Following the article for our History File on the notorious EYD, a good friend and former colleague, Stan Siekierski of AST - who is, we believe, the longest-serving person in the Stock Transfer business ever - sent us a rare copy of Evelyn’s HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS OF 1984 - its 24th year of publication…And what a fascinating, and somewhat sad thing it is.
One of Evelyn’s main activities in the mid-eighties - which we had forgotten - was using her press credentials to attend a host of Washington events, where she reveled in the lavish wining and dining that was SOP at corporate and political events in the 1980s and where, yes, a lot of CEOs she “knew” from shareholder meetings could not avoid acknowledging her, try as they might. Here’s just one paragraph of several on the subject:
“We attended the annual dinner of the Washington Press Club, The Wolf Trap Foundation…and the International Monetary Fund-World Bank as usual drew most of our top-level bankers from all over the world, with THE most fabulous (watch those calories) parties ever… National Agriculture Day [was] another high-calorie event on the impressive Department grounds.”
But the real “Highlights and Lowlights of 1984” were the jaw-dropping comments she made about women:
“Mike Blumenthal’s NEW 29-year old wife, who is half the age of the Burroughs Corps’ chairman was RIGHTFULLY snubbed by the wives of other Business Council members at a recent gathering. She was the only one who never let Mike speak to ANY female, while she was his ‘assistant.’ At least he did not promote her to be a vice president.”
On CONDUCT OF THE MEETING she noted that “At Texas Air a big fat ugly female only let employee shareholders in ahead of the time, although she KNEW some of the other owners [guess who?] from the previous year. This was and IS the only authority that those low-incomers EVER have and will have. Management MUST see to it that these incidents do not happen again.”
On the subject of EXCELLENT, MEDIUM and POOR MEETINGS, where she rated 80 companies whose meetings she’d attended - and where it was clear that ‘identifying participants’ [like, guess who?] and ‘having ‘good pictorial coverage’ [of, guess who?] were essential to join the EXCELLENTS, she singled out Riggs (Bank) “Which used to be excellent but alas now a jealous woman secretary makes the decisions apparently!!!”
EYD’s 1985 PREVIEW AND MISCELLANEOUS section also had some comments on women that would bring most readers up short. Noting the nomination of Geraldine Ferraro to run as Mondale’s Vice President, “Geraldine…has of course every right to run but she lacks the “class” of Margaret Thatcher so right for the British, and she does not have the “Jewish mother to whom her son is everything” appeal that Golda Meir which got the spoiled by their mothers Israelie (sic) males to vote for her!!!”
But a few paragraphs down, Evelyn, reflecting her own recent wardrobe improvements we think, when she shed her “world’s oldest profession” garb,” notes that “Ferraro certainly will be a power to be reckoned with in Congress…and certainly her history making breakthrough will help other women!!! She also will be a style trend-setter, with more emphasis on the “dress for success” styles and other tailored non-fuzzy clothes, resulting in even more sales for TAILORED co-ordinates with sensible hemlines.”
And then, returning to her more usual perspectives on women, she predicts, “In 1985 being a black-middle-aged-woman-lawyer without too OBVIOUS a political background will be an added plus for corporate promotions. Out are Mary Cunningham types and other young and pretty over-ambitious female ‘assistants-to’ who THINK they are running our corporations!! The wives are finally getting smart!!!
Readers; we hope you will take a few minutes to review the entire article on the unforgettable Evelyn Y. Davis in the OPTIMIZER’s HISTORY section…and the articles on Wilma Soss, and on the Gilbert brothers too - if only to see how much easier your shareholder meetings are these days.
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