Marlan and Rosemary Bourns, began working in their tiny garage in 1947, they could not have envisioned that their products would someday be found in automobiles, cellular telephones, notebook computers, implanted x-ray sensors for cancer treatment and even in a vehicle on Mars. However, they succeeded by tackling some of the most challenging sensor and electronic component requirements of their day in the fledgling aerospace industry. 

They founded the company around a simple philosophy: provide top-quality products, responsive service and high value for our customers. These ideals are still the benchmarks of Bourns, Inc. today.

This medal is from a promotional advertising supporting U.S. Olympians in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games.

The Olympics are essentially a high-profile opportunity for civic rebranding: A chance for a smaller city to put itself on the map or for a larger one to reinvent itself. While L.A. was by no means a tiny hamlet looking for validation, the city was certainly hoping to turn around its reputation as a smoggy, sprawling megalopolis lacking a center or any real civic pride. Detractors were quick to judge the choice of L.A. as too big, too unprepared, and too financially strapped. Plus, L.A. had already hosted the Summer Olympics once, back in 1932.

But L.A. did have one real handicap: The 1984 Summer Olympics were the first in history not to be sponsored by the government, as they still are in many countries and had previously been in the U.S.

This called for a budget-conscious Olympics, headed by local businessman Peter Ueberroth. He organized a committee that functioned more like a corporation, dubbing it LA84 and creating a board consisting of entrepreneurs and other financially savvy leaders. Accordingly, the games would be funded by unprecedented corporate sponsorships, impressive private fundraising, and, for the first time on U.S. soil, television deals. The committee sold the television rights to the broadcast to ABC for $225 million, raising a large amount of money far in advance of the games. Leave it up to the entertainment capital of the world to strike such a smart deal.

Although other Olympic cities have been profitable, it remains the most financially successful Olympic games—by far.