Nathan Morimitsu, Marketing Manager at Eldorado, celebrates CEO Wanda Garland’s StorErotica Hall of Fame induction, applauding her for shaping not just a company, but the people within it.
(Note: This story was written by Nathan Morimitsu and appears in the August 2025 issue of SE Magazine.)
StorErotica inducted Wanda Garland into their Hall of Fame, and like many in the industry, I find myself saying, it’s about time. From Eldorado’s humble beginnings to being among the largest distributors of Adult Pleasure Products in the country, Wanda has been there. Now CEO, Wanda joined the company as the first office employee in 1975 and has constantly had her finger on the pulse of the company and the industry.
Wanda isn’t just the matriarch of the Eldorado family; she brings her “mom” energy to protecting everyone in the industry as a board member of the Sexual Wellness Professional Alliance (SWPA) and her unwavering support for the work of the Free Speech Coalition. It’s strong women like Wanda and others in our industry who will continue to drive it forward, no matter the obstacles that get thrown in the way.
I’ve told many of you how lucky I feel to work for Eldorado and Wanda. Many of you have also told me I am lucky to have found a home here. It’s all true. Chosen family is just as important as biological family, and Eldorado is both. While many consider our industry as, “not family-friendly”, at Eldorado, we are family, because Wanda has brought us together not just as a company, or as a team, but as a family.
I could go into a million reasons as to why Wanda deserves her place in the Hall of Fame. Things like: running a woman-owned business, cultivating a diverse workforce, overcoming adversity, etc. But that all would ring hollow.
“It’s strong women like Wanda and others in our industry who will continue to drive it forward, no matter the obstacles that get thrown in the way.”
— Nathan Morimitsu
For me, it comes down to this: Wanda saw something in me that she felt was worth cultivating, not just from a business standpoint, but from a personal one. She chose to bring me into the Eldorado family, trusted me with a department, and allowed me to grow my ideas, cultivate relationships with vendors and use my experience in other industries to develop new ways to interact with customers and potential customers.
Is it selfish of me to think she deserves an award just for this? Maybe. But it’s not just for my selfish reasons that she deserves this award. It’s because she does this with everyone on her executive team, whether it’s her biological family or her adopted family. She sets goals, provides resources and then allows us to determine the best way to reach those goals without undue interference.
Even when obstacles we have no control over (cough, tariffs) stand in our way, she still stands behind us and supports us, while somehow leading from the front, and encourages us not just to do our best, but to set the standard by which the best can be measured. Wanda has taken the powerhouse that she and Larry built and developed it so that it won’t just survive, but thrive for at least another 50 years.
So, with that all said, I’ll draw this to a close. Chances are, most of you who were at the awards saw me dab a tear or two from my eyes and know how much this award means to not only Wanda but every one of us at Eldorado.
Nathan Morimitsu is the Marketing and Events Manager at Eldorado. He’s currently working on building a new way to get store employees, buyers and manufacturers together in person, and in budget-friendly ways. If you would like to know more about how your store can participate, reach out directly to him at nathan@eldorado.net, or contact your Eldorado Account Manager.
