Volunteerism Has Been Way of Life for Business Booster Gaines Companies Best Community Executive Leader (Small/Medium Firm): Fred Gaines By SLAV KANDYBA Staff Reporter Volunteerism runs in the blood for Valley native Fred Gaines, a managing partner at the law firm of Gaines & Stacey. The immediate past chair of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association and Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government graduate, says community involvement has been a part of his life “even as a kid.” “My parents were both longtime Valley volunteers,” said Gaines, who was student body vice president at Van Nuys Grant High School. “Volunteerism is a family affair.” The list of organizations and causes that Gaines has been a part of over the years ranges from the Calabasas Library Commission to the San Fernando Valley Bar Association. After going away to law school at UC Berkeley, Gaines returned and immediately immersed himself in the Valley’s business community. In the mid-1980s, he was appointed by former City Councilman Joel Wachs to serve on an advisory group for Valley mass transit whose input has culminated into the Orange Line busway project. Gaines’ latest endeavors include serving on the board of the Children’s Museum of Los Angeles, where he is working to establish a branch of the museum at the Hansen Dam. He’s also heavily involved in library issues, having helped the city of Calabasas, where he lives, secure an $8 million state grant towards the construction of a new library.
