Some good employment advice

In a humble room of a converted house that now serves as the hub of a

youth employment center sat two representatives of the most powerful

families in Newport-Mesa. Real estate mogul Henry Segerstrom and

society matron Debbie Steel sat in mismatched chairs -- some with

cracking vinyl upholstery -- around a wood-paneled table for

afternoon tea at Youth Employment Services of the Harbor Area Inc. in

Costa Mesa.

Not to say the youth employment outfit is shabby in any way. It is

clean, pristine, organized and efficient in providing a free place

for Newport-Mesa youth to come and learn necessary job skills. But it

lacked the luxurious details such as a large mahogany desk, a

grandiose conference room, silver serving wares, velvet drapes or

other fancy embellishments usually found in big-money meetings.

No, Segerstrom and Steel met with their hosts and partook in an

eye-opening tour of the facility, followed by a candid discussion

about funding for the small nonprofit.

Youth Employment Services of the Harbor Area Inc., on 19th Street

in Costa Mesa, will honor C.J. Segerstrom & Sons and Henry

Segerstrom, the managing partner, at the 30th annual Roman Feast and

Charity Auction in May.

(Steel was there for the tour, the discussion and the company.)

The job center program’s clients range in age from 14 to 22,

director Lynne Graham said. It’s open Monday through Friday and helps

about 1,400 people per year. The annual Roman Feast serves as the

major fund-raising event of the year and is designed to bring in

support for pre-employment job-seeking skills, such as resume

writing, job referrals and interview training.

But the services don’t come cheap and that’s where local

powerhouses like Segerstrom and Steel come in. Sure, YES could

partner with larger administrative nonprofit entities, or seek more

public funding dollars, but Graham is picky.

Graham does not like to take grants that severely limit the people

the employment service can help, she explained. Too many grants

require a certain percentage of “low economic” patrons and mandate

stringent paperwork.

While Graham has no problem providing services to low-income

families, and the majority of the kids come from the lower half of

the socio-economic ladder, she is hard pressed to tell an affluent

child he or she cannot take part in the program.

“If a student from Newport Harbor [High School] walked through the

door, how could I tell him to leave?” she said.

She also feels almost invasive when she is required to ask the

families for detailed economic information, just so their child can

learn interviewing tips, how to write a resume and a cover letter.

Don’t get me wrong, Graham doesn’t scoff at available funds, and

when given the choice between taking a restrictive grant or closing

the doors for a lack of funding, she’ll take the restrictive grant.

But she would prefer not to, which again, brings us back to why

Segerstrom and Steel were sitting in a modest dining area on 19th

Street.

Although Segerstrom is most often associated with South Coast

Plaza, the Performing Arts Center and lots and lots of zeros, the man

grew up on a lima bean farm (soon to be Ikea) and isn’t a stranger to

hard work.

Throughout the tea party he nodded in agreement and added his own

sound words of advice. Graham, Steel, Segerstrom, Youth Employment

Services board member Bruce Fetter, public relations darling

Christine Carr and I talked about the importance of not only learning

the right things to say as an interviewee, but acquiring the

confidence to fully present yourself.

“Self respect in each one of us is very important to our personal

success,” Segerstrom said.

(Note to self: Most powerful man in Orange County says to respect

yourself.)

Fetter warned Segerstrom the annual Roman Feast was not the gala

event, the real estate mogul may be used to.

“When you think of charity events, you think of black ties,

evening dresses and the like” Fetter said.

(That’s funny, first thing that pops into my mind when I think of

charity is grubby jeans, T-shirt and a pot holder, while standing in

a hot kitchen serving soup.)

The Roman Feast is somewhere in between my kind of charity event

and the usual.

“This is very, very casual. People are comfortable. You won’t find

a sport coat in the place.”

Now it may have been my imagination, but I could have sworn

Segerstrom’s eyes lighted up.

Something tells me the former farm boy will be all too comfortable

in that sort of setting. Who knows, this could change the norm from

black tie to hog tie.