Compiled by Kelly Ryan
Two companies and the Orange County Transportation Authority won national awards from the Public Relations Society of America at its annual ceremony in New York. Irvine-based Boost Mobile, part of Sprint Nextel Corp., won the Silver Anvil award for its community relations work. The award, the top national prize, went for Boost’s efforts to get young people to voluneteer. OCTA won an Award of Excellence for its work on the Garden Grove (22) Freeway. Irvine-based PainePR won an Award of Excellence for its consumer marketing campaign to launch BabyFirstTV.
Law & Politics Magazine named 14 lawyers at Costa Mesa-based Rutan & Tucker LLP Rising Stars. The lawyers: Mark Austin, Susan Barricella, Philip Blanchard, John Bradley, Brad Chapin, Douglas Dennington, Steven Goon, John Hamilton Jr., Michael Houston, Jennifer Irrgang, Jeffrey Melching, John Ramirez, Karen Van Dijk and Karen Walter. The lawyers on the list are among the top 2.5% of their peers in California.
Irvine-based Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc., a unit of Japan’s Toshiba Corp., was named Manufacturer of the Year by Marketing Research Consultants Inc. Toshiba, a maker of office equipment, was voted top manufacturer for its customer support and product line. It’s the seventh time in 10 years Toshiba has won the award.
The Gallup Organization recognized St. Joseph Health System with its 2007 Great Workplace Award. Orange-based St. Joseph was highlighted for its productivity and ability to engage employees. The hospital system was compared to millions of work teams in more than 100 countries. St. Joseph Health System is a hospital and clinic operator sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange and includes more than 20,000 employees.
Wood Partners LLC in Newport Beach was named The Fastest Growing Private Builder in America by Builder magazine. Wood Partners was noted for its offering of a broad range of high-density and mixed-use homes for rent and for sale. Its growth was generated internally through geographic diversification. The company focuses on apartments with two projects in Los Angeles.
McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners Inc. in Irvine won top awards at the PCBC Gold Nugget Award Ceremony for its Enclave at Sunrise-Plan Four in Palm Springs. The company received the Gold Nugget for the project’s exterior detailing, designer pools and spas and architectural accents. It was awarded an additional Gold Nugget for its Seabridge Marina in the category of Best Community Site Plan. The architectural and design company also won 11 Merit Awards for its projects in Hawthorne, Oakland and Hawaii.
Caltech geophysicist Hiroo Kanamori received the international Kyoto Prize for his contributions to understanding earthquakes and developing seismic hazard mitigation systems. In 1977, Kanamori created the Moment Magnitude scale to measure the magnitude of an earthquake in a standardized manner. The Kyoto Prize consists of academic honors, a commemorative gold medal and a cash gift of about $410,000. It is Japan’s highest private award for lifetime achievement.
Tim Psomas was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Orange County Chapter of Consulting Engineering and Land Surveyors. The presentation was made at the group’s second annual awards banquet in Costa Mesa. The county of Orange recognized Psomas for his contributions to engineering and surveying professions.
The National Republican Congressional Committee’s Business Advisory Council awarded Lynnea Bylund with its 2006 Business Woman of the Year Award for California. Bylund was also invited to serve as honorary chairman of the House Republican Trust and to attend the trust’s annual board meeting. This is the second time Bylund was recognized for the award.
Donna St. Jean Conti received the Award of Distinction from the 13th annual Communicator Awards Print Competition. Conti, who runs St. Conti Communications in Mission Viejo, also was honored as a 2006 nominee for the Business Journal’s Women in Business Award for her business achievements and community service. The Communicator Awards is an international competition that recognizes outstanding work in the communications field.
Pamela M. Adams recently earned certified financial planner professional certification. Adams now can offer general personal financial strategies, investment and risk management advice, estate planning and other services. She works out of the Irvine office of A.G. Edwards.
