Business, Involve Thyself

San Diego County is still in its adolescence when it comes to developing leadership in its civic and cultural affairs. That fact has been underscored by the recent merger of The Signal Cos. with Allied Corp. and the impending move of most of Signal’s operations to New Jersey.

Since it moved here in 1980, Signal has been San Diego County’s largest locally based, publicly held corporation. It also has set the standard for corporate community involvement.

When Signal moved its headquarters from Beverly Hills to Torrey Pines Road, Chairman Forrest N. Shumway directed all of Signal’s top executives to take on some community activity. The firm also has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to San Diego cultural, charitable and educational organizations. To the extent Signal’s executives and its philanthropy now are shifted to the East, they will be sorely missed.

No one is faulting Signal for making a sound business move that benefits its shareholders. The point is simply that the San Diego business community needs to become more involved, and local organizations should become more imaginative in soliciting corporate involvement.

Other corporations such as Oak Industries, Wickes and Nucorp that for years maintained high corporate profiles either have fallen on hard times or have left the local scene. Several among the young and growing high-tech firms--IMED, Hybritech, Linkabit--have been purchased by larger companies based elsewhere.

With mergers and acquisitions being the trend of the times, it becomes increasingly important for the business community at large to play the role only it can play in making the many service, arts and health organizations flourish. Some, of course, already contribute much in the way of money and leadership talent--Great American First Savings Bank comes quickly to mind. And the Chamber of Commerce each year recognizes firms that give back to the community at least 2% of their pre-tax earnings; last year 90 were honored.

But now it’s time for many other smaller and mid-sized companies to take stock of their resources--human and financial--and commit a share to the community that makes the San Diego area such a good place to live and do business.