There is a rarely a day that goes by at PG&E where a memory or a thought of our good friend Steve does not come to mind. Here we are a few months after his passing and just yesterday, a "Poliitcal" HR question came up and my first thought was - i need to call Steve to get an answer.
For background, I first met Steve when he was a young assistant to Barbara Coull Williams who was the VP of HR at PG&E at the time. It was at an event in Stockton and the date was probably around 1985. Since that time, we became great friends and i was fortunate to work closely with Steve when he was Chief of Staff to John Simon and then Chris Johns our President.
Steve's trade mark with me was every time he saw me, no matter if we were in a a meeting, a reception -- or just walking down the streets in San Francisco, he would always greet me on the phone or in person with a Coooop-paaaar!!! Everytime, it brought a big smle to my face. It was so distinct that if we were in an O&D meeting with 300 people and i heard that outloud -- it was always "yep, thats Leder".
Steve had a way of always looking for the best in people, alway bringing humor to a tense moment when a little bit of lievity was needed and when he talked to you, he was geniune in his conversation with you.
To many of us, Steve was a brother, to some others a counselor, a mentor, truly a leader, and most importantly a great husband and father.
There was rarely a time when we served as Chiefs of Staff together and we were having one of our dailly conversations that he would not mention his family in or conversation. I can remember the joy and pride he had when we discussed the college search trips with his kids.
Steve was a great human being whom we dearly love and miss -- see you on the other side my friend. Coooo-paaar!
