N
ovember ushered in a season of gratitude
and giving, and what better time to honor
the living legacy of George A. Chiala Sr.
George passed away in January and he is
missed by many, but his legacy of commitment
to agriculture, education, and healthcare lives on in the hearts
of those who knew and loved him. Our community will
benefit for years to come because of the man he was and the
way he lived his life.
Agricultural Entrepreneur
Champion of Education
George lent his full support to the development of the St. John
XXIII Preparatory high school. The project continues to move
forward despite difficult challenges posed by LAFCO decisions
in recent years.
According to software executive and Morgan Hill resident
Mark Sochan, “I met George after moving my young family
here from Vancouver. We were just coming out of a church
service at St. Catherine’s Parish. George said hello and, noticing
my young sons, invited them to come with baskets and pick
strawberries at Chiala Farms. They had a great time. As we
got to know each other, he talked about wanting to build a
Catholic high school in Morgan Hill. Seeing my enthusiasm,
he asked me to join the board.”
“He was gentle and kind yet had just as much impact
as some of the most aggressive people I’ve worked with in
my business career. George brought out the best in people.
Everyone felt he was interested and their input mattered. At
his funeral service, I was surrounded by a hundred others
who shared similar impressions of George. During the service,
More than 30 years ago he co-founded George Chiala Farms
with his wife Alice. Over time they expanded from farming
into food processing. The family business continues to thrive
today under the leadership of Alice, George Jr. and Tim
Chiala. George’s daughters Christi and Nicole serve on the
company’s board of directors.
According to George Jr., “Dad was always trying to help
local farmers. His outlook on business gave me a different
perspective. I learned that it’s not always about dollars and
cents. I am happy to have followed in his footsteps. He had
great love and respect for my mom, who had a huge role in
the success of our business.”
“Farming is always evolving; the growing, the financing,
the marketing and regulatory issues, all of it. Whenever some-
one came to my dad with an idea, he’d encourage them to try
it. Afterward, he would ask, ‘How did people benefit?’”
“If someone had a problem or needed advice, his door was
always open. He had the respect and loyalty of his employees.
Many have been with us thirty years or more.”
For all growers, dealing with food waste is a costly
challenge. Mike Cox, scientist and owner of Anaerobe Systems
in Morgan Hill, had a process for converting food waste into
hydrogen, water and a fertilizer byproduct. He was keen to
test his process, so he reached out to George.
“George invited me to visit his plant. When I began
describing my process, he got excited and called his managers
in. We spent hours talking about it. Then George said, ‘If you
do what you say you can, I’m gonna build an 18-foot bronze
statue of you right out in front of those ponds.’”
“We proved the process worked, but it wasn’t economical
enough for fueling hydrogen-powered cars, which was my
original goal. Then one of his staff came over to test the
fertilizer and he said, ‘Mike, I’m paying five bucks a gallon
for the stuff you’re throwing away!’”
“George and I spoke about building a plant and
implementing this process to tackle this problem. His support
of this dream encouraged me to keep investing and working to
make the dream a reality, and the work continues today.”
“At George’s memorial service, his son Tim came up to me
and said, ‘You know we have to finish this, because my dad’s
up there watching.’ I laughed and said, ‘You mean,
supervising, right?’”
LEFT; George was awarded the 2014
Leadership Excellence Award by Leadership
Morgan Hill. ABOVE: George at a meeting
to plan the Saint John XXIII Preparatory High
School.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
gmhtoday.com
73