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Like many people, the Hardens
had considered this for a number of years, but
had delayed specific action and planning. Their
most recent will was dated in the 1930’s. On
March 7, 1963 the foundation was incorporated.
The Board was comprised of Eugene Harden, Ercia
Harden, Jack Abramson, and Ralph. Ralph has
served on the board ever since (44 years) until
his resignation this past September. Ralph
served as the Treasurer of the Board for many
years and as the President of the Board for
nearly 20 years. His dedication and devotion to
the Harden Foundation and the spirit of the
Hardens wishes has been an inspiration and
awe-inspiring.
Mr. Tom Merrill was asked to
join the Board of Directors in 1987. Tom’s
father had been a business partner with Gene
Harden at Grower’s Ice, and with his broad
knowledge of the Salinas Valley, Tom seemed a
natural choice. Tom was also very active with
community, county and state organizations and
issues that affect the citizens of the Salinas
Valley. Tom served as Vice President of the
Harden Foundation Board for many years. His
dedication to the agricultural industry and his
community is legendary. The Harden Foundation
gained a tremendous amount of respect and
admiration because of the actions and forward
thinking of Tom.
We welcomed two new Board
members in 2006, Bruce Taylor and David Mills.
Born and raised in Salinas, both Bruce and David
have deep roots in the local community and
produce industry.
Bruce Taylor is the founder,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Taylor
Farms and Taylor Fresh Foods, Inc. His community
and professional involvement includes his active
participation on the Board of Directors of the
Produce Marketing Association and the Western
Growers Association. He has served as Chairman
of the National Steinbeck Center and as
President of the Ag Against Hunger organization.
David Mills is senior Vice
President of Mills Family Farms of Salinas. His
community and professional involvement includes
his active participation on the Board of
Directors of the Western Growers Association and
is currently President of the nonprofit
organization, Monterey County Agricultural
Education.
An active member of the
community, David is past President of the Rotary
Club of Salinas and is a past Co-Chair for the
Relay for Life in Salinas. He also currently
serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for
the National Steinbeck Center and is a Board
member of the Hide ‘N Seek Children’s Foundation
in Salinas.
Mr. C. Bill Elliott and I are
the other two team members of the Harden
Foundation who make up the four-member Board of
Directors. Bill is Senior Vice President of
Salomon Smith Barney in Salinas and served as
Gene and Ercia’s personal financial advisor for
many years. He joined the Board of Directors in
1993 and currently serves as Vice President.
Bill’s expertise in the investment field helps
guide us in our investment strategy planning for
the future.
I have had the pleasure of
serving on the Harden Board since 1985. My
mother and father were close friends of the
Hardens and I knew them very well. Having served
as the Board Secretary and now as the President
of the Board, I am very confident that Mr. and
Mrs. Harden would be pleased and proud of the
variety of organizations and programs the
foundation has been able to help over these past
forty-three years.
This is an exceptional milestone
year in the foundation’s history and I am
excited and energized as I look forward to
working with Bill, Bruce and David in the coming
years.
This year also brought about the
completion of the repair and restoration of the
massive windmill building and wind engine
located on the Harden Estate. The board
commissioned the help of a renowned millwright,
Mr. Derek Ogden, to investigate our Wind Engine
& Mill. His findings were quite exciting and
indicated that we have something very special.
It would seem that we have the only wind engine
of this type that is still in existence in the
world. This historic building and machinery is
over 114 years old. Please see the pages
included in this annual report that describe
this special historical project. We are thrilled
to share this special part of history with
school groups and the public at large.
The other project under
development at the Harden Estate site is the
remodel of the storage and bunk house building.
This building is being converted into a modern
1,700 square foot conference room to accommodate
a variety of activities. The goal is to provide
a venue where people from the nonprofit
community can come together to brainstorm,
communicate and share knowledge that will make
each of them a stronger organization in
providing the maximum amount of services to our
community.
The Harden Foundation continues
to strive to keep a proper diversity of
investments in order to maintain a strong
financial position. The Board regularly reviews
the activity of these investments and compares
the results with selected standards. We must
always have a strong cash position to respond
quickly to the approved grant requests.
By the end of the calendar year,
the Harden Foundation had assets of
approximately $74 million. We have nearly 84% of
our assets in cash and marketable securities;
and real estate now comprises about 16% of the
portfolio.
We are proud of our
accomplishments over the past forty four years,
and anticipate continuing the Foundation’s
activities far into the future. Within this
years annual report we describe the continuation
of funding for a diversity of programs. During
this past year, the Foundation brought the total
amount of approved grants provided to Monterey
County nonprofits to $49 million.
The following pages in this
annual report summarize these grants in seven
areas of service. This is the sixteenth annual
report to be published and we hope you find it
interesting and informative. We also encourage
you to go to our website at
www.hardenfoundation.org for information or
access to information about previous grantees of
the Harden Foundation. |
