Valuable lessons learned during hands-on visit

Published in the December 23, 2015 – January 5, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life

By Marty Cheek

Photo by Marty Cheek Members of the El Toro Boys & Girls Club with Specialized CEO Mike Sinyard during a tour of the company.

Photo by Marty Cheek
Members of the El Toro Boys & Girls Club with Specialized CEO Mike Sinyard during a tour of the company.

In the concept bike display room, 22 children from the Lori Escobar El Toro Boys & Girls Club found themselves being introduced to Specialized Bicycle Components founder Mike Sinyard. They learned a lesson of perseverance from him when he described how he started the company in the mid-1970s selling parts out of a trailer in San Jose.

The encounter with the legendary bicycle businessman was part of a VIP tour the students received in a rare golden ticket opportunity to go beyond the front doors of Specialized’s headquarters Dec. 10, learning how bikes and accessory products are made and tested. Specialized also made donations of bikes and helmets to the club.

Among the adult members of the tour was Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate who believes the experience encourages the young people in the club to see how a global-wide business looks from the inside and succeed in school to possibly work for a company — or even start their own business.
“It’s a fantastic experience for the kids to see a very successful company employing people that absolutely love their jobs,” he said. “It shows the kids first-hand why doing well in school is important for getting a job that you are passionate about and have the necessary skills to do well.”

The kids also learn about bikes, and enjoyed a hands-on experience to learn how they’re put together, he said.

“It reinforces the message they frequently get at the clubhouse that you can be successful if you set your goals and go after them with passion and determination,” Tate said.
Specialized decided to invite the group from the Morgan Hill Boys & Girls Club to the headquarters for several reasons including hoping to inspire the children to pursue professional careers, said Katie Sue Gruener, the global public relations manager.

“We really believe in supporting the local community and thought it would be a great way of showing the kids around a cool local company and get them excited not just about riding bikes but potential career opportunities,” she said.

She praised Tate for setting up the opportunity for the students to visit the company. He brought the club to Specialized’s Advocacy Manager Lucy August-Perna’s attention and the two brainstormed ways to work together and make the visit happen.

“We also thought it means a lot to spend time with the group in addition to the monetary and product donations made,” she said.

Photo by Marty Cheek El Toro Boys and Girls Club members examine a concept bicycle during a recent tour of Specialized Bicycles.

Photo by Marty Cheek
El Toro Boys and Girls Club members examine a concept bicycle during a recent tour of Specialized Bicycles.

During their visit the group was able to check out the Specialized museum and get a close-up look at the company’s creative director Robert Egger’s concept bikes. While checking out the bikes the company’s Chief Financial Officer Stephanie Roberts and Sinyard came by to say hello and answer questions.

After that the group of students headed to the helmet lab where Clint Mattacola, a member of the Helmet Product Team, talked about the importance of wearing a helmet and how to make sure it’s on safely. After explaining why it’s important to get a new helmet after a crash, he demonstrated a helmet test with the crash simulator in the lab.

When the tour wrapped up in the helmet lab, the kids divided into two groups. The first got to complete bike builds and learn bike maintenance and the other got to do holiday crafts and make some fun ornaments from old bike parts. When the groups were finished with these activities, they walked over to the wind tunnel where Specialized employees Cameron Piper and Chris Yu told the kids a little about the science of aerodynamics and how wind is a part of some products development process. The El Toro Clubhouse kids then got to go in the wind tunnel and experience what it’s like to feel a powerful breeze pushing them.

“We hope the time together inspired them to keep riding their bikes and showed them some fun career options that allow them to mix their profession with something they love,” Gruener said.

Specialized believe in the importance of supporting the local community, she said.

“Specialized and the Boys & Girls Club have very similar visions and the fit was quite natural,” she said. “Specialized also does quite a bit of other community support including sponsoring the Baseball Pony League, the Boy Scouts Coyote Creek Classic, kids bike rodeo at the Bicycling Spring Classic, and we are planning more bike rodeos with local law enforcement in the new year. Additionally, on behalf of our new Specialized Foundation, we are working on implementing a cycling program with Britton Middle School next year.”

For Gruener and the rest of the staff giving the tour, it was fun to see the young people from El Toro Clubhouse get excited about learning about the science and business of bicycles.

“You know the experience was meaningful when the kids don’t want to leave and are asking when they get to come hang out with you again,” she said. “The kids typically go for a bike ride every Friday afternoon and I look forward to tagging along on a few.”

Tate encourages other local businesses to be involved in being part of the activities to help the students at the Boys & Girls Club to do well in their school work and lives.

“The more exposure the kids have to different businesses, the greater the chance they will find something they can be really passionate about and work harder to achieve success,” he said. “And they also learn about businesses, how they differ and what is ‘success’ for each, which really varies among companies and organizations.”