Management consultant Ken Blanchard emphasizes the importance of servant leadership in today’s society. “This world is in desperate need of a new model of leadership,” he told attendees at the Center for Family Business Hall of Fame event on March 13. “We have seen what self-centered leaders have done in every sector of society.”

Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager, was the keynote speaker for the fourth annual Center for Family Business Hall of Fame Induction on March 13. The event provides peer-nominated honors for local family-owned establishments that maintain a commitment to their communities and industries and remain faithful to their founders’ vision over multiple generations.

More than 300 representatives of some of Southern California’s leading family-owned businesses gathered at the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda on March 13 for the fourth annual Center for Family Business Hall of Fame Induction, sponsored by City National Bank.

Management consultant Ken Blanchard, who has written more than 60 books, including his most recent co-edited title, Servant Leadership in Action, gave the keynote address, which focused on integrative leadership strategies for family businesses. “If you think serving is beneath you, then being a great leader is above you,” said Blanchard. “Family is first, business is second, but you can do them both together.”

Three generations of Huntington Beach-based Teacher Created Materials were recognized during the company’s induction to the Hall of Fame. The award was presented by Tam Nguyen (left), the CEO and president of Advance Beauty College, a 2016 inductee.

New Hall of Fame Inductees

The center’s Hall of Fame grew to 15 members, with the addition of four peer-nominated establishments across the educational, manufacturing and event-supply industries.

“One of the core values shared by all four of our inductees this year is service,” said Ed Hart, director of the Center for Family Business. “Each of them puts service in their communities, to their teams and within their families above anything else.”

Fairmont Private Schools, an Anaheim-based preschool-to-high school educational institution that has grown to become one of Orange County’s largest private education providers since its founding in 1953, was the first academic institution to join the Hall of Fame.

Anaheim-based table linens supplier GBS Linens Inc. is presented with Hall of Fame recognition by 2017 Hall of Fame inductee Greg Totten (right), co-president and CEO of Totten Tubes. The annual event provides peer-nominated honors to achieving Southern California family businesses. “Each of them puts service in their communities, to their teams and within their families above anything else,” said Center Director Ed Hart.

Also honored was Markall/R.A. Industries LLC, a Santa Ana manufacturer focused on the aerospace, defense, health and fitness, gas, and oil industries. Founded in 1976, the company has overcome economic challenges and today maintains client relationships with such institutions as the U.S. military and The Boeing Company.

Inductee GBS Linens Inc. is an Anaheim table linens supplier with eight locations nationwide. Founded in 1984 by the late Pravin Mody, who was also a supporter of the educational development of children in his native India, the company maintains relationships with clients across diverse industries to facilitate the event planning process.

The fourth recognition presented at the event was bestowed upon Teacher Created Materials Inc. of Huntington Beach, which was founded by Rachelle Cracchiolo in 1977, who now leads the company with her two daughters. Covering reading, writing, mathematics, social studies and the sciences designed for students from preschool to high school, the company’s materials are used in classrooms in all U.S. states and 89 countries.