John Hoskinson, a long-time executive at Gruber Systems in Valencia, was born and spent his early years in Buffalo, New York, and in Ohio and New Jersey. In 1964 he enrolled at Kent State University in Ohio to study engineering. He left school in 1965, enlisted in the U.S. Army, attended Officers’ Candidate School, and participated in Parachute and Flight Training. He served two tours of duty Vietnam and was awarded several medals.
He returned to college at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and graduated cum laude in 1973, with a B.A. in Economics, Accounting, and Psychology. In 1971, he joined Combustion Engineering as a customer service representative. In 1972, he went to Masonite Corporation where he worked as a system analyst. In 1979, he joined Flintkote as a Los Angeles area sales manager. In 1981, he was hired by Gruber Systems in the Valencia Industrial Park and he moved to the Santa Clarita Valley. Starting at national sales manager, he was promoted to president in 1994, and last year was named President and CEO.
Since moving to the Santa Clarita Valley, John has been active in numerous community organizations. He served as a member of the SCV Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee; past director and chairman of Corporate Partner Program of Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Foundation; past chairman of the Santa Clarita United Way Campaign; past chairman and current member of United Way Santa Clarita CEO Advisory Committee; and chairman of the North Angeles United Way.
He also served two terms as trustee of the Santa Clarita Community College District (the COC Board) and was chairman of the COC Community Advisory Committee. He has chaired the COC Silver Spur Benefit Gala Awards Dinner for 10 years, and himself was the recipient of College of the Canyons Silver Spur Community Service Award in 1994. In 1998 he received the United Way of Los Angeles “Mendenhall Award for Outstanding Leadership and Dedication.”
In 1999, John was honored as SCV Man of the Year.
In the years since, he been serving on the boards of the Santa Clarita Child & Family Development Center and the SCV Boys & Girls Club Foundation.
John said about being named SCV Man of the Year: “The honor of the nomination is a very humbling experience. The idea is energizing and inspires one to reach down and find more to give to such a wonderful and appreciative community. It continues to be a unique experience as you collaborate and work with such a dedicated and community focused group of professional ‘community caregivers’ as the past recipients of the award the Man and Woman of the Year Committee.”