William Mitchell and Kimberly DiBenedetto

Recorded February 9, 2021 Archived February 5, 2021 27:11 minutes
0:00 / 0:00
Id: ddv000488

Description

Kimberly "Kim" DiBenedetto (49) talks with her colleague William "Bill" Mitchell (78) about his family, his career, his philanthropy, and his experience with hospice.

Subject Log / Time Code

Bill (B) talks about his family's history in Carmel, California. B says he grew up in Piedmont, California.
B discusses his journey from the air force, to being a commercial pilot, to pursuing a career in real estate.
B describes his mother's role in the Mitchell Group real estate company. He explains how the Mitchell Group was acquired and became the Carmel Realty Company.
B says he got a taste of philanthropy from his parents. He says he likes to focus his philanthropy on local organizations because donations have a bigger impact and go a long way.
B says mother and father instilled honesty and integrity in him.
B shares that his parents died about 3-4 years apart. He says his parents wanted the luxury and the dignity of living their last days in their homes.
B shares about his experience with hospice. He says it kept him and his siblings well informed so that there were never any big surprises.
B says he is most proud that Carmel Realty was voted 'Best Place to Work'.
B discusses the changing perception of hospice. He says that covid's impact on nursing homes has changed how people view nursing homes and many are considering hospice in a different light.
B says he spend a lot of time in the military. He says there was a large homeless population of veterans in his community and that really worried him.

Participants

  • William Mitchell
  • Kimberly DiBenedetto

Transcript

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00:01 Hi, my name is Kim dibenedetto. I am 49 years old today's date is Tuesday, February 9th, 2021. I am recording from downtown Carmel California and I am here with Bill Mitchell. Who is the owner of a Carmel Realty Company, which I work for.

00:26 And I think they'll needs to do the same introduction. Is that right?

00:34 And my name is Bill Mitchell. I'm 78 years old. Today's date is Tuesday, February 9th, 2021. I'm recording from Pebble Beach California. I'm here with Kim dibenedetto, and she is my conversation partner for this interview.

00:55 Thank you, Bill. So we're here to talk a little bit about hospice giving foundation and what it's meant to you and your family over the years. He's been a loyal donor for years and we certainly appreciate that maybe talk a little let's just start talking a little bit about your parents and growing up you grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area I believe and

01:27 On your way to Carmel up in Piedmont, California, but my family had been in California in Carmel for a long time. Parents live there in my great-aunt live there and they were they lived there until they passed away. They were some of the original Pioneers in California in Pebble Beach and Carmel in particular my mother and father.

01:58 My father's from San Francisco. Originally. My mother is from Piedmont Alameda area originally and we they raised us and we grew up in Piedmont eventually came down to Carmel. My mom and dad came down personally permanently in about 1975. That was when my father retired from his business and San Francisco. He was in the printing business in San Francisco and they stayed here until they passed away week of my family my wife and my will actually my wife and I came down here earlier than that. We had a second home here, but we didn't live here permanently for quite some time. We lived in the Bay Area in the city of Atherton for about almost 20 years. And when we finally came down here was around 1990 permanently.

02:58 We bought a home in Pebble Beach and we've lived in this home ever since.

03:04 So and it sounds like you had even though you had other careers and were an airline pilot and everything. You always had a love for real estate and started real estate company the Mitchell Group in a certain area and then brought it down here and that was something that your mother very much enjoyed.

03:27 It's true when I originally graduated from the Air Force Academy, I spent six years as a pilot in the Air Force quite a bit of that time. Most of it was in the Vietnam War area. And after I got out of the Air Force, I went to work immediately for American Airlines is the pilot and shortly after I'd been a new pilot with American there was a big furlough and I was caught up in that 411 rear end forced to find another way to make a living and so I started at Stanford Business School to get an MBA during that period and at the end of the two-year furlough. I completed my MBA and was able to come back to work in American Airlines is a pilot, but because I had the NBA add because airline pilots in those days had a lot of free time.

04:27 Was able to pursue a second career and so I started a real estate company called the Mitchell Group and that was way back in 1974-75 that became a second full-time occupation for me. I was a full-time pilot and a full-time real estate broker for the next 30 Years and eventually that real estate business after I retired from American took me down to Carmel where I where I'm still working today.

05:02 That's amazing. So in the meantime your mom that sounds like your mom held down the fort down here. When you open the Carmel office. He was a real stem-winder back in those days when I first came down here to see what they were doing to back up a little bit when they came down here in the late 70s. I was still up in the doing real estate in Palo Alto commercial real estate. And as I may have explained to her earlier to you can

05:37 I encourage my mother and father to come down here and open a real estate office under the same name in which I was doing business, which was called the Mitchell Group. And so they opened a small Mitchell Group residential mom-and-pop operation down here and Carmel and my mother was a real pistol and she sold almost everything there was to sell in Carmel for quite a few years and when I came down and saw what they were doing when we finally moved out here permanently. I found that there were about nine agents in that office and most of them weren't really doing very any business at all. My mother was doing a lot of business and so after watching that operation for a while we began when I decided we really need to grow the business and so over. Of time from that time and probably 1990 until about 2005 we were able to grow the company to

