Downtown Los Angeles and San Jose, CA is A MBE table sponsor and  the VIP Reception sponsor this year.
About SCMBDC

Southern California Minority Business Development Council (SCMBDC) is the largest nonprofit minority business advocacy organization in Southern California, serving 1,300 minority business enterprises and 300 corporate members throughout 13 counties. SCMBDC seeks to support and develop minority owned businesses.

LAEDC Announces Forever 21 Founder, Do Won Chang, as its Individual Eddy® Award Honoree

Founder of apparel brand Forever 21 to be honored for economic leadership in L.A. County

***

Los Angeles —The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) today announced Do Won Chang, the founder of Forever 21, one of the world’s fastest growing fashion brands, as its individual Eddy® Awards honoree. Inaugurated in 1996, the annual Eddy Awards gala has become the most important economic development award program in the state of California. This year’s 15^th anniversary event will be held on Wednesday, November 10^th, at the Beverly Hilton.

Headquartered in the City of Los Angeles, Forever 21 began in 1984 and has since become synonymous with trendy, affordable fashions. Do Won Chang and his wife Jin Sook Chang emigrated from South Korea in 1981 in search of the American Dream, and began their fashion empire with their first store in Highland Park. Since then, Forever 21 has grown to 457 stores in 15 countries with sales of nearly $3.0 billion annually.

In Los Angeles County, Forever 21 operates dozens of stores throughout the region’s malls and shopping centers, employing more than 3,000 people and thousands more through their supply network.    Taking advantage of the wealth of talent in Los Angeles County’s nation-leading creative industry, Forever 21’s apparel and merchandise is designed in L.A. County, with a large percentage of their products also being manufactured here.  Their vertically integrated model allows them to design, manufacture and distribute merchandise faster than their competitors, an important factor of Forever 21’s success.  For the full story and more about the Eddy Awards visit: http://bit.ly/cpuTS6

MAYO PR - "We don't guarantee media, we just get it!"