Welcome back to The Sunstone Way and Happy Mother’s Day!
What an appropriate time to continue our theme of service. I cannot think of anyone who personifies service more than mothers – especially the good ones like mine!
For the Love of Mothers
Mothers have been acknowledged and honored as the bringers of life since ancient times. The early Greeks held a festival every year to celebrate Rhea, the mother of the gods.
Christianity, particularly the Catholic Church, revere Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. The recently deceased Pope Francis prayed frequently to an image of Mary. The prayer Hail Mary is part of the rosary prayed by many Catholics.
Mother’s Day in America had its roots near the end of the Civil War, when mothers from both sides went to camp hospitals to help clean up in the face of a typhoid outbreak, then made efforts to reunite families at the end of the war.
But the idea of an annual holiday didn’t take root until 1908, when a woman named Anna Jarvis convinced her Methodist minister to conduct a service on the second Sunday of May to honor her mother and mothers around the country. Six short years later, Mother’s Day was proclaimed a national holiday by President Woodrow Wilson.
The greeting card and flower industries quickly saw the possibilities, and claimed the holiday as their own. The rest, as they say, is history.
About My Mom
My mom is named Paula Huston. Have you heard of her?
That’s not an idle question – she is a National Endowment Fellow and the author of 10 books, along with numerous short stories and essays. She has led a fascinating life, yet she still lists wife, mother and grandmother among her greatest accomplishments.
Mom gave me my Minnesota Viking Norwegian heritage, which contributed to my attending St. Olaf College. She grew up in Long Beach and attended Millikan High School, where she first learned how to be a cheerleader for others. Remarkably, nearly 50 years later, she is still cheering for her grandson Benjamin who plays for the Millikan baseball team at Blair Field!
After graduating from Millikan, she was married a year later, moving to San Luis Obispo and working clerical jobs while trying to sell her short stories. She had a daughter, Andrea, in 1977 and a son, John (yes, me!) the following year. There were tough times too as we overcame divorces, remarriages, and all the adventures of a blended family.
Long Happy Ending
In 1985, Paula married my stepdad Mike Huston, and added two more sisters to our family. Shortly after, in her mid-30s, she enrolled at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and taught in the English Department for 12 years.
She persevered, never losing sight of her dream in bad times or good. All while remaining a great mom. A lesson for sure.
There’s so much more. She won a National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Creative Writing in 1994 and published her first novel just a year later.
At the same time, she returned to faith as a Catholic and began exploring Christianity. She discovered the New Camaldoli Hermitage community of monks in Big Sur, eventually becoming an off-site lay member there. She has focused on nonfiction books about faith and living simply since then. The lessons she shares are many and have touched me.
Superhero In Our Midst
Here at Sunstone Management, we are fortunate to have our own mom-like model dedicated to service and care for her community – Stella Zhang. Stella is a partner at both Sunstone and American Lending Center, and is the COO at ALC.
On the public side, she is a longtime supporter and mentor of the Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, part of the Paul Merage School of Business at UCI. Stella got her MBA there, and sponsors the Stella Zhang New Venture Competition, an end-of-year pitch competition. She provides significant prize money for that competition, but more importantly, provides support as an amazing role model for these young entrepreneurs.
The Grand Finale of the competition is two weeks away – May 22 – and Stella, along with several of her friends from Sunstone and ALC, will be on hand to cheer the teams on and make the check presentations. It would be no surprise if she manages to whisper a few words of advice to the winning teams as well.
Because that’s what moms do. And that’s The Sunstone Way.
Remember, always be a Sunstone!
John Keisler
CEO & Managing Partner
Sunstone Management, Inc.
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©Sunstone Management, Inc. 2025