R.E. (ROD) HAYDEN, Vice president and chief operating officer, Hyundai Motor America

The choice of Rod Hayden as co-chairman of the Red Cross emergency fund drive is symbolic. Charities in Orange County have recently discussed involving foreign-owned companies with operations here, especially the Japanese, such as Kawasaki, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Mazda. Hayden, whose Korean employer is often mistaken for a Japanese car company, says the time is right for foreign companies and other businesses to improve their public relations. He spoke with free-lance writer Anne Michaud.

Orange County, in a way, is like a small town. People here know what their neighbors are doing. Are you planning to play on that sentiment to raise money?

There is an awful lot of networking that goes on within the corporate community. I plan on contacting my friends in the Japanese automobile importing business very, very soon. I also plan on contacting some of the other Japanese companies in Orange County. I think the Japanese companies need to step forward and show that they are good corporate citizens. They’re importing goods into this country, and the American public is buying those goods. I think it’s time that they put something back. They haven’t been big givers in the past, but then, they haven’t been recruited to the extent we’re recruiting them today.

Do you think charitable donations would relieve some of the tension that exists between American and Japanese business interests?

Possibly. There’s no Japanese-bashing here, by the looks of their products on the street, people are buying them. But (the Japanese doing business here are) bound to be tense.

Do American corporations with operations in other countries help raise money for charities overseas?

I would assume that if they have good managers running those companies, they would do that.

The Red Cross says that if it doesn’t raise $1 million by July, the services in Orange County will be “drastically cut.” Which services are those?

Preparedness services, youth services, staffing. My understanding is that donations, fund raising, have been below the level that it should be for three years now. During that period, they have been living off of the reserves. There comes a point when the reserves get to an emergency level.

The economic situation is complicating the matter for charities, even for the United Way. The Red Cross has been obtaining 60% of its funding from the United Way. (United Way contributions to the Orange County Red Cross have dropped from between 6.5% and 16% each year from 1986 to 1991.) We’ve got to start doing some fund raising on our own.

What methods will you be using to raise money?

Door pounding. I think the large, Orange County-based corporations have a responsibility to Orange County and to the residents of Orange County, and I think they should step forward and donate funds.

Why is it important to have business involved in this “emergency drive?”

Well, from my viewpoint, the Red Cross is going to be there when there is an emergency. It’s just a matter of time--I don’t want to be a doomsayer--but it’s just a matter of time before there is an emergency. Everybody’s predicting that the big 8-point-something earthquake is going to hit. I guarantee that the Red Cross is going to be the first one on the scene.

Think of what would happen if an earthquake hit now. Funds that we are trying to raise now will benefit the corporations (with Orange County operations) in the future.

Why is corporate-giving down, do you think?

Corporate profits are down. Some corporations, their profits are nonexistent--you’re sitting in one of them.

How will you persuade people to give something they don’t have much of?

Regardless of their financial position, they still live in this community, and they still have to be prepared for disaster. As long as they are still in business, they are not broke.

I’ve been reading that charities have stopped approaching the charitable giving departments of corporations and are talking to people in the advertising department instead. They’re saying, listen, this is good publicity for you. Are you planning to make that argument?

Giving to a worthy cause such as the Red Cross can have the same benefits, if not more, than spending on corporate advertising.

Advertising puts your name before the public. Contributions to a charity such as ours puts you before the public as well, but in a different manner.

Do you think businesses see charitable contributions as a luxury?

I think corporate cultures vary. I’ve worked for corporations that would give whatever was asked. Some give simply to gain name recognition. The attitudes of the CEO and the COO tend to filter down.

What is your role as co-chairman of the drive?

I plan on making many, many corporate calls myself, to my network of people.

What do you hope Hyundai will get out of your involvement?

The perception that Hyundai is a good corporate citizen. Hyundai is a Korean company, and the business leaders of Korea today remember what the American Red Cross did for them (during the Korean conflict).

There are a lot of good causes out there, why the Red Cross?

The Red Cross is probably the best good cause. It serves the general public. These are services that have no color barriers, no age barriers, no race barriers. The Red Cross is there for anybody who needs help.

I served in Korea and I’ve always had a warm spot in my heart for the Red Cross.

On the increasing need for charities to conduct their own fund drives. . .

“The United Way is down in (its) offerings this year. We’re going to have to rely more upon our own funds.”

On good corporate citizenship. . .

“There’s no reason why companies shouldn’t be good corporate citizens and be willing to put something back into Orange County for disaster, for preparedness, for those who (may be victims) of a major catastrophe.”

On how he was recruited as co-chairman. . .

“Hyundai had made its commitment known (to the Red Cross) when it provided a half-million dollars to the San Francisco area (after the 1990 earthquake). So, I was a natural choice.”

On charity balls. . .

“The average John or Jane on the street is turned off by celebrity parties. It might be all right for some organizations, but I just don’t see the Red Cross in that role.”