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E-mail StoryBusiness roundup: Mom gets free minivan, United Way leader leaving and more
| Thursday, May 8 2008 5:09 PM
Last Updated: Friday, May 9 2008 7:17 AM
Bakersfield car dealer Auto Shopper America presented a minivan Thursday to a single mother of five who until then had no vehicle.
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Ginger Boyd, a 32-year-old Bakersfield resident, was given the silver 2000 Dodge Caravan Sport after being nominated by her mother.
The occasion was Mini-Van for Mom, an annual event Auto Shopper has participated in since 2001. The Oak Street dealership donated the car and paid for things like taxes and registration, while San Joaquin Bank chipped in a computer.
The program, which also takes place in December around the holidays, is for single, working mothers, preferably those have no vehicle of their own.
“We want to come alongside a working mother and help her with transportation challenges,” said Tina Miller, who leads Mini-Van for Mom.
LOCAL UNITED WAY LEADER HEADS TO TOPEKA
United Way of Kern County president Miriam Krehbiel is leaving Bakersfield to become president of United Way of Greater Topeka.
Krehbiel, 48, has been at the local United Way for nine years.
“My sadness about leaving is equally matched with my excitement about the new professional opportunities in Topeka,” she said in a news release announcing her departure. “Returning to my roots and being near family are the icing on the cake.”
Krehbiel has led the local group through an organizational restructuring intended to have a greater impact on such issues as homelessness, preparing children for success and improving financial stability for low-income families.
Board Chairman Tom Dorlis, assistant human resources manager with State Farm Insurance, said the search for Krehbiel’s successor will begin immediately.
WORK UNDER WAY ON RAILEX
Kern’s produce will soon be traveling by rail to East Coast sources.
Construction is under way on a Railex cold storage distribution center in Delano.
The center may open by September, and it will eventually bring 300 jobs. That’s a $32 million capital investment.
Transporting produce by rail will help reduce spoilage and is environmentally friendly, said Melinda Brown of the Kern Economic Development Corp.
Railex’s investment in Delano is a good thing for the county.
“What it’s going to do is open up more growth for ag,” Brown said.