Article from the

Volume 15, Issue 47  -  A Marin Scope Community Weekly  -  November 22-28, 2005

 

by ANGELICA MARDEN EDITOR

 

Mill Valley's vice mayor doesn't just talk about green business and community involvement, he lives it.

Last month, Clifford Waldeck's business, Wal-deck's Office Supplies, was presented second place at the San Francisco Neighborhood Businesses Awards. The store was chosen out of 112 entries.

"I'm tickled," Waldeck said. "It's a tribute to the strong sense of community Waldeck's has helped host over the last 52 years in our neighborhood."

Nominations for the awards, which were hosted by Urban Solutions and the S.F. Examiner, were solicited from citizens throughout San Francisco. While each business won for different reasons, Jenny McNulty, executive director for Urban Solutions, said each of the selected busi-nesses is vital to the character and health of San Francisco.

Waldeck, who has served two terms on the Mill Valley City Council and will step down this month, says he has incorporated his enthusiasm for environmentalism and con-servation into the store.

 

It was San Francisco's first certified green office-supply business. In 1999, Waldeck received a Goodwill Graduate Employer Showcase Award for his service to the community.

Waldeck said he hopes the award will bring in new cus-tomers who share Waldeck's vision for a better environment.

Waldeck's was founded in 1954 by Waldeck's father, Carl. In 1965, the Waldeck family moved to Mill Valley and Clifford started second grade at Park School. A few years later, he started working at Waldeck's part time during the summer as a delivery per-son. He became a full-time employee in 1981, after gradu-ating from UC Berkeley.

Today, Waldeck is the com-pany's president and owner, but he said his father, who retired to Oregon in 1997, still calls the office every week to check in.

The store - located at 500 Washington St. - serves indi-viduals and small and large businesses, and counts among its boosters such San Francisco notables as Mayor Gavin Newsom; Aaron Peskin, presi-dent of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors; and Michela Alioto-Pier, supervi-sor for the city and county of San Francisco.

According to Waldeck, the store has been successful and stayed in business because it has adapted to change. He has put his life into the store with the philosophy that failure isn't an option.

The winners of the San Francisco Neighborhood Businesses Awards were cho-sen by a panel of judges made up of local business owners, lenders, community-affairs officers and small-business advocates.

In addition to his work on the council, Waldeck serves on the executive committee of the Marin Telecommunication Agency and serves as vice chair of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission and the Regional Airport Planning Committee.

 

Updated : 8/27/2007