Merchants
Association of Fresno
Company History – Merchants Association of Fresno, Inc.
Merchants Association of Fresno was organized April 7, 1911, by Fresno
business and professional organizations interested in establishing
a local credit bureau, one of the first merchant owned in California,
but also to promote harmony among the trade interests of Fresno County,
the regulation of business advertising practices, establishment of
laws, and promotion of business intercourse.
Some of the founding organizations are still known or a part of the
Fresno business community today: E. Gottschalks and Company, the Warner
Company, Webster Brothers, Inc. (Publisher of the Business Journal),
Chanslor and Lyon Motor Supply, San Joaquin Power and Light (Pacific
Gas and Electric), Homan and Company, San Joaquin Drug (E. P. Casner),
Fresno Republican Publishing Company (The Fresno Bee), Pacific Telegraph
and Telephone Company (SBC Communications), Valley Foundry and Machine
Works, Hobbs-Parsons and Stephen and Bean.
Over the years, Merchants Association members promoted Fresno by advertising
“back east” to encourage settlers to move west to Fresno area farms;
monitored member business advertising practices and expelled members
for violating the advertising rules; offered rewards to capture vandals;
voted against day light savings time; worked to outlaw horse racing;
promoted local governance to control downtown traffic with signage
and speed limits and the establishment of trolley transportation to
stops way out north (Pinedale); conducted the annual Raisin Bowl football
game in the 30’s; home front support during the Great Wars with bond
sales and community activities for the folks at home; and established
the Downtown Association as a separate organization in the 60’s, with
Merchants Association to focus on credit reporting and debt collection
services for the membership.
Merchants was one of the first credit reporting companies in California
to adopt automated credit reporting when it joined the Trans Union
network in 1974. It was in the forefront by automating its debt collection
and mortgage reporting services as well. This ”being first trend”
continued when it became one of the first credit bureaus in the nation
to develop an internet web site for all of its services, and to permit
consumers nationwide to order their personal credit via the internet.
As the credit reporting market place changed in the 90’s, the Association’s
Board of Directors reviewed the long-term viability of the company
and determined that it was in the best interests of its 750 members
to sell the company. The decision to sell was not an easy one, as
the Association was a part of the Fresno business community for 87
years and over 40 employees would have to find new jobs. Many of the
Association’s employees had worked at the company for over 30 years.
The Board gave first priority to the employees with assistance in
separation pay and locating other jobs, and when the company was closed
all employees but three had found replacement jobs.
As a merchant owned association that was incorporated as a non-profit
California corporation, the Board, with the approval of the members,
elected to distribute the sales proceeds to benefit the central California
business community and to make donations to local non-profit charities
in Fresno. This two-part donation resulted in the Boys and Girls Club
of Fresno County, Break the Barriers, Hinds Hospice Foundation, Boy
Scouts of America–Sequoia Council, and the Fresno Police Activities
League, each receiving $70,000.
With the assistance of the California State University Fresno Foundation,
the Board created the Fresno Merchants Association Scholarship Fund
with a $1,700,000 donation to the Craig School of Business. The scholarship
funds were designated to assist central California high school students
interested in obtaining a business degree at the Craig School. The
Merchants scholarship donation also assisted the business school by
providing matching funds that enabled full funding of a donation promised
by Jenny and Sid Craig.
When the company was closed in 1998, it still maintained the competitive
edge against the three national credit reporting companies in the
central California credit reporting market.
Merchants Association Board
Stan Kemmer - Chairman, Hedrick's Chevrolet
Darrell Doane - Treasurer, Bank of the West
Larry Wages - President and Secretary, County of Fresno
Ed Burns - Formerly with Fresno Lincoln
Gary Cox - United Valley Insurance
Rita Carpenter - Educational Employees Credit Union
Richard Downs - Cosmopolitan Finance
Bob Garcia - Central Cal Business Finance Group
Jim Gaskins - Regency Bank (Retired)
Richard Laxton - Murphy Bank
Joe Mills - Gottschalks (Retired)
Sandy Wilson - SanMar Properties
