A man of fair deals, a man with a big heart

He was a straight businessman, transparent, and treats you like a family, says Charles Cepeda of his business mentor and much-respected boss, the late Edward M. Calvo.

“He [was] very direct, very honest. He [was] firm in business but never micromanages,” said Cepeda, who is the general manager of Pacific Trading Corp., one of the Calvos’ businesses on Saipan.

Cepeda remembers that it was the late Mr. Calvo who actually interviewed him for his current position three years ago.

“I think he liked me for being straightforward. He wanted people to be direct,” he said.

What he liked about Mr. Calvo is that he had always displayed a sincere interest to know people, including his own employees.

“Whenever we talk, of course we talked about the business, but he won’t forget to ask about the employees. He’d ask how’s my family, my wife,” he said.

Further, Mr. Calvo was a man with a humble personality, somebody whose success never got to his head.

During calls, he said that Mr. Calvo would introduce himself as “this is Eddie.”

“He insisted on that but I would still address him Mr. Calvo,” said Cepeda.

He said the man never asked to be respected but his presence naturally commanded respect and admiration.

Personally, Cepeda said that Mr. Calvo reminded him of his own grandfather—straightforward but caring.

“He [Calvo] can talk to you as an authority but he can make you feel that you’re part of the family. Mr. Calvo has a very closely tied family,” he said.

Cepeda recalled that Mr. Calvo, at one time, wanted to relocate to Saipan. “He loved Saipan! He loved the people here. He loved the local food. I know that he planned to bring his mom to live on Saipan. He wanted to live on Saipan. He looked at that possibility,” said Cepeda.

Calvo saw business opportunities since the 70’s when his family established PTC, invested in Bank of Saipan, began UMDA or the United Micronesia Development Corp., which, among others, operates MCV, and set up EC Communications.

Calvo had established his own set of friends in the CNMI, including Joe Lifoifoi, Mike Grandenetti of UMDA, the Tan Holdings brothers Willie and Jerry Tan, and others.

Cepeda said he was able to speak with the late man about a week before his death in California.

“I could feel that hIs health was failing, his voice was failing,” he said.

Cepeda said it was unfortunate that during that last conversation, he had to tell him bad news about the break-in at PTC Saipan, which had resulted in the company losing some $36,000.

“I felt bad that I had to tell him that. I actually wanted to report to one of the sons but I was given the hospital number and when he [Calvo] sensed that I was in the line, he spoke to me,” he said.

During the conversation, he said that Mr. Calvo “took it hard but he was not angry.”

“He just told me, don’t let this happen again and I promised him that it won’t. Somehow, I felt that he really wanted to talk to me. I also felt that he needed to know about it. I never thought that it would be the last time we’d talk. It was a nice conversation I had with him,” said Cepeda.

Calvo died on Sept. 14 in a northern California hospital after a long bout with liver cancer. He was 68.

Calvo was one of three brothers who own Calvo’s Enterprises, one of the largest businesses on Guam. The Calvos run Payless Supermarkets, Island Wines and Spirits, MidPac Liquor, Pepsi Bottling Co., Calvo’s Insurance, Pacific Telestations and many others.

Calvo was the vice president of Calvo’s Enterprises, chairman of Calvo’s Insurance and president of EC Development, which now owns PTC on Saipan.

Calvo also served as senator in the 14th Guam Legislature.

He is survived by his wife Frances, only daughter Karmen, and four sons Eduardo, John, Joseph and Leonard. He has 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Calvo is also survived by his brothers—former governor Paul M. Calvo, Thomas J. Calvo—and their mother, Veronica M. Calvo of Maite.

John Paul Calvo, executive vice president of EC communications, said in a telephone interview yesterday that his grandfather was a man of fair dealings.

Two things he won’t forget about him: He was strict with financial statements and fair deals.

“He said that partnership won’t work if it’s not fair. To be able to work, it has to be a fair deal, he would always say that,” he said.

“I hope to be like him. I’m grateful that our great man had set a roadmap for us to follow,” he said.

(All pictures are taken from the Edward Calvo Tribute website http://www.eddiecalvo.com/index.html. The site’s gallery of pictures did not contain captions.)