I first learned about Leon S. Peters as a student of our local Armenian community school, where teachers described him as more than a businessman — he symbolized service, generosity and commitment to Fresno.

As I grew older, I realized my teachers were describing stewardship.

Peters built more than a company. He built a model for what stewardship looks like in a city that thrives on people who care enough to stay, invest and give back.

For many of us in Fresno who are part of the next generation of business and civic leaders, his example is less a piece of history and more a challenge: What does stewardship look like now?

Today, I find myself thinking about that question often.

Fresno has always been a city built by people who believed deeply in the power of community. It is a place where business leadership and civic responsibility have traditionally gone hand in hand. Leaders like Peters didn’t separate their companies’ success from their city’s success. In fact, they saw them as inseparable.

Today, that mindset feels more important than ever.

Stewardship is not simply writing checks or sponsoring events. It is showing up. It is investing time, ideas, and relationships into the institutions that shape our community — our schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and local businesses.

It is asking: How can we leave Fresno stronger than we found it?
For those of us who grew up here, that responsibility carries a personal dimension.

As a young Armenian in Fresno, I grew up in a community steeped in stewardship, where families invested in local businesses, churches, and neighborhoods from early on.

They believed in something simple but powerful: when you succeed, your community succeeds with you.

That ethic shaped how I understand leadership.

It means recognizing that Fresno’s future will not be shaped by any one industry, organization, or generation. It will be shaped by the collective engagement of people who are willing to step forward and contribute their talents to their communities.

For business leaders, that might mean mentoring young professionals, supporting local entrepreneurs or investing in workforce development. For others, it might mean serving on nonprofit boards, advocating for community programs or simply building bridges between industries and neighborhoods that too often operate in silos.

Stewardship is not a title. It is a posture.

And perhaps the most important part of stewardship is continuity.

Every generation inherits the city from the one before it. The question is what we do with that inheritance.

Leaders like Leon S. Peters modeled what it looks like when business success is paired with civic commitment. Their legacy reminds us that prosperity and generosity are not opposing forces. They are partners.

Today, I recognize that many of my peers are entering the stage of life where influence begins to expand — in business, in community leadership, and in civic life.

The opportunity before us is not simply to admire the example of past leaders.
It is to extend it — by actively finding ways to give our time, expertise and resources, and by inviting others to join us in this work.

Fresno’s story has always been written by people who chose to invest in this place — not because it was the easiest path, but because they believed deeply in its potential.

The next chapter of that story will depend on whether our generation chooses to do the same.

If we do, stewardship will not simply be a legacy we celebrate.

It will be a tradition we continue — by acting now, together, for Fresno’s future. Let’s start today.

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Sareen Bedoyan-Creede is a Fresno-based business and civic leader.