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Today's Featured Biography

 
James Wolpert

Hell-o class of 1964!! It’s great to be back in touch, and nice to see what everyone’s been doing these last 45 years!
After graduation from S.F., I spent the next two years full time at Glendale College while working part time at a Burbank based aerospace fastener manufacturer, Avibank Inc.
In 1966 I began work full time at Avibank’s request, and switched to taking night classes at Glendale College in their career business program. In November (’66) I married the love of my life, a St. Andrews girl I met while at GC, Jane Bolger, also class of ’64, and we settled down in Burbank. In 1967, we were blessed with a son, Todd, and in 1969 another son, Erik.
As Father Cyril would tell you, I was not St. Francis’ best (nor most focused) student, and the same applied while I was attending GC during the day. Things changed, however, when I began taking business classes. I’m sure it was a combination of strong interest in the subject and the reality of the responsibility of being married with children. About the same time it also came to light through an employment testing program that I had scored exceptionally high on a highly respected mechanical aptitude test, and the company put me in a management development program as a result.
By 1978, I had worked in and managed every department in the company, save accounting. At that time I was asked to be responsible for a newly acquired proprietary commercial fastener. By late 1979 we had perfected the manufacturing process and had grown sales to $1 million. I was asked by the ownership to start a commercial division off sight because we had no more room to grow in Burbank. As General Manager of the new division I found a building in Valencia and we moved the manufacturing equipment, beginning business as AVK Industrial Products in Jan. of 1980. Five years later we had grown to $5 million in sales and I was appointed President of the division. Over the next 20 years, AVK grew from 35 employees doing $5 million per year to 175 employees doing $38 million with an 85% market share. In 2002 we were acquired by large aerospace conglomerate and I contractually agreed to stay with them for 3 years, at the end of which, Jan. 2005, I retired after 45 years with the company.
Through our sales endeavors, I was able to travel to almost every industrialized nation in the world, accumulating over 1 million air miles. I was fortunate to have a great team at AVK, a fantastic worldwide distribution network run by some exceptional people, and a number of loyal long term customers, all of which made my career very satisfying.
By the time our sons were a few years old, we had taken up camping as a family recreation, spending vacations and week-ends either in the desert, the mountains or at the beach. As the boys got older we got into dirt bikes, and spent more and more of our winter time in the desert. Needing a “summer” activity, we added a ski boat to the list of toys and spent many a summer vacation at the Delta and various California Lakes, and then there was the succession of fishing (ocean) boats—For 11 straight years, we spent two weeks a year in Baja California deep sea fishing
In ’98 I retired from serious dirt bike riding and transisted to street bikes (yep, I’m a Harley dude) and have since toured many areas of the U.S., Europe and New Zealand, my favorites being the Alps and all of Spain.
Both our boys graduated from Alemany H.S. (SFHS was just too far away) Todd went on to graduate from UCLA and Erik from CSUN. Todd is a partner with Ernst & Young and just returned from a 5 year assignment in Amsterdam. He is newly engaged and just purchased a home in La Canada. Erik became a Physical Therapist and is now the CEO of a Physical Therapy firm with multiple locations through-out the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys. He is married and he and his wife live in Valencia with thier two precious daughters.
Since retiring, Jani and I spend approximately 8 months a year on the road in our motor coach, our goal being to see all the little nooks and crannies of North America. We have a lot in the ORI Motorcoach Resort in Indio and usually spend our January-April winter months out there. I do golf a couple of times a month, not necessarily well, and Jani and I play a lot of 4.0 level tennis out in Indio and with many friends through-out the U.S. as we travel around. Retirement’s tough, but you know, someone has to do it!!

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