Compiled by Roberta Boginis and Purnima Mudnal
California Lawyer magazine gave an Attorney of the Year Award to Joseph R. Re, a litigation partner at Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear LLP. The award, which recognizes lawyers who “changed law, broke new ground in various practice areas and business sectors and substantially influenced public policy,” was announced in the March issue.
The Irvine Company Apartment Communities, part of The Irvine Company, received 12 Greater Excellence in Management and Maintenance Awards given by the South Coast Apartment Association. All of the winning apartments are in Irvine.
Newport Beach-based Conexant Systems Inc.’s high-definition television semiconductor system for satellite set-top boxes received the Cable and Satellite International magazine’s Products of the Year award in the Best HDTV Technology or Project and the Best Silicon Innovation categories.
California State University, Fullerton, won a $1.6 million Small Business Administration contract to oversee the SBA’s regional small business development centers for Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. One of the centers, TriTech, helps technology and growth companies to compete by providing consulting and contacts.
Orange County Business Council Chairman Peter Villegas of Washington Mutual Inc. received the Good Corporate Citizen Award from the Union Hispana newspaper for providing opportunities for Latinos.
John Wayne Airport achieved first place for its 2004 Annual Report and second place for its Web site in the 2005 Excellence in Marketing Communications Contest, sponsored by Airports Council International of North America.
John R. Evans, senior vice president and manager of Wells Fargo’s Newport Beach Regional Private Client Services Office, was awarded the 2005 Chairman’s Cup by the Orange County Performing Arts Center for distinguished service to the Center.
Trevor Gnesin, Chief Executive of Irvine-based Logomark Inc. won Advertising Specialty Institute’s 2005 Counselor Award for International Person of the Year for outstanding leadership skills and contributing innovative ideas.
Marc Winthrop of Winthrop Couchot PC in Newport Beach was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy in Washington, D.C., which recognizes professional excellence and contributions in the fields of bankruptcy and insolvency.
At its Annual Circle of Excellence Awards, Grubb & Ellis Co. ranked 13 brokers from its Orange County offices as among the company’s top 100 producers and named the Orange County region as the leading office in the nation. The region includes the Anaheim and Newport Beach offices. Three brokers from the Newport Beach office were rated in the national top 20: Byron Ward, senior vice president, industrial; Michael Randall, senior vice president, investment; and Jim Cunningham, senior vice president, industrial. Ward also won for top industrial broker in the nation.
The Orange County Workforce Investment Board, including the Orange County Business Council, University of California, Irvine, Beckman Coulter Inc., Edwards Lifesciences Corp., Allergan Inc. and St. Joseph Health System, received a $1 million grant from the President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative. The grant is to help create a skilled workforce to fill demand in OC’s biotechnology and healthcare markets.
Skylinks at Long Beach Golf Course was named Renovation of the Year winner by Golf Inc. Magazine. Cal Olson of San Juan Capistrano-based Cal Olson Golf Architecture redesigned the course.
Hall and Foreman Inc., an engineering, surveying and landscape architecture firm, was given a Family Friendly Business Award for 2005 in the medium company category by the city of Irvine. The Motorcycle Industry Council won in the small company category, and Option One Mortgage Corp. won in the large company category.
The Small Business Administration Santa Ana district office gave the following 2005 awards: Reborn Cabinets of Anaheim was named Family-Owned Business of the Year. Brenda and Vinny Nardolillo started the 12-year old business. Josefina de la Cruz, president and owner of Josefina C. de la Cruz CPA, was named the Women in Business Advocate of the Year. De la Cruz was one of the founding board members of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County and the first woman to be elected its president. Maria Erlinda “Linda” Sarno, owner of the Law Offices of Maria Erlinda C. Sarno, was named the Minority Small Business Advocate of the Year.
The Gypsum Association named work done on the Orange County Museum of Art with its 2004 Excellence in Gypsum Board Design and Construction award. Bauer and Wiley Architects of Newport Beach and Howard Building Corp. of Costa Mesa worked on the Newport Beach museum. The Washington, D.C.-based association represents companies in the U.S. and Canada.
