The last of the college kids have headed back to school. And thanks to Karen Trilevsky, CEO of FullBloom Baking Company, there are a lot more of them in school. Twenty-seven of them, to be exact, enrolled in colleges from Cal Poly to University of Oregon. Who are these students? They’re the children of the employees of FullBloom, and they’re going to school on Karen’s dime. FullBloom is a different kind of company and the Smart Cookie program (love the name!) is one of the prime examples. FullBloom is a wholesale artisan baking company that delivers fresh, organic baked goods to the Bay Area and beyond (Starbucks, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are just a few of their customers). In an industry where turnover is typically in the double digits, FullBloom has a loyal, enthusiastic team that sticks with the company. How’d they pull this off? Beyond paying a living wage and benefits to all (like on-site yoga and free, organic meals cooked in the company café), Karen’s commitment to her team goes outside the walls of the company. Karen views the family as a critical part of the picture. Putting her money where her mouth is, Karen has promised her employees that if a child of theirs wants to go to college, money won’t be an obstacle. She foots the bill. Most of these kids end up being the first in their families to attend college. In some cases, college is the lifeline that keeps a life from really going off track. Karen told me about one young man who was a gang banger, running into trouble with the law. He got connected to the Smart Cookies program and eventually enrolled at San Francisco State where he did so well he was invited by one of his teachers to be an instructional aid in the creative writing program. Participants in the program are supported by the Smart Cookie board, whose members commit to intensive 1:1 mentoring with the students, providing counsel on everything from academics and sports to citizenship and parenthood. And if you ask me, Karen is the smartest cookie of all.

Links:

• FullBloom Baking Company
• Karen Trilevsky

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“Honey, your man Tim is on!” I’d direct these words at my husband, but I knew that he was really my man Tim. And now he’s gone. I loved Tim Russert. I loved him almost as much as I love Jon Stewart, which is a lot. I spent every Sunday morning with Tim.

Typical scene: my husband and I in the kitchen making waffles for the kids (ensconced in the family room watching cartoons so there would be no interruptions during Tim time.) The TV in the kitchen is little and old, but Tim didn’t require hi def. We’d cheer him on as he’d dig into the politician or pundit du jour, never letting them off the hook. We loved watching them squirm and try to dodge Tim’s questions.

The latest one to get us going was the aptly-named Harold Ickes, refusing to answer certain questions from Tim about Ickes’ gal Hillary. Tim was masterful and always a delight to watch at work. It seemed like his panel of regulars had such a good time together. I have to believe that in large part was due to Tim’s obviously gregarious personality. Most of the usual gang participated in the tribute to Tim that aired on Sunday, lead by Tom Brokaw. It had some tear-jerk moments and some funny/strange ones (old video of Doris Kearns Goodwin popping out of a cake for Tim’s birthday??)

Like so many, I’ll be glued to the the Sunday morning slot to see what NBC does. In an article in the New York Times this morning, Bob Schieffer was quoted as saying NBC would need to hire four or five people to replace Tim. The names being bandied about provide interesting fodder for speculation but one thing’s for sure. They are big shoes to fill. And Sunday mornings just won’t be the same.