06:37 About a hundred and forty-two hundred fifty agents and we had five offices and we're the largest independent real estate company in all of Monterey County 2005. We were very attractive candidate for acquisition and so several companies attempted to acquire and we decided to allow ourselves to be sold to Sotheby's International Realty and that was in 2012 area end of 2005. And if that time we we then became Carmel Realty Company, basically, we don't Carmel Realty earlier as a

07:25 Very high-end property management company that had a wonderful inventory of beautiful old homes along 17-Mile Drive and I in Carmel that have been in families for many generations and we use that primarily as a high-end luxury vacation rental business as an adjunct as part of the Mitchell Group until the Mitchell group was sold a centimes and once it was sold discectomies. It turned out the Sesame wasn't interested in the Carmel Realty side of the business. The only water The Brokerage business and not the property management. And so we we thought that was just terrific as soon as we finish the sale to sesame's we built up The Brokerage side of the business at Carmel Realty and began.

08:21 Building a business accordingly that wasn't around.

08:26 Started in 2005. It really got a lot of traction bye-bye 2010 and so that today Carmel Realty is

08:37 Is now two companies that we have a sister company and other parent company with a total of about 80 agents in about 20 staff members.

08:52 It's been amazing to watch you grow both Mitchell Group and Carmel Realty Company and all along. You've always been a huge part of the community at that's always meant something to you giving back to the community. And so maybe just tell us a little bit about you know, what giving back to the community is meant to you and your parents and and now your children and what you get out of it. What how do you feel when you see the fruits of your labor going into these wonderful organizations?

09:37 Yeah, well, I think

09:41 I guess I got a taste of philanthropy from my parents who were big Community supporters and givers my father was I think he was vice mayor of Piedmont back in the day before they came down here and my mother was in the Piedmont Garden Club and when they came down here, she founded the Carmel Garden Club and they both very active in the city of Carmel and they were always support the symphony and hospice in a lot of other causes one of the things I wanted to accomplish down here was to really build a philanthropic kind of aspect of our of our business. And so we've really been proud of what we've been able to philanthropic Lee and we try to encourage and we successfully done so all of our agents that staff members to be

10:41 Community in one way or another either in in terms of their activity or their donations are in any way that they can and so we have a tremendously supportive group of people in the community from within our company and part of that was it my personal involvement was with the Community Foundation of Monterey County where I served on the board and was able to see a lot of the smaller Charities that were out there that we could help support and what we try to do within the company philanthropic Lee is support just local causes local people who really can feel the impact from relatively small contributions that were able to make rather than National or International charitable organization.

11:36 Nice, when you talked about your parents in their eulogy you talked about your dad's sense of integrity and honesty and that he was a consummate gentleman. And what a true lady your mother was. What is one of your favorite memories about them?

12:00 Well, I I guess I guess honesty and integrity were instilled certainly in Me by Mya my father and my mother for that matter.

12:19 It really add to that.

12:24 You when when your parents health started to decline you said that they both passed not to poop far apart, which is always the sign of true love, right?

12:41 What what was important to you in taking care of them, you know and they're the final years in days of their life. You did have some Hospice Care at the house for them, maybe talk a little bit about what led to to that decision and how how it made your family feel to have that care for them.

13:08 Yeah, that will my my mom and dad were very very close to each other and to the rest of the the family I have I have a brother or sister and they have a they were married for 64 years. My dad died at age 88 and my mother passed away at 91. She was about three or four years after my father's passing and they both live long healthy and productive lives and they were both pretty much joined-at-the-hip throughout their entire experience in life and all our family lives pretty close. My daughter lives in Carmel, as you know, and my other daughter lives in San Francisco and she visits us frequently. So we are personally have five grandchildren now,

14:08 I'm done. We really spent a lot of time together, but my mom and dad.

14:14 Preferred to pass away or live their lives in their own home. They wanted to luxury in the Dignity of being able to stay in their home until their last days and they were fortunate enough to be able to do that and it was a it was a really

14:32 Pleasant time they were they were happy and they were bright. They were there mentally very astute throughout their lives. They were healthy almost to the very end. They both played tennis until they were about 80 and they they played bridge and they they just really enjoy the time with your friends and family. My mother stayed active in the Garden Club right to the very end and she was

15:04 She was always so happy to be able to in her last days after Dad passed away to be able to just sit in her beautiful little cottage Carmel Lookout at her lovely garden with these big French doors open to the to the wonderful flowers and and just be able to smell the roses and read they were very active readers very to the very end very well-educated. Of course Cal Berkeley people. They really made the most out of their life to the very end in a very dignified way.

15:45 That's amazing that Annette all we can hope for a right you want to I think and your life in the same way that you lived it. So that's that's why I'm wonderful that they had that opportunity. I think one of the things that your sister Halle had mentioned to about a hospice care that that you had for them was the way that hospice also helped him prepared the family and checked in on the family and made sure that the family was prepared for things to say were happening and I don't know if you want to speak to that at all.

