Patricia Gracia, president of Hispanic advertising agency Power Media Group in Santa Clarita, was in a restaurant recently finalizing a deal with a client when a man approached and asked if her group was enjoying lunch.
Gracia noticed immediately that the man was “polite and very cultured.” But there was something else. Something
familiar.
“I looked again and said, ‘Oh, my God, it’s Donald Trump!'” she recalled.
Gracia does not believe it was mere coincidence that The Donald appeared as Power Media was signing a joint-venture agreement.
“At that meeting we had a strong aura of prosperity and the power of the Hispanic market,” she said. “I believe Donald Trump felt that, so he approached.”
Well, maybe. Of course, it helped that the meeting occurred in Palos Verdes at the Trump National Golf Club.
One of the Girls
The scariest thing Kristi Heicke has ever done? That’s easy. A couple of years ago she left a successful career to start a non-profit mentoring program for girls 11 to 15 in Long Beach.
“I knew I wasn’t happy,” Heicke recalled of her career as a sales director for a small manufacturer. “I was working, traveling, stressed; I looked horrible day and night. I just thought something’s got to change.”
So the 40-year-old mother of three left behind a $100,000 annual salary and sank $75,000 of her own money into her new organization called Girlfriends.
Today she oversees four group meetings a week for about 100 girls covering such topics as money management, conflict resolution, self-esteem, knitting, “a little bit of everything it’s kind of a one-stop shop.”
There are still some scary moments, such as when she thinks about her income. “Some days I get really panicked, but if I stress out about the money I’ll just lose the passion.”
Another scary moment is facing a roomful of girls. “I’m nervous at every meeting,” Heicke admitted.
International Communications
After eight years of navigating international intrigues at the United Nations, the slower pace of representing a national chain of kidney dialysis clinics is a welcome change for Richard Grenell, who is the new vice president of communications of DaVita Inc. of El Segundo. And the California native certainly doesn’t miss New York winters.
“After years of working really long hours for not that great of pay, I really wanted to move to the corporate sector, but in a field like health care that wants to make the world a better place,” said Grenell, 42.
He hadn’t planned to become the U.S. delegation’s longest serving spokesman, but felt compelled to stay on after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Grenell has been widely praised for his innovative use of new-media outlets and his effectiveness in representing often controversial bosses such as former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton.
“There’s nothing more fulfilling in the world than representing the United States,” he said. “But with the change of administrations, it was time for a change.”
Staff reporters Joel Russell, David Haldane, Deborah Crowe contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
