Lifetime Achievement Award

member photo

Lorinne T. McKnight

Title: Owner
Industry: Agriculture
Type of Organization: Ranch
Major Product/Service: Producing and distributing walnuts and almonds
Expertise: With over 30 years experience, Ms. McKnight specializes in the production of walnuts and almonds. She is responsible for bookkeeping.
Geographic Area of Distribution: California, National
Affiliations: Past President, Y.L.I.; Past President, Native Daughters of the Golden West; Honorary Member, Daughters of the American Revolution; OLM Altar Society; Gustine Historical Society; Lifetime Member, C.T.A.; N.W.P.A.
University/Degree: B.A., Journalism, University of California, Berkeley, 1946
Born: December 12, Gustine, California
Hobbies/Sports: Travel, reading, gardening, oil painting
Spouse: Elman (deceased)
Married: 1951
Children: Margaret "Peggy" McGuire, Lynette Paine, Maury McKnight
Work History: In high school Ms. McKnight was selected to attend the first Girls State in Sacramento, California. She began her career as a nurse's aide in a Oakland hospital while attending college. After graduation and the death of her father, she returned to Gustine and worked as a telephone operator at the Crows Landing Naval Air Station during WWII. She joined the editorial staff of the Modesto Bee and wrote a weekly column of children's stories for the Sacramento, Fresno and Modesto Bee newspapers. After her marriage, Ms. McKnight then worked in the public information office at UC Davis where her husband attended college. She also published works in the San Francisco Examiner and Central California Register and published a "People You Should Know" column in the Cal Aggie magazine. She then returned to Gustine working as an integral part of the family business which she continues to co-manage with her son, Maury. In addition, she taught primary grades for 21 years in the Gustine Unified School District and taught social studies at OLM school.
Honors & Awards: Recognized, Gustine Historical Society; George Washington Award, Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge; Honored, "Lorinne McKnight Day", 1977, and 2015, Gustine City Council and Merced County; Woman of Distinction, Gustine-Newman Soroptimists; Woman of the Year, National Association of Professional Women
Published Works: Several articles; Weekly column of children' stories; "People You Should Know" column
Career Accomplishments: Ms. McKnight has volunteered her time to a variety of service organizations. She was a Girl Scout leader, Catholic religious education instructor, county adult literacy teacher, Salvation Army bell ringer and is a docent at the Gusine Museum. She has been an interviewer with the Agape Food Pantry since its inception in 1991 and annually participates in the Newman Rotary Read-In. As a parishioner at the Shrine of Our Lady of Miracles, Ms. McKnight serves as a lector, sings in the choir and is a Eucharistic minister for the sick and homebound. She is the daughter of Louis and Rosalie Taglio who started the business in 1920.