James E. Press

James E. Press (http://www.autointell-news.com/News-2001/January-2001/January-2001-2/January-10-01-p10.htm)

James E. Press is the Chief Operating Officer of Toyota. Chief Operating Officer is the second highest position in Toyota. Press would be the CEO of Toyota but since Toyota is a Japanese company, he already has the highest position. James E. Press is most known for his creation of the environment friendly Toyota hybrid cars that run off of electricity instead of gasoline. He graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in marketing. The people at Toyota say that he is a great part of the company.

My hero, James E. Press, lives in the United States but is working for a company based in Japan. Press is forty-five years old and will be in Toyota for a more years to come. My hero created the idea of the Toyota Prius, which is a hybrid car. Hybrid cars are cars that run off of electricity unlike most cars that run from gasoline. The Toyota Prius has won award after award for being the most environmentally friendly car.

Not only is James Press a good role model for the environment but also for the community. Press established scholarships that are valued at $20,000 or $10,000 each, over four years, for study at a four-year college or university. Since the Toyota Community Scholars program began in 1997, it has awarded $6.72 million in scholarships to 600 students across the U.S. This shows me that Press has the quality of a hero in the way of wisdom and that investing in the future of children will make a difference in the years to come.

Scholarship Recipients (http://www.toyota.com/about/community/education/scholars.html)

Other environmental heroes that were discussed in the book “The Hero’s Trail” were Andrew Holleman and Alexander Graham Bell. I compare Press to Holleman because he is an environmentalist just like Holleman. Holleman discovered that sewage from new development would pollute his town’s drinking water and stopped the construction by bringing awareness to the community about the problem. I compare Press to Bell because he is, in a way, an inventor of things that would make our life better, such as the electric power car.

Mr. Press has impressed me with his energy and excitement for a new and better future. With his work in the community and industry he is a great leader even if he will never hold the highest position with his company. We learned in our book that heroes can be any gender, race, cultural background or economic circumstance. Press is passing this quality onto the future with the scholarship funds. We also learned that heroism is about doing something truly important. Press shows this quality through his environmentally sound inventions. When I graduate from college I hope to have the same energy and excitement that Mr. Press has.