16:28 Yeah hospice is tremendously supportive throughout the entire. When they were there and helping Mom and Dad and they managed to do some really wonderful people. I remember this little Filipino lady who was so happy and helpful throughout the whole thing. I think.

16:52 I think it was fortunate to for them that my sister was in town and very close to Mom and Dad and so she was there often and I was there as much as possible and my brother who lives up in St. Helena in the Napa Wine Country was there as often as he could be but they were fortunate to have that wonderful hospice care and a lot of family support nearby hospice kept as really well-informed throughout the

17:20 Heard that they were there. So we always knew what to expect and there were never any real surprises during their convalescence.

17:30 That's nice and what you've been supporting hospice giving foundation for a number of years now and you know, I know that they appreciate that you take the time to attend the events that they have and you've just been a bright light I do for nut. Not only our are recipients of the the work that we do should be there to support them. So thank you for for that.

18:25 Assistant general going back a little bit to your parents funky and Jean Baby. Was there anything with with their health? It was sudden or where they where they they just grow old gracefully. I assume yeah, they did there was nothing really any one single thing that bothered them. It was just a series of old age issues that came up on them. If you can make it to 88 or 91. I think you've done pretty well dear John.

19:14 To all of us and so named named Bucky. I'm not sure how he ever want up getting that name. That was my father's family name and my mother who was always known as granny Jean eventually shortened by I buy my kids and my grandkids to Gigi. So it was Bunkie and Gigi right to the very end. They're your children and I assume even your grandchildren are involved in the community and doing philanthropic work still to to this day.

20:00 They are there. It's kind of a family tradition. We're really proud of it are both very active in the kid with the First Tee of business, which is a great Youth Organization known Salinas helping a lot of underprivileged kids and teaching him sportsmanship and take her to he and character development in Shelly's so busy doing everything with three kids and older community activities in her business that I don't know how she holds it all together personally. I don't know either but I know they're dedicated to the community and end up something. You know, when I talked with that about moving over to Carmel Realty that it was something that really

20:53 Spoke to me because I always found myself in Carmel Realty sponsoring the same events. This is the same philanthropic. You know. Also, I think it makes them early proud to be part of the organization. What are the things we've been fortunate to to be voted by the community of the best real estate company year after year, but the one kind of a moniker that I always was most proud of was the fact that we were frequently voted the best company to work for and I think that says a lot about the culture of Carmel Realty in the and the kind of people we have like you for example who are really active in the community and really care about more things than just selling realest.

21:53 So we're really proud of you preparing for this about how I think because of the the acceptance and popularity of if you will of of hospice care and more people wanting to you know to have their final days and their own home instead of in a hospital or Care Facility. I think it's helped destigmatize the

22:34 The the the the stigma around a death in a home when you go to salad. We don't typically see as much resistance to that when it happens now as long as it was, you know a nice peaceful death and I think that's you know, I think it speaks to the movement of hospice.

22:57 I think it's a trend is increasing to as people are.

23:03 Well, first of all discovered the issue with nursing homes as pretty put put a lot of concern out there about using those kinds of mobility in this year Fortune enough in life to be able to afford to continue life at home and have the luxury in the the Dignity of doing so with hospice care. It's really up wonderful love benefit opportunity. It's just a lot of dignity attached to being able to spend the rest of your life and your own home living care. It seemed rare and rather unusual not very long ago. But today it's it's something that it was his treasured by people who can afford to have it.

23:53 Sure, absolutely.

23:57 In closing are there in the final thoughts that you have that either about, you know, your parents your Legacy Hospice Care anything in general?

24:14 I guess I would just say that we were very fortunate to have the hospice care we have in the community now and they've done wonderful things for my family and for a lot of other families that were familiar with and we're grateful to them and we're happy to support them in any way we can

24:33 We really appreciate it is I guess.

24:40 Is there a philanthropic efforts that impacted you in a big way or changed your views on life any anything that you've done that you know, I know you're also involved with the veterans transition Center. Is there anything you know any sort of any philanthropic efforts at it has been impacted you in a big way in your life will I did spend a lot of time in the military and I value those years. They were formative years in my life. But your Monterey County. We have a really large homeless veterans population a large homeless population in general and particularly among veterans, which always just concern me and the veterans transition Center in the Fort Lauderdale area now has been a wonderful way to take in veterans improve their lives against

25:40 Note from drugs or or alcohol or any PTSD or any other issues. They might have had and they're able to accommodate them using some of the old rehabilitated four-door living facilities. They've since since the early days really grown the organization, is that a wonderful new executive director now and I served on their Advisory board for a number of years and I thought I was really proud and felt kind of humbled to be able to participate in the end that that are homeless veterans caused because the Improvement we made in these young people were was really remarkable. We were getting people job is getting it back on their feet and getting back on the street and getting in and so it was a it was a very rewarding experience to be part of the veterans transition Center and it's still is I'm still involved but not as active.

26:39 Well, that's wonderful. There's so many great causes out there. So we certainly appreciate your giving back to all of them, but in particular to hospice giving foundation and it with your your time and your your philanthropic efforts said, thank you so much. Thank you and all your doing. Thank you. It's a pleasure.