2012 Slama Electric

Community Volunteer Awards
2012 Honoree
John Slama, Slama Electric
John Slama, Slama Electric

Distinguished Business Partner

John Slama, Slama Electric

Somebody once said that "good companies make money. Great companies make a difference in their community." In these tough economic times, it may be said that good companies are those who simply manage to hang on. True enough. We need to be mindful that a business that provides a good service and provides its employees a good living are something to be appreciated. Still, there are those that do all that, and then some. And that would include Slama Electric of Rancho Cordova. 

When the Cordova Community Council was presented with the opportunity to provide an ice rink this past holiday season, it sounded like a simple idea. Find a patch a ground and bring in an ice rink operator.  

Not so fast.

We quickly learned about such things as electric transformers and switch gear -- all kinds of electrical jargon. What we really learned was that we needed a skilled electrician to make it all happen. For free.

That's when we learned about Slama Electric, a small Rancho Cordova business with a big heart.  

John Slama is president of Slama Electric. He's a young guy with a young family, but he's got some deep roots. There are folks in this room who went to kindergarten with John, right here in Rancho Cordova.

We asked people who knew John back then what he was like, and mostly they said he was one of those good guys who played soccer on the fields of Rancho Cordova, did what he had to do, then grew up to settle down, start a family and care about his community.

So it was probably destiny that when we needed a lot of help at our Rancho Cordova Holiday Ice Rink that somebody would suggest we go talk to John about giving us a hand to make the rink a reality. We did, he did, and the rest, as they say is history.

Of course, like a lot of our projects, the Holiday Ice Rink turned out to be more than an afternoon of hooking up electrical wires.  

In the end, it involved an unbelievable undertaking, with trenching and pulling wire and installation of some pretty heavy duty sophisticated gear. But even as hours turned to days and days turned to weeks, John Slama stuck it out, offering sound advice, a helping hand, supplies and valuable time to the cause.

As we all know the Rancho Cordova Holiday Ice Rink became a wonderful success, hosting thousands of skaters from our own neighborhoods and around the region alike. It was home to our Community Christmas Tree, and the setting for a lot of family memories. Many Rancho Cordova kids strapped on their first pair or ice skates at the Rancho Cordova Holiday Ice Rink.

And it all was made possible by people like John Slama and Slama Electric, who offered critical help at critical times so that everybody else could have a good time.

We later learned that the Holiday Ice Rink wasn't the first time Slama Electric had come to the rescue.  

When Cordova Girls Softball was in need of some fancy electrical work to make their new snack bar come life, that was John Slama doing the work. He is also a coach and a league sponsor -- in part because he has two daughters who play in the league, and in part because that's the kind of guy he is.

It is one thing to be successful in business, and another to be successful in life. It is when you are successful in both that you are living life at a higher level.

Like we said at the beginning, "good companies make money; great companies make a difference in their community."

It is with great pleasure we say "thank you" to John Slama and Slama Electric, a great company, for all their help in making our Holiday Ice Rink a Rancho Cordova dream come true. It was a happier holiday for us all, thanks to you.
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