“Our kids used to say, ‘Mom is a PTA and dad is a CPA,’” Charlotte says. Now grown up, son Tim is a urologist at Torrance Memorial Medical Center. Daughter, Valerie, is a horse trainer, and son Greg is an assistant U.S. attorney. Today the empty nesters happily dote on their six grandchildren. However, a year ago, a frightening incident highlighted the importance of having top-quality health care close to home. Just three days shy of her 16th birthday, granddaughter Allegra received a jaw-crushing kick in the mouth by her horse in Palos Verdes. “She spent four days in the ICU, and the care was truly wonderful. They did a fabulous job of rebuilding her jaw,” said Charlotte. “It really made us feel that Torrance Memorial was a great place to be.” Their experience prompted them to join the Ambassadors Program, a support group of the Torrance Memorial Health Care Foundation and its only annual giving program. The Lessers are now encouraging others to join them as they help support construction of the medical center’s new 400,000 square-foot Main Tower, scheduled to be completed in November 2014. “It’s going to be incredible and progressive,” says Russ. “We’re working to educate the local residents—even those from the Westside—that Torrance Memorial is as good or better than any hospital anywhere if you need care that’s on the cutting edge. Hopefully you
won’t need it, but when you do, it’s there.” Another health-related initiative the Lessers actively support is the beach cities’ Blue Zones Project, a recent movement to help community members generate habits to live longer, happier lives. Body Glove was the first business to sign up. The program has since grown to more than 160 South Bay businesses. During a stroll down the hall at Body Glove headquarters, Charlotte points to a plate of nuts and fresh fruit on the kitchen counter for employees to snack on. It’s an example of how the company is working to promote a more plant-based diet—one of Blue Zone’s founding Power 9 Principles. “Creating healthier employees is good for them (the employees), and also good for the business,” Russ says. What’s next for the Lessers? In line with the Blue Zones’ #1 principle, “Move Naturally,” they are currently training for a hike into the Grand Canyon. They tackled climbing Mount Whitney with friends in 2002. Meanwhile Russ, who along with sons Tim and Greg sings, plays and writes music in the band Thin Ice (named, according to Russ, “because when we’re playing, that’s what we feel we’re on”), will continue to perform their breezy tunes, such as “Beach Trilogy and Other Songs” and “Surf City Ain’t No City,” at gigs around the South Bay. For the Lessers, sometimes having a purpose simply means having a good time. ?
Just two days after this interview on Father’s Day, the Lessers received word that the surviving patriarch of Body Glove, 84-year-old Bob Meistrell, passed away after suffering a heart attack while captaining his 72-foot yacht, the Disappearance, in the waters of Southern California. The Disappearance was the lead boat in a 22-mile Rock 2 Rock paddleboard race from Isthmus Cove on Catalina to Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro. “His motto was ‘Do what you love; love what you do,’” Russ says. Bill passed away seven years ago after suffering from Parkinson’s disease. “I knew them for 51 years,” Russ says. “They were a classic example of the American success story. They took a great idea, and they built a worldwide company around it. In the process, they created thousands of jobs for people.” He continues, “Bob was just as vibrant at 84 as he was at 40. He was never in the hospital or sick. He was doing what he loved. We should all be so lucky.” Russ says he learned a lot from the Meistrells, who represented “the epitome of good customer service.” “Back in the early days, Dive N’ Surf had a policy that you could return any product within 30 days and get your money back. Well, a guy brought back a boat 30 days after he bought it, and it was just trashed,” Russ says. “Bob still offered to make good on the deal and give him his money back, but the guy said he was just kidding and was really coming back to buy a bigger boat. But that is an example of what they were all about—treating the customer right.” As the company plans to celebrate its 60th year this fall, Russ says it will continue to build on the image Bill and Bob created.
24 | PULSE
SUMMER 2013