Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Smittcamp honored for business, philanthrophy
gvw_david_taub
By David Taub, Senior Reporter
Published 7 years ago on
February 10, 2017

Share

Bill Smittcamp knew that Valley Children’s Hospital was an important part of the community. But he never felt that he would make use of one of his philanthropic pursuits.

During a speech accepting the Leon S. Peters Award, Smittcamp recalls having to take his son to Valley Children’s after they were hit by a DUI driver. He was thankful they were able to keep his family together.

For 30 years, Smittcamp has served as President and CEO of Wawona Frozen Foods in Clovis. He also serves on many charity boards, including Children’s.

Talking for about 10 minutes, Smittcamp recalled that story, as well as the influence of former Peters winner and educational leader Pete Mehas. He spent much of his acceptance speech thanking his family.

The Peters Award was part of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce’s Valley Awards Luncheon. Hundreds attended the annual event. Other award winners included Jake Soberal of Bitwsie as the Rising Star Award; Helen Hansen of La Tapatia Tortilleria for Entrepreneur of the Year; Natalie Fugere of The Painted Press for College Entrepreneur of the Year; and Danhya Jimenez of Alleviate for High School Entrepreneur of the Year.

Before the honor, Smittcamp talked with GV Wire. We discussed the difficulty of running a business in California, water, immigration, President Trump and whether Fresno should be a sanctuary city. Watch the video above.

Smittcamp’s full acceptance speech:

E-mail David Taub

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Tackles Animal Overpopulation with New Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Program

DON'T MISS

Supermom Carmi Is Ready to Be Embraced by Her Forever Family

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: How Going to Work for Trump Turned Devin Nunes Into a Millionaire

DON'T MISS

House Speaker Mike Johnson Headed to Fresno on April 4

DON'T MISS

Locals Urge FUSD To Keep The Process Transparent

DON'T MISS

Fresno Mayor Dyer Is the Man in Japan

DON'T MISS

From Food Truck to Restaurant: Planet Vegan Is Squashing the Beef in NW Fresno

DON'T MISS

Trump Media Group CEO Nunes Headlines Fresno GOP Event

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Nab Suspect in March 14 Slaying on Bulldog Lane

DON'T MISS

Beautify Fresno’s Great American Cleanup Set for April 20

No data was found
David Taub,
Senior Reporter
Curiosity drives David Taub. The award-winning journalist might be shy, but feels mighty with a recorder in his hand. He doesn't see it his job to "hold public officials accountable," but does see it to provide readers (and voters) the information needed to make intelligent choices. Taub has been honored with several writing awards from the California News Publishers Association. He's just happy to have his stories read. Joining GV Wire in 2016, Taub covers politics, government and elections, mainly in the Fresno/Clovis area. He also writes columns about local eateries (Appetite for Fresno), pro wrestling (Off the Bottom Rope), and media (Media Man). Prior to joining the online news source, Taub worked as a radio producer for KMJ and PowerTalk 96.7 in Fresno. He also worked as an assignment editor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, California, and KSEE-TV in Fresno. He has also worked behind the scenes for several sports broadcasts, including the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Super Bowl. When not spending time with his family, Taub loves to officially score Fresno Grizzlies games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue! You can contact David at 559-492-4037 or at Send an Email

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

4 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

4 hours ago

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

4 hours ago

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

4 hours ago

Fresno County Tackles Animal Overpopulation with New Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Program

5 hours ago

Fallen Crypto Mogul Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

5 hours ago

When Newsom Gives His State of the State, He Should Be Candid About California’s Economy

5 hours ago

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

5 hours ago

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

6 hours ago

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

6 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

NEW YORK — A fundraiser for President Joe Biden on Thursday in New York City that also stars Barack Obama and Bill Clinton is raising a whop...

15 mins ago

15 mins ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

28 mins ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

1 hour ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

4 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

4 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

4 hours ago

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

4 hours ago

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

5 hours ago

Fresno County Tackles Animal Overpopulation with New Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Program

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend