Press Room

Talarico's career focuses in forging strategic partnerships and fundraising, and he is known for his business acumen both in the private sector and by nonprofit organizations. For more information contact Larry Brose, VP of Investor Relations and Business Development.

Six months later, he walked out of Casa Colina Center for Rehabilitation in Pomona with the aid of a cane and the realization that he possessed what most patients there did not: excellent insurance and the personal means to pay for top-flight care. He vowed to help change that.

Almost a year to the day after he was thrown from a mule, breaking two vertebrae, Severson stood before those gathered at a fundraising luncheon to benefit the charity he'd founded, the Spinal Cord Injury Special Fund. More than $200,000 was initially raised, including $50,000 from Severson's own pocket.

Over the next 25 years, the organization helped more than a thousand people with spinal cord injuries extend their therapy or pay for equipment aimed at helping them gain greater independence, according to the fund.

Severson died Monday at his Newport Beach home of complications related to cancer, said his daughter, Laura Russell. He was 72.

Before the accident, his life "couldn't have been going better," Severson told The Times in 1987.

Born Nov. 1, 1939, in Pensacola, Fla., to a career Marine Corps aviator and his wife, Severson led the University of Redlands tennis team to championships and majored in business and finance, according to the 2007 book "You've Gotta Fight Back!" He earned his bachelor's degree in 1962.

By 1969, he was developing industrial business parks for Dunn Properties and was named chairman of its board in 1974. Four years later, he co-founded Saddleback Associates in Orange County and continued building business parks in the west.

With his business and family flourishing, Severson later said, "I remember thinking that things were so good I needed some additional challenges in my life somewhere."

Everything changed in November 1986 during the annual Portola Ride, an exclusive horseback-riding event for businessmen in Orange County. He often rode a mule, partly because he enjoyed its plodding gait. When the mule threw him, Severson landed on his head and neck.

He was paralyzed from the midchest down and "devastated" when hospital doctors told him he would spend his life in a wheelchair. Hope returned 30 days later when he transferred to the rehab center and was soon able to wiggle his big toe. His new doctor proclaimed, "You have a chance to walk."

Required to share a room with four others, Severson later joked about it: "My first roommates were a black man, a dwarf, a 300-pound man and an 80-year-old man. Talk about variety.... Each guy sort of takes care of each other."

In therapy, Severson was paired with a young man with a similar spinal cord injury, and they engaged in friendly competition. When the man's insurance ran out, he was sent to a care facility that the state paid for, a move that spelled the end of meaningful therapy, Severson once recalled.

With his therapy partner in mind, Severson started the Spinal Cord Injury Special Fund and eventually amassed a $1-million endowment. The fund will continue, managed in part by his younger son, Mark.

As a member of the board of directors of Goodwill of Orange County, Severson helped raise funds to establish its Assistive Technology Exchange Center, which uses technology such as voice-activated computers to help the disabled, and the Goodwill Fitness Center, which provides exercise opportunities for those with disabilities.

"He just was a great man, very giving," said Nancy A. Quarles, coordinator of the fund he founded. "He was one of the kindest people, a true humanitarian."

Severson is survived by his wife of 42 years, Barbara; daughters Laura Russell and Cathleen Parker; sons Mike and Mark; a sister, Jane Severson; and seven grandchildren.

Services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, 600 Saint Andrews Road, Newport Beach.

When consumers donate clothing to Gap stores during this time period, their donations will be given to Goodwill of Orange County and then sold in Goodwill’s more than 21 retail stores including the online auction site shopgoodwill.com. To thank customers for their generous donations, donors will receive 30-percent off their entire Gap purchase, including regularly priced and sale items, just in time for Memorial Day shopping.

Donations to Goodwill of Orange County support the organization’s mission to provide people with disabilities and other barriers the opportunity to achieve their highest levels of personal and economic independence. Goodwill sells donated goods in its stores including the online auction site shopgoodwill.com. More than ninety percent of every dollar spent is reinvested back into programs and services, earning Goodwill of Orange County a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for organizational efficiency and capacity.

“As a company, we invest in career exploration and job readiness for youth, and thousands of our employees volunteer to help young people prepare for the workforce. Giving our customers and employees opportunities to donate clothing in support of Goodwill’s job training programs is a great fit with our community efforts,” said Bobbi Silten, head of global responsibility and president of Gap Foundation.

Donating to Goodwill also has a positive impact on the planet. Goodwill helps communities extend the life of usable items in environmentally sound ways, and diverts clothing items from local landfills.

“Through the Donate Movement, Goodwill aims to increase conscious donations by raising consumer awareness of the power their donated goods can have in strengthening their communities,” said Dan Rogers, President and CEO of Goodwill of Orange County. “When you donate to Goodwill, you enable a person to receive vital skills training, succeed at work and climb the career leader. These are people who want to work but need Goodwill’s help to find and keep good jobs.”

