www.kingcityrustler.com/main.php?story_id=2914&page=24 -
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Published on: 2/7/2007
Last Visited: 3/12/2007
Richard Casey - 2006 Citizen of the YearSouth County Newspapers Online
522-A Broadway King City, CA 93930 Phone: 831-385-4880 -- Fax: 831-385-4799
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Richard Casey - 2006 Citizen of the Year
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It is interesting that tonight we are honoring L.A. Hearne Company and Richard Casey.
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You have to be careful what you say in a small town, Richard.On that note....We grow a lot of things in the Salinas Valley with pride.That's good!We are known for our premium quality products that bring us business and give us bragging rights.We also grow good people in this valley and we are here tonight to brag about one who is homegrown. Let us be very clear about something, though.Richard Casey is not here tonight to brag about himself; rather, we are here to brag about him and what he refers to as his fellow teammates.
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Second came Patty, then Richard in 1958 and lastly, Bill.
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When Richard was 12, the family built a home and moved to Pine Canyon.Living in Pine Canyon brought nature closer to a family that loved nature practically in any form.The years rolled by and Richard graduated from King City High School in 1977.As things happen sometimes, Rich lost his mom to cancer in 1981.
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Richard was in Cal Poly during this time and those years culminated with a degree in Ag Journalism in 1982.Are you as surprised as I am that there is actually a category for agriculture journalism?When I questioned this, Richard seemed somewhat surprised.To him it was as natural as breathing.I think it was an answer to his personal quest for mixing dirt and ink.In addition to working throughout his youth at the Rustler, he also worked on the Cal Poly Mustang daily paper during college. Personality had to have played a huge part in all this.Richard is a born salesman, if ever there was one.After college Rich spent some time in Switzerland, then came back and worked at the Oroville paper selling advertising.Then there were similar jobs for papers on the Monterey Peninsula.Finally, Harry asked Richard to come back to King City and work on the Land publication.
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Rich says that his dad had "impact and aptitude and he had a special love for agriculture."
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"That's a lot of sparks, Rich."
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Rich made a point of saying that they put a lot of miles on their cars during those years.On July 12, 1986, Richard and Sharon were married in Sunnyvale.
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Richard gives much credit to the success of Casey Printing to his brother, Bill Casey, who has worked in the business since the 7th grade.
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Rich and Bill have taken job shop printing to another level.
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The first is called the 'small press' work which includes the office products and is more local in nature, but it is by no means small in terms of importance to the business," Rich said. The second piece of the pie is high-end commercial work, which the company does for customers all over the State of California and even further afield on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and periodical basis.Some of the work includes printing catalogs for colleges and universities, municipal brochures, publications for parks and recreation and for book companies like McGraw-Hill.They even print for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. With two facets to the business and the best of all qualities in two partners, how can they go wrong?Rich is the front man.He does the sales and marketing and Bill is the manufacturing side of the business. Rich says, "I know what the equipment does, but I can't run it, nor can I fix it."He says he is fortunate to have such a terrific brother and partner like Bill."I can sell stuff all day long, but the business relies heavily on Bill to get the job done."Richard also says that the Casey Printing staff, which numbers about 80, is terrific.They are hard-working people and some have been there for 30-plus years.They make a real team and allow him the flexibility to do volunteer work.When a manager is out doing things in the community, it means that someone is working in the business to keep things rolling. Richard gives a huge amount of credit to David Nuck.
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I asked Richard if they ever tied into any projects that were really scary.Now it was his turn to be amazed at the question."Oh yes," he said, "Dad taught us kids a great lesson.Do not be afraid to take risks; but take calculated risks."Then Rich collapsed in laughter.Actually, the truth is, "We never had the luxury of having a large pool of money, nor do we know any venture capitalists.So, we just went out and sold a job and then worked like hell to get the project done!" All that good help in the business has been a support system so that Richard is able to do so much volunteering.He has been a 4-H leader, had involvement in soccer, Little League, and FFA.He has done his time with the Salinas Valley Fair Junior Rodeo as well as the livestock auction.He has also been involved with the Solid Rock youth group at Grace Lutheran Church and has been on the Mexicali Easter Week Mission Team assisting with the music.Dave Phillips says that Rich has been an invaluable member of the team and has a gift of communicating through his music.
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So, Rich went to a meeting and ended up a charter member of the Heritage Foundation with some 140 others, and also its first president.The Foundation Board is completely separate from the Fair Board and they decided that their first function would be to set up a 10-year plan of improving the grounds and facilities starting with the livestock area.One idea grew into another until the livestock pens and auction area had morphed into two huge barns totaling 115,000 square feet under cover.One barn was constructed with a concrete floor and the other a dirt floor allowing all kinds of mixed use.The Foundation has raised 4 1/2 million dollars to date with a million left to go.Richard said that if there are any takers tonight, please meet him at the back of the room.I'm pretty sure that he can find you a naming opportunity. Rich says that the Salinas Valley Fair Kick-off dinner and auction is going to be an even bigger deal this year.The premier event will be held on Saturday, April 21 in one of the barns and there will be some big surprises in store.I used all my interview skills, but still couldn't get Richard to spill the beans on this one.He said, "Just come to the event; you won't want to miss it because it will be the talk of the town."So I will see you there! Every time I asked Rich about a club he has been involved in, he got up from the conference room table and did that long stride "thing" back to his office to check his wall of plaques.He's got a plaque that says he was Rotary president during the 1996-97 term.When I asked about his presidency, he just waved it off and turned the subject to the project at hand.Definitely, his greatest focus became the role of International Service Director, a position he took on during Pastor Ed Bastedo's term of office a couple of years ago. When Richard went to Mexico with the Solid Rock Youth Group at Grace Lutheran Church, he connected with some local Rotarians in Mexicali who took him on a visitation to the general hospital in the area.He said this place had almost nothing in the way of equipment, not even air conditioning.They did, however, take in many migrating people with illness and injury.The rules are that no medical treatment can be dispensed until you can pay in advance or get special government approval.Rich said it was really a sad sight. As it happens, Rotary has a complicated reciprocal assistance program that can be accessed by two Rotary clubs in different countries.Richard started the paperwork process between the King City Rotary Club and his contact, Jose Luis Gonzalez, in the Mexicali Rotary Club.
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Rich publicly thanks Meyer Equipment for hauling truck loads of equipment to the border.What was originally a year-long project, lots of paperwork and a single trip, has turned into multiple loads and trips because the medical community keeps coming up with more equipment to send south.Richard makes it very clear that there are many wonderful people both here and in Mexicali who have made this project so successful and rewarding.Another of Richard's favorite organizations is the Monterey County Agricultural and Rural Life Museum.Why?Because, Richard loves horses and old wagons.Rich said a project that he really wanted to see happen is the South County Ag tours.These have been run successfully for many years to sell-out crowds.The first year, Rich said he was paranoid about how long the tour would take and the length of each stop.He asked the Superintendent of Schools at the time to borrow a driver and a school bus.And, guess what, they gave it to him!He went out with the bus and timed the entire tour including the time it took to turn the bus
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