The Cupertino Courier Don Allen 'Mr. Cupertino' gets due By Pam Marino "Mr. Cupertino," Don Allen, is finally getting his due as the city's "Citizen of the Year," the Chamber of Commerce announced last week. Allen has been so active in the city's major nonprofit organizations and has come to the aid of so many people both privately and through Cupertino National Bank, where he is CEO, some people thought he had already been awarded the top honor, according to Chamber officials. "Now is the time to correct that oversight," the Chamber's announcement declared. Allen will be feted at a special banquet on Nov. 14, on the Hewlett-Packard campus. Despite the honor slipping by him in the past, Allen said he was not expecting the nod, and he even suggested that "there are numerous people who are better qualified." Not so, say the people who have worked with Allen in numerous nonprofit and community organizations. Allen, they said, fulfills all the requirements of being named Citizen of the Year, which is awarded annually to local business leaders who dedicate themselves to the community through service. "He has a heart of gold," said Mary Ellen Chell, Cupertino Community Services director and a member of the committee that chose Allen as Citizen of the Year. She said Allen has come to the aid of CCS both personally and through the bank many times. Thanks to Allen, she said, the bank offers accounts free of charge to clients of the rotating homeless shelter. "He can help to make things happen," she said. Although he often serves as a leader on community boards and committees, he is not afraid to do the little things as well, she said. "He rolls up his sleeves and he does the dirty work, the behind the scene's work," she said. At one recent event he was helping clean up and fold chairs. "The man is willing to do whatever it takes," Chell said. Allen was president of the Chamber of Commerce from 1991 to 1992, and served as a director from 1985 to 1992. He has served with the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation since 1986, and he sits on both the De Anza College Commission and the Foothill-De Anza College Foundation. He was president of the commission from 1996 to this year. He is also active with the Citizens of Cupertino Cross Cultural Consortium. He chaired the steering committee for the Northwest YMCA's capital campaign to build a new pool; a $50,000 donation came from Cupertino National Bank. He has raised funds for a number of community groups, including Cupertino Rotary, of which he is a member. He convinced the club to get involved in the Rotary's PolioPlus Partners campaign, which is working to wipe out polio in Ghana. He and his wife Sally donated more than $10,000 in matching funds for the program. "To me, Don is a consummate community leader," Mayor Michael Chang said last week. "He has a very broad vision. ... He is widely respected for his opinion. "Through him, the Cupertino National Bank has been an invaluable community asset," Chang said. Allen's leadership skills reach beyond business, education and charity and into the city's political realm. Many past candidates for City Council and school boards have sought Allen's advice and support at the start of their campaigns, including Chang. Allen downplayed his role as a community leader last week, but he conceded that being recognized as Cupertino's Citizen of the Year is flattering. "I have felt this is truly my hometown for the last three decades, and it's nice to be recognized as part of the community," he said. For more information about the banquet call 252-7054, ext. 14. [ Back to Contents Page | Cupertino Courier Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Cupertino Courier, October 14, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.