Page 2 January 29, 2015 EL SEGUNDO HERALD By Laura Sorensen Ashcraft Designs is a spare white building tucked away on Nash Street in El Segundo. Residents might drive by it a hundred times and not know it was there, unless they happened to need a gross of consumer electronics items: the company, founded in 1986, creates beautiful and functional speakers, headphones, and even bathtubs for luxury hotels. But the Ashcraft brand didn’t start out in a soaring space full of glass and air; it began with two people who joined forces personally and professionally. One had an artistic vision, and one had the talent for organization and management. They have worked together to ensure not just the company’s success, but the successes of their personal lives: childraising, marriage, and religious and personal goals. They are Heidi and Dan Ashcraft, and this year Ms. Ashcraft ran an effective campaign to become Councilmember Ashcraft, the only woman to serve on the Torrance City Council. She has held many positions in the Torrance community because she has always wanted to give back to the city that has meant so much to her. As the daughter of a machine shop owner and a finishing school graduate, Ashcraft knew that she wanted to go to college, but that she would have to finance it herself. She went to Southwest College and graduated from the medical assisting program, then worked as a medical assistant while attending community college. Then in her early twenties, she married Dan, who was attending school for design. Her first baby came along but she didn’t slow down a bit, continuing to work full time. Ashcraft enjoyed the nursing aspect of being a medical assistant but saw that the “front office” was the place with the higher salary. She became the manager at the doctor’s office where she worked, taking care of everything from billing to filing to patient management. Dan would drop her off at 7am with the baby, and pick her up at 7pm after he was done with school. Then at night, Ashcraft would take classes at Citrus College. “You just think of how to get through one day and go to the next one,” she said of those long days and long nights. Three more children followed, and her husband graduated from design school and began working for a design firm. They both loved the beach and followed their hearts to the South Bay, where they bought a little cottage built in the 1920s. By this time, Ashcraft had thoroughly learned how to be a manager, and talking to her, it is easy to see why. Involvement is deeply ingrained in her personality, and management is the outward manifestation of involvement. As this story continues, the reader will note a pattern: when Ashcraft finds herself in a situation, she doesn’t hang back on the sidelines and let someone else handle it. She goes straight up to the front and does the work herself, saying, “I don’t join things just to put my name on a list.” For instance: Ashcraft’s children went to school in the Torrance Unified School District, so while working part-time at a doctor’s office and raising four children full-time, she also began participating in PTA meetings. Her daughter went to Girl Scouts: she became a Girl Scout leader. Her sons played soccer and baseball: she found herself a spot on the AYSO and Little League boards. I don’t even have to go out on a limb to say that all these boards were probably ecstatic to have her, not to mention the networking opportunities that participation on these boards bring forth. Torrance at its heart is a small town, and people remember and appreciate services done for the community. Ashcraft also loved her twelve years on the TUSD board, where she eventually became PTA President at West High and then was elected to the School Board. After her time on the board, she took a break from medical work and devoted herself to Ashcraft Designs. Her husband was very successful at designing beautiful stereo equipment, but Ashcraft took one look at the manager he had hired and knew she could do better. She had been involved in the business ever since, and she and Dan have desks right across from one another, where they can use their complementary skills for the company’s benefit. They have been married 44 years. Ashcraft’s unofficial networking paid off last year, when then-mayor Frank Scotto approached her as a candidate for City Council. Ashcraft had known Scotto’s wife Cindy for many years as part of the PTA and part of the YMCA, where Ashcraft had been elected the first female board president. Mayor Scotto knew of Ashcraft’s governing experience and her love of the city, and asked her to run for City Council to give the Council a female perspective. Ashcraft believed she could win a seat, even though there were a total of 16 competitors last June for three seats. She said the best part of the election process was Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L A W Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litiga tion 310-540-6000 Lifetime El Segundo Residents *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization Brian R. Brandlin • Bruce R. Brandlin • Christopher P. Brandlin Obituaries It’s Time. Equal Pay for Equal Work. This is the personal opinion of Heidi Maerker Jan Bayouset King Jan Bavouset King 58, of Phoenix, passed away January 15, 2015 after a courageous 16 year battle with breast cancer. Jan was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of USC in 1978. Jan spent most of her life in Southern California working in the publishing industry, and lived in El Segundo for 25 years before moving closer to family in Phoenix, AZ in 2009. Jan was President and CEO of Merritt Publishing, which published accreditation materials for insurance professionals, and she was the author of several business books. Jan was an entrepreneur who created successful online training courses for virtual authors and speakers assistants. Jan was also a nonfiction publishing consultant and helped over 50 authors realize their dream of publishing a book. Jan was a teacher, mentor, and friend to many. Jan is survived by her greatest legacy, her son Kraig. She is also greatly missed by her mother, Helen Bavouset, sister, Kim Vandenberg, and brother Dennis Delavara as well as her beloved terriers Joey and Freddie. Contributions may be made in Jan’s name to University Of Arizona Cancer Center At St. Joseph’s, supportstjosephs.org/cancer-center. • Trying Again From the beginning, I have been part of the “El Segundo Cares” group. We all appreciate you publishing our letter, but you hurt our cause for not proof reading Jan Cruikshank’s letter on January 15. Third paragraph, sixth line, the word was “gap” not “gam”. Her last paragraph was left out including her phone number. The most important part. Let me explain why. The letter was an appeal to the business community for help. We collect clothing, grooming items and many more needed things to give out to the patients at the V.A. Hospital in Los Angeles. These are given by the community. We take them to the hospital whenever a barbeque is given, by invitation from the V.A. volunteer management. We set up tables with the donated things near the eating area. When they finish eating, they come to us for a dessert treat and to pick out what they want from the donations. The barbeques are sponsored by different organizations in other cities. We need sponsors from El Segundo or people that can help us raise money. Any help would be appreciated. – Pat Gerber Caged Bird Sings Wrong Song Regarding “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” (1.22.15). The subject article is riddled with misinformation and significant quantitative errors with respect to federal tax changes effective 1/1/2015 which are erroneously attributed to the Affordable Care Act. Federal income tax brackets are unchanged from 2013. The tax on capital gains and dividends remains at 15% for most and is capped at 23.8% for high earners including a 3.8% medicare surcharge tax. In my view, the Herald needs to implement more rigorous fact checking of their published articles. – C. Richard Johnson Atkinson Walks Out on Council After Golf Vote Upon reading your coverage of the January 20th El Segundo City Council Meeting and subsequently viewing it online, I’m saddened the vitriol permeating in our nation’s capital seems to have trickled down to our hometown. Both firms considered to evaluate TopGolf and the current Lakes Facility were determined eminently qualified to perform the work requested by the city. City staff believed National Golf Foundation’s approach would be “more comprehensive,” while Mayor Fuentes and Council members Jacobson and Dugan felt Pro Forma Advisors’ extensive local experience at half the price is the better option. Reasonable people disagree on things. Hence, a 3-2 vote in favor of Pro Forma. But what should have been a productive discussion among elected colleagues was turned into a circus. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, Councilman Atkinson’s behavior and actions at the conclusion of the Council’s vote were disappointing, unprofessional and, most importantly, unproductive. – Les Eisner • Letters Councilmember Heidi Ashcraft Looks for Ways to Be Involved Torrance Councilmember Heidi Ashcraft. Photo courtesy of Ashcraft Designs. See Women at Work, page 12 Move Up to CONTINENTAL PARK, the South Bay’s PROMINENT Business, Retail and Entertainment COMPLEX A L O N G T H E R O S E C R A N S C O R R I D O R I N E L S E G U N D O / M A N H A T T A N B E A C H • Now Leasing Office Space In All Sizes • Professional Property Management On Site • It’s Not Just a Location; It’s a Lifestyle! 310.640.1520 CONTINENTAL PARK A project of Continental Development Corporation www.continentaldevelopment.com
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