
2005 COMMUNITY LEADER INDUCTEE
LARRY
SHEHADEY

Larry Shehadey moved from selling soap to purchasing a major interest in Producers Dairy in 1949 and realized the American dream. Although Shehadey played baseball and football well enough to be inducted into the San Francisco Polytechnical High School Hall of Fame, the Great Depression made college not an option. Larry went straight to work and has the legacy to show for it. He turned Producers into a household name in the San Joaquin Valley. Shortly after buying into the business, Shehadey became the general manager. By 1955, he owned 100 percent of the company. Producers opened its plant at 144 E. Belmont in 1949 and Shehadey built the first Bar 20 Dairy Farms in Fresno in 1969. By 1972, another Bar 20 Dairy Farms milking operation was completed. The two facilities are capable of milking 3,000 cows twice a day.
He turned Producers into a household name in the San Joaquin Valley. Shortly after buying into the business, Shehadey became the general manager. By 1955, he owned 100 percent of the company. Producers opened its plant at 144 E. Belmont in 1949 and Shehadey built the first Bar 20 Dairy Farms in Fresno in 1969. By 1972, another Bar 20 Dairy Farms milking operation was completed. The two facilities are capable of milking 3,000 cows twice a day. The Tuolumne County native celebrated his 50th year with his company in 1999 and as his company grew. He became one of the most civic-minded givers in the City of Fresno.
Producers was the original sponsor of the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame. Shortly after his business became a success, Shehadey began supporting and promoting Fresno State, Fresno City College, Fresno Pacific University, and local high school athletics. Youth groups such as the Boy Scouts, BigBrothers/Big Sisters, and Police Activities League also received monetary assistance. Shehadey contributed to the construction of an all-weather track at Fresno City College, one of the finest two-year school ovals in the state. In 1990, Producers Dairy donated $100,000 to jump start the first Dairy Bowl football game and provide scholarships for students at Fresno City and Reedley Colleges. That was just the tip of the iceberg. In 2002, Shehadey put $3 million dollars into the building of Fresno State’s Save Mart Center for Bulldog men’s and women’s basketball teams. A long list of top entertainers have headlined in this state-of- the-art arena. For this generous gift, the eight-story clock tower was named in his honor and the main lobby bears the name of his late wife, Elaine. One year later, he gave Fresno Pacifie $500,000 for the university’s Steinert Campus Center which contains student recreation facilities. Shehadey also contributed to the Leon S. Peters Building in the Sid Craig School of Business at Fresno State and was the recipient of the Leon S. Peters Award. Larry Shehadey passed away at the age of 102 in October 2009.