Cal State Fullerton paid tribute to Orange County community and political leaders who have helped shape the region’s civic landscape at a dinner attended by over 200 community members.
The Lawrence de Graaf Center for Oral and Public History and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences hosted the “Celebrating Orange County’s Civic and Political Legacy Dinner.”
This year’s individuals and an organization are part of the center’s Orange County Civic and Political History Project, an oral history project that began in the fall of 2013.
“This ongoing oral history project focuses on the stories of retired elected officials and civic leaders of Orange County,” said Natalie Fousekis, center director and professor of history. “By capturing their narratives and background, and motivations and strategies, the interviews for this project tell a broader and more nuanced version of Orange County’s past.”
Those recognized at the March event were alumnus Robert V. “Bobby” McDonald ’75 (B.S. physical education), president and CEO of the Black Chamber of Orange County; Stan Oftelie, the first CEO of the Orange County Transportation Authority; and The Lincoln Club of Orange County, the oldest and largest conservative donor organization in California.
A U.S. Navy veteran, McDonald has led the Black Chamber of Orange County for more than 30 years. He is a former president of the CSUF Alumni Association and the California State University Statewide Alumni Council, and the recipient of the university’s 2003 Vision & Visionaries Distinguished Alumnus Award.
McDonald has served at the federal, state and local levels in veteran affairs and community leadership. His public service has included serving with the Under Secretary of the Veterans Administration on veterans’ health care and on the California Community Colleges Board of Governors.
He is a member of the Orange County Veterans Advisory Council and chairman of the U.S. Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans in Washington, D.C. A descendant of a Buffalo Soldier, he serves as president of the Buffalo Soldiers 9th and 10th (Horse) Calvary Association.
In the 1970s, Oftelie was a reporter with the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times and later served on the staff of Orange County Supervisor Ralph B. Clark.
In 1990, he led the effort to consolidate seven Orange County transportation agencies into the Orange County Transportation Authority — and was selected to lead it. He served as CEO from 1991 until 1997. Oftelie helped design Measure M, Orange County’s comprehensive transportation program, the first countywide tax measure approved by voters since 1912.
Oftelie left the OCTA to become the CEO of the Orange County Business Council. In 2005, he opened a private consulting practice. He is the author of two books, “Nothing Rhymes With Orange” and “Shaping Orange County.”
Over 60 years ago, a group of business leaders formed The Lincoln Club of Orange County to help advance social and economic success in the region.
The oral history project includes interviews with longtime members Michael Capaldi, Doy Henley, and Buck Johns, who recall the Lincoln Club’s founding and influence throughout its six-decade history.
The club is named after President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States.