You probably missed it in the Bee, but our oldest surviving board and campaign chair passed away recently: 94-year-old Dr. John Kassis.

He was a member of the prominent Sacramento family that founded the area’s first locally owned super market chain (Stop-n-Shop). In their time, they were great supporters of ours.

Dr. Kassis chaired our campaign in 1961-62 and the board of what was then the United Crusade of Sacramento in 1963-64. His late brother, Frank, was our 1951-52 board chair.

That leaves Attorney General Jerry Brown as the former board/campaign leader from the furthest back in our history who is still living. He chaired our 1971-72 campaign.

For those of us who are virtual natives of the region, it is interesting to look back and see all the familiar names on the roster of people who have led this organization.

The list includes mayors, judges, members of the legislature, county supervisors, presidential and gubernatorial cabinet members, business leaders and so on.

And we’re very fortunate to have the same kind of support these days. That’s important because United Ways are independent, local nonprofits—not just branch offices.

Our board’s role is to represent the diversity of our five-county service area and make sure that we are serving the region well. They carry on the legacy of Dr. Kassis and our other pioneers.