Businesses Honored for Community Involvement

A.J. Wilson of Moorpark used to pay an annual fee of $12 for his grandson, Adam, to be a member of the Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark. It was such a reasonable charge, Wilson said, that he decided to help the nonprofit organization any time he had an opportunity.

An opportunity presented itself in August, when vandals caused more than $30,000 in damage to the club.

In response, Wilson, owner of Comanche Custom Cycles in Moorpark, teamed with members of the Vietnam Vets Motorcycle Club to sponsor a benefit bike ride to help the youth organization get back on its feet. The 50-mile ride netted about $600.

For his work, Wilson has been named one of three recipients of the second annual Business Involvement Awards, a program organized by Ventura County Supervisor Judy Mikels to honor businesses in the 4th Supervisorial District that have assisted local organizations or agencies.

Other honorees include Simi Valley-based Bugle Boy Industries, which donated $5,000 to the Simi Valley Library Children’s Book Festival, and Dave High Ink of Simi Valley, which contributed graphics services to a variety of nonprofit organizations in the area.

“These are examples of ways local businesses came forward and out of their way to help, sometimes unsolicited,” said Keith Jajko, an aide to Mikels. “What these companies do sometimes goes completely without fanfare.”

In the inaugural program last year, the honorees included Comcast Cablevision, GI Rubbish Co., the Moorpark Martial Arts Center, the Simi Valley Landfill and Variflex. Mikels said the businesses honored the first two years are just a small percentage of the area’s community-minded operations.

“If we started getting into the big donors, we’re talking hundreds of businesses,” said Jajko, who helped select the award recipients. “This is just a quick way of acknowledging businesses that come forward to help--I wish we could grow to urge more local businesses to become more involved.”

Wilson said he didn’t give his involvement a second thought.

“I think the [Boys & Girls Club] is the best thing going on in this community,” said Wilson, who has operated his Harley-Davidson business in Moorpark for four years and lived in the area for 11 years. “Whenever there is an event for them, I help out.”