Orange County Ad Club 2005 Ad Awards were given to the following: Young & Rubicam Brands in Irvine won the Best of Show Award for its Next Level Fitness television entry, “Escalator.” DGWB Advertising in Santa Ana won three gold awards for work on behalf of the Orange County Register and KFC. The agency also won the highest number of awards,28. Other gold award winners were: O’Leary & Partners in Irvine, which received three gold awards for its work for the Bowers Museum; al Punto Advertising Inc. in Tustin won three gold awards for radio and print campaigns; Mendoza Dillon.com in Irvine took two gold awards for its public service TV and radio entries; LatinoLandia USA in Irvine for its Angels Baseball Radio campaign; Wunderman in Irvine for direct marketing; and Brainsaw in Santa Ana for its supplier self-promotion entry.
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP was named one of Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity by Multicultural Law magazine. The publication also recognized them among the Top 50 law firms for partners, associates, women, gay-lesbian Americans and Asian-Pacific Islanders.
Harold “Hal” Schultz, a 33-year veteran of the accounting profession, was awarded the 2005 Distinguished Service Award by the California Society of CPAs. Schultz is a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers and has been a member of CalCPA Council since 1991.
The California Association of Community Managers, based in Laguna Hills, honored nine managers with Leadership awards. They were Lake Forest-based Professional Community Management’s Rashid Kassir, Pamela Bashline and Trudy Bigelow with Vision awards. Aliso Viejo-based Merit Cos.’s Cindy Cattern and Maureen Radon won for Creative Solutions for Problem Solving and Brian Taylor won for Environmental Management for Communities. Irvine-based Villageway Management Inc.’s Phil Young won for Communications. Merit’s Jillian Page earned the Rookies of the Year award. The California Association of Community Managers also recognized James A. Judge, Esq. of the Judge Law Firm in Irvine for Excellence in Service and Pamela Cooper of Villageway Management with the Spirit Award.
Artists participating in the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach evaluated each other’s work and voted for the best in each medium, best overall and best new artist. Ties for first place for best new artist included Katlin Evans, oil painting; Jessica DeStefano, sculpture and mixed media; Rob Gage, photography; and Erik Konicki, mixed media. First place winners for each medium included Walter Reiss, ceramics; Olivia Batchelder and Edith Otto, (tie) clothing and textiles; Ray Caruso, scrimshander, diverse media; John Barber, glass; Michelle Taylor, art glass design, mixed media; Don Beres, jewelry; Scott Moore, painting; Susan Dysinger and Julita Jones, (tie) printmaking; Mike Kelly, photography; and James Koch, sculpture.
Fountain Valley-based Coastline Community College Foundation gave the following the 2005 Visionary of the Year awards: Mary H. Barry, executive vice president, academic affairs at Corinthian Colleges Inc.; RZR Enterprises Chief Executive Rauf Gajiani; Hurley International LLC founder and Chief Executive Bob Hurley; Orange County Superior Court Judge Karen L. Robinson; and FRAXA, The Fragile X Research Foundation board member Andrea Anne Shelly.
Orange County Water District named Phil Harrington its employee of the month for July. Harrington is a supervising chemist at the water district’s water quality lab with a staff of five. Karren Warren, senior administrative coordinator and assistant to the general manager, was named August employee of the month.
Sir Speedy South Orange County, an Irvine family owned franchise, had the fastest one-year growth in the nation in its category with more than $1 million dollars in sales. It’s ranked in the top 25 for overall sales in the nation. Sir Speedy is part of Franchise Services Inc., which along with its affiliates consists of about 1,000 centers in 30 countries.
Owner and head designer Isabelle Kaminsky of Tustin-based For All Seasons has been named the holiday decorator for the Historic Mission Inn in Riverside for the second consecutive year. The historic Mission Inn is the main attraction of Riverside’s Festival of Lights held on the first Friday after Thanksgiving.
Margaret’s Cleaners, with locations in Newport Beach and Del Mar, received a five star Certified Couture Cleaner award from San Diego-based Leading Cleaners Internationale for their “couture level” of dry cleaning.
