Bagdasarian's Mike Bozick receives CG&TFL award
Bagdasarian's Mike Bozick receives CG&TFL award
Mike Bozick, chairman of Richard Bagdasarian Inc. in Mecca, CA, and past chairman of the California Table Grape Commission, was named the 2006 recipient of the California Grape & Tree Fruit League's Mentor Award on Monday, March 27, during the league's annual meeting in Indian Wells, CA.
Bruce Obbink, former president of the commission and a 1998 recipient of the Mentor Award, made the presentation.
Mr. Bozick was manager of the industrial engineering department at TRW Automotive before becoming involved full time in the produce business in 1966, said Mr. Obbink. That year, Mr. Bozick's mother-in-law, Lucille Tidwell (the 1988 recipient of the Mentor Award), asked him to help her run Bagdasarian Inc. because her business partner, Richard Bagdasarian, had died. Mr. Bozick, who held degrees in mechanical engineering and business administration from the University of Southern California, was already familiar with grapes and viticulture.
"While at USC, he had submitted a paper on growing grapes in the Coachella Valley, and he worked closely with Mr. Bagdasarian," Mr. Obbink said.
Shortly after becoming involved with Bagdasarian Inc., Mr. Bozick discovered that producing, packing and selling a crop "were not the only challenges ahead." United Farm Workers launched a grape boycott and an intense organizing drive, "but they picked on the wrong guy. [Mr. Bozick] confronted the challenge as he did all challenges in his life and was able to bring the balance of the desert industry to a center point of unity."
Mr. Bozick served as a board member of the grape commission for more than 30 years. "His grasp of the marketing challenge at hand was exceptional," Mr. Obbink said.
Bruce Obbink, former president of the commission and a 1998 recipient of the Mentor Award, made the presentation.
Mr. Bozick was manager of the industrial engineering department at TRW Automotive before becoming involved full time in the produce business in 1966, said Mr. Obbink. That year, Mr. Bozick's mother-in-law, Lucille Tidwell (the 1988 recipient of the Mentor Award), asked him to help her run Bagdasarian Inc. because her business partner, Richard Bagdasarian, had died. Mr. Bozick, who held degrees in mechanical engineering and business administration from the University of Southern California, was already familiar with grapes and viticulture.
"While at USC, he had submitted a paper on growing grapes in the Coachella Valley, and he worked closely with Mr. Bagdasarian," Mr. Obbink said.
Shortly after becoming involved with Bagdasarian Inc., Mr. Bozick discovered that producing, packing and selling a crop "were not the only challenges ahead." United Farm Workers launched a grape boycott and an intense organizing drive, "but they picked on the wrong guy. [Mr. Bozick] confronted the challenge as he did all challenges in his life and was able to bring the balance of the desert industry to a center point of unity."
Mr. Bozick served as a board member of the grape commission for more than 30 years. "His grasp of the marketing challenge at hand was exceptional," Mr. Obbink said.