EDS Chairman Les Alberthal came from a small town in Texas
where everyone knows everyone else, and helping your neighbor
is “as natural as pulling on your cowboy boots.” He encourages
his 95,000 employees to live out his philosophy that healthy
communities and healthy business go hand in hand. This is the
story of how one EDS executive, Hulas King made a big difference
in the lives of young people at Focus: HOPE in Detroit
where a state-of-the-art technology center trains high school
students to become manufacturing engineers and machinists.
“Since the center’s founding in 1981, more than 5,000 young
people have moved out of poverty and forward in their lives,”
says Hulas. “For kids once on welfare and walking the streets,
that’s an incredible future.” For Maia Cherry, one of the students
mentored by Hulas, the personal attention and encouragement
she received were as valuable as the technical training. “There
are so many smart young people, and they don’t even know their
potential,” says Maia. ‘1want them to know, if you have the
desire, you can do it!”