VICA adds new members to San Fernando Valley Business Hall of Fame

Individuals and businesses known for changing the San Fernando Valley for the better were inducted into the Valley Industry and Commerce Association’s 2010 San Fernando Valley Business Hall of Fame. VICA honored former Los Angeles Times publisher and real estate developer Harry Chandler, The Walt Disney Company, Anheuser-Busch, The Buckley School and Porto’s Bakery. “We look at the whole picture, what their contribution is to the San Fernando Valley over time,” said VICA President Stuart Waldman. Harry Chandler, who died in 1944, was a former publisher of the Los Angeles Times and major real estate owner who is known for developing much of the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood Hills. He made his start in Los Angeles by working in the fruit fields before winning the favor of Los Angeles Times publisher Harrison Gray Otis, who hired him and eventually sold him the newspaper. The Walt Disney Company, based in Burbank, has been producing animated films since the 1920s and has contributed to many community entities. Anheuser-Busch, producer of Budweiser and Bud Light beers, has operated a plant in Van Nuys since 1952. Waldman said both companies serve as major employers for the San Fernando Valley and are known for making various charitable donations in the community. The Buckley School is a K-12 school that has operated a campus in Sherman Oaks for decades. The school is based on the “Buckley 4-Fold Plan of Education,” which places equal emphasis on academics, the arts, athletics and moral education. Porto’s Bakery, based in Glendale, was started by Cuban immigrants and has been serving the community for more than 35 years. The bakery, which specializes in specialty cakes, also has a location in Burbank and is opening a new location this year in Downey. Co-owner Beatriz Porto, whose parents started the bakery, said she is honored to be recognized for the work her family has done through its business. “Because we’ve been here so long, we now are marrying kids that we made their first communion cake and their baptism cakes,” Porto said. “We’re not in the business of selling anything other than comfort food and happiness. That’s a great business to be in.”