According to an article in the Patriot-News, Hershey Trust President/CEO Robert Vowler is retiring after more than 10 years at the helm.
Of course, this is big news in our small community. But the news will quickly spread beyond Derry Township's borders as well. The Hershey Trust maintains a 79% voting control of The Hershey Company board, and Vowler was prominently mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article (dated Feb, 23, 2008) about CEO Richard Lenny's sudden departure from his position at The Hershey Company last year.
And "The Trust," as it's called around town, is also woven through the fabric of Hershey. Aside from its management of the several billion dollars that have grown from Milton S. Hershey's original bequest, The Trust and its board have ties to: The Hershey Company; the Milton Hershey School; Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company (HERCO, which controls The Hotel Hershey, the Hershey Lodge, Hersheypark, ZooAmerica, the Hershey Bears, the Hershey Country Club and more); the M.S. Hershey Foundation (a non-profit that runs the Hershey Gardens, the Hershey Theatre, the Hershey Museum and the Hershey Community Archives). In a community of fewer than 30,000 residents, any change at The Trust generates more than just a ripple.
It will be interesting to follow the news on this change, and even more fascinating to hear the speculation around Hershey...
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