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proposals in his management area. During that same period, Mrs.
Harrison’s role as a member of the board was limited to the
review and, in all cases, approval of proposals developed by her
sons. She had neither the power (under petitioner’s bylaws) nor
the inclination to challenge their decisions. Under the
circumstances, we believe that her titles of president and
chairman of the board were titular and not reflective of her
actual status within the company. We find that her role as an
essentially compliant member of petitioner’s board justified her
receipt of only a small fraction of the compensation paid to her
during the audit years.
(2) Public Relations Activities
The benefit to petitioner of Mrs. Harrison’s public
relations activities depends upon the contribution of those
activities to petitioner’s ability to secure trash hauling
contracts.
Two of Mrs. Harrison’s sons testified as to the importance
to petitioner of those activities. Myron referred to his mother
as petitioner’s “ambassador of good will”, known and appreciated
by “everybody” including city councilors, mayors, and county
supervisors for the jurisdictions in which petitioner conducted
business. James speculated that her lifetime spent in Ventura
County and her involvement in that community led to business.
Stan Whisenhunt, the owner of a Ventura County public relations
and marketing company who had published newsletters for
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