George W. Schneider, who served as chairman of the Board of La Crosse Footwear, Inc., for 23 years, has died at the age of 82 after a brief illness.

Mr Schneider was elected to the Board of Directors of the company's predecessor in 1968 and was the principal investor and motivating force behind the management buyout of the company's predecessor in 1982. He was also the principal organiser of Bay Cities National Bank, Redondo Beach, California, and served as its Chairman of the Board from 1982 until 1995. He believed in giving back to the community and was member of numerous boards and foundations. He served as a Director and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Little Company of Mary Health Systems, Little Company of Mary Hospital and San Pedro Peninsula Hospital for many years. In 1999 George received the honour award from Pope John Paul II for his years of service to the Catholic Church.

"My father brought tremendous enthusiasm, commitment and vision to the company," said Joseph P. Schneider, CEO of LaCrosse Footwear. "He took great pride in the hard work of the entire LaCrosse family of employees and in the outstanding quality of our products. My father will be deeply missed by many in our company and our industry, and we will honour his legacy by continuing to build on our tradition of providing innovative, dependable and premium quality footwear."

Effective immediately Richard A. Rosenthal will assume the duties of Chairman of the Board for LaCrosse Footwear.

Share this story: