Welcome back to the Sunstone Way.
Happy Father’s Day. You know I have to start with a Dad Joke, right?
Why did Dad take an extra pair of socks to golf with his son on Father’s Day?
In case he got a hole in one!
All About Sports
Fathers and their children often bond over sports – sports they play, sports they watch, and sports they talk about. I’m talking a lot about soccer just now, thanks to the World Cup matches being played, some in our own backyard (if SoFi Stadium is your backyard)!
Did you see the United States against Paraguay? Good stuff!
Another sport has dominated the Keisler household for many years, though. That’s baseball.
We’ve been blessed that our son Ben has worked hard on his baseball talent – so hard that he’s playing college ball now, with an eye toward a career in the sport. He’s following in the steps of my father – his grandfather – John, who was a star pitcher at Long Beach State.
Grandpa John learned the game from my Grandpa Bob. Lots of Long Beach youngsters learned the baseball basics from Grandpa Bob – he coached Little League at Cherry Park for years. Dad John followed that example, too.
I played baseball too, but soccer was more my game. I managed to continue my passion for the Beautiful Game in college, and spent more than a few years coaching youth soccer on Long Beach’s pitches.
Fathers as Mentors
Sports is only one way our fathers help us grow. The lessons we learn can be taught directly or by example.
For instance, I believe I learned my work ethic by watching my father, stepfather and grandfather go to work every day and try hard to make our lives better. I talked about Grandpa Bob coaching Little League – before he made it to those afternoon practices, he got up at 2 a.m. every morning to make milk deliveries in his Golden Dairy truck to Belmont Shore.
I learned my care for community from my father, who spent his career as a public servant maintaining and improving parks and recreation activities in Southern California cities. I learned the importance of loving service from my stepfather, he walked through life next to Mom with a servant’s heart.
They both taught me plenty directly, too. From little things like learning to drive (it was a big thing at the time!) to how to handle money responsibly, their mentoring was invaluable, and set me up for success – in life and as a father myself.
I’ve tried to follow in their footsteps as my amazing wife Laura and I raise Ben and Chris to become righteous, successful young men. No doubt I’ve made plenty of mistakes, but they both know I love them and want the best for them, just as my fathers did as I was growing up.
Mentorship Extends Fatherhood
As you know, Sunstone and our founders, John Shen and Stella Zhang, long have supported young entrepreneurs through university programs and accelerators like the Long Beach Accelerator. Every one of those programs use mentors to help young founders on their way.
A mentor is someone who comes alongside students and young adults trying to get a foothold in the business world. The mentors impart wisdom earned through experience, guiding those they are helping around problems and closer to solutions.
Sounds like good fathering, doesn’t it?
We use the Sunstone Community Fund to provide incentives in the form of prize money in pitch contests. I believe more importantly, we also provide platforms and venues to connect potential mentors and investors with entrepreneurs on the way up. That takes place through the Sunstone Venture & Innovation Center, Sunstone Stage Connects events and more.
Cherish Your Fathers
I’m well aware of how lucky I am to have such great father figures in my life. There are far too many youngsters, boys and girls, who are growing up without that advantage.
Teachers, coaches and mentors often are thrust into positions requiring father-like leadership and support. We try hard here at Sunstone to support those efforts.
It is, after all, the Sunstone Way.
Love your fathers and your father figures – and remember to always be a Sunstone!
John Keisler
CEO & Managing Partner
Sunstone
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Sunstone Investment Group, headquartered in Southern California, is the holding company for the Sunstone family of entities, including: Sunstone Investment Management Services, responsible for administrative services; Sunstone Advisors, an SEC-registered investment adviser, which oversees Sunstone Venture Partners LLC, a private capital fund manager; Sunstone Cities, a government economic development consulting firm; and Sunstone Community Fund, a charitable organization that supports entrepreneurship. Sunstone is dedicated to enriching lives through investment, entrepreneurship, and community. Email us at contact@sunstoneinvestment.com.
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