Bruce Taylor
Taylor Farms, 150 Main St., Salinas (877) 323-7374, taylorfarms.com
The success of Taylor Farms has produced a bounty of lasting benefits for Monterey County, not the least of which is thousands of jobs. The scion of a Salinas ag industry family, Bruce Taylor believes in giving back. When it came time to expand the company’s corporate office he took a flyer and built a five-story complex in downtown Salinas that has become that city’s hub. His philanthropy is abundant in two areas that are critical to his and the community’s future: education and health. He has donated to Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System to fund their Gonzales clinic to bring health care to the Salinas Valley. Taylor Farms is the major private funder (along with Montage and SVMH) of the Blue Zones initiative to help stop lifetime health risks like obesity and diabetes. Taylor Farms donated to Hartnell College to build their recently opened STEM center to help advance careers in ag technology, and Taylor has committed to help fund a new engineering degree program and building at CSUMB. He has asked that the new building be named after his mom and dad – a sign he’s looking back and looking to the future all at once.