To learn more about the Donate Movement and calculate the positive impact donations will have on people in the community, visit donate.goodwill.org.

About Gap Inc.
Gap Inc. is a leading global specialty retailer offering clothing, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, children, and babies under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, and Athleta brands. Fiscal year 2010 net sales were $14.7 billion. Gap Inc. products are available for purchase in over 90 countries worldwide through about 3,100 company-operated stores, about 175 franchise stores, and e-commerce sites. For more information, please visit www.gapinc.com/socialresponsibility.

About Goodwill of Orange County
Goodwill of Orange County is a nonprofit organization with its Main Campus located at 410 North Fairview in Santa Ana. Now in its 87th year, Goodwill of Orange County has provided thousands of people with disabilities and other barriers the opportunity to achieve their highest levels of personal and economic independence through competitive employment. Goodwill of Orange County has consistently received a four-star rating, based on organizational efficiency and organizational capacity from Charity Navigator, America's premier independent charity evaluator. For more information about Goodwill 21 stores and 38 donation centers located throughout the county or Goodwill’s education, training and employment programs and services, please contact Katherine Ransom, Marketing and Communications Director at (714) 547-6308 ext. 308 or katheriner@ocgoodwill.org. Information can also be found at www.ocgoodwill.org.

###

Contact:
Katherine Ransom
Goodwill of Orange County
(714) 547-6308 ext. 308
katheriner@ocgoodwill.org

Kimberly Terry
Gap
Phone: (415) 427-4844
kimberly_terry@gap.com

boost when landfill issues arose, and it has continued to keep up with trends by providing services for document shredding and e-waste recycling. Goodwill’s E-waste Solutions program refurbishes and resells consumer electronics products through its Computer Works retail store, which gives a second life to used goods. Not that Goodwill doesn’t do old-fashioned recycling anymore. On average, each week in Orange County more than 32,000 pounds of cardboard are crushed and repurposed, while mattresses, clothing and household appliances that don’t make the cut for the retail stores are stripped and sold to manufacturers, textile dealers and scrap-metal vendors throughout the area. “Each year, Goodwill of Orange County diverts millions of pounds of clothing and textiles, electronic waste and paper goods from landfills,” says Randy Taylor, vice president of facilities and operations for Goodwill of Orange County. “In the process, Goodwill creates job-training opportunities as well as entry-level and skilled green-collar jobs for people in need of work.”

“Quite often, when we’re recruited to serve on a board, we don’t know how we fit in to an organization. We need to be taught,” commented Jeff Shepard, founding principal of CresaPartners and Chairman of the Board of the Child Abuse Prevention Center in Orange. Shepard noted that he had recruited 15 board members since he began serving on the Center’s board, not all of whom turned out to be a good fit for the organization.

“It’s important to find someone who has a passion for your cause, and has the time and ability to commit to serve on the board,” he continued.

Donald Voska, CFO of Goodwill Industries of Orange County, noted that Goodwill had a rigorous interview process for serving on its board, to ensure that Board members will be successful in their volunteer role. Voska explained, “We believe that those willing to go through the process are promising candidates to serve on the Board.”

Dawn Reese, General Manager and CFO of The Wooden Floor (formerly St. Joseph Ballet) in Santa Ana, believed that an important consideration for recruiting Board members was the life cycle of the organization. She explained, “Newer non-profits, for example, might have a greater need for technological expertise as they establish their offices, rather than organizations that have been in existence for a long time.”

She also believed that term limits for Board members can help keep a Board fresh and motivated.

Attendance at the event was limited to 25, explained Scott Jones of White Nelson, to encourage active participation of participants. The event was one in a series offered by the Orange County Nonprofit Management Forum, sponsored by White Nelson, Brown & Streza, BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Hays of California Insurance Services and CresaPartners. Its purpose is to provide important managerial information to non-profit executive directors, CFOs, COOs and other senior management officers, and to provide them with a peer-to-peer forum to discuss related topics.

* * * *

The next non-profit forum will feature a lunchtime discussion of tax compliance and audit issues at White Nelson’s offices in May.

New participants are welcome. For information, contact Scott Jones at (714) 795-5467 or email nonprofit@whitenelson.com.

White, Nelson & Co. LLP provides a full range of accounting and tax services that support some of Southern California’s most successful and entrepreneurial companies. It was founded in 1948, and is the 3rd largest accounting firm headquartered in Orange County. White Nelson represents over 1,200 business and 1,800 individual clients. Address: 2875 Michelle Drive, Suite 300, Irvine, CA 92606. Phone: (714) 978-1300. Website: www.whitenelson.com.