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Inducted 1996
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Enide B. Allison was born in Oklahoma, and moved with her family
to Long Beach, California when she was two. She earned her degree
from UCLA in Physical Education and married Doug Allison.
In 1956, San Jose became their permanent home. Then after having
five children, Ms. Allison realized just how much she loved San Jose.
She wanted to help make it a better place to live. Because of this
commitment she became involved in numerous activities to enhance
the community's quality of life; the San Jose Chamber of Commerce,
the Santa Clara County Drug Abuse Commission and the San Jose
Symphony to name a few. She also established herself as a tireless,
effective fundraiser for several non-profit organizations throughout
Santa Clara County. As a further example of her concern for the
community in which she lived; in 1979 she co-founded the WOMEN
IN BUSINESS branch of the Chamber of Commerce. This
organization's mission is to assist women who are stuggling in business
ventures.
Ms. Allison faced a major decision in 1978, when her husband Doug
passed away...whether or not to take over the operation of his
automobile dealerships. She decided to give it one year to see if her
skills in community work could be transfered to the world of
business. She was quite successful, while working closely with her
family in running the business. Her ability and determination turned
Oak Tree Mazda into the largest volume Mazda dealer in the United
States from 1981 through 1988.
Over time Ms. Allison has been recognized for her wide range of
accomplishments; among those are Distingished Philanthropic Service
Award from the National Jewish Hospital, and the first women
recipient of the American International Automobile Dealers
Association, National Dealer Award. |
