KUDOS
Compiled by Meenakshi Viswanathan
Irvine-based RBF Consulting was ranked No. 76 in Engineering News Record magazine’s list of the top 500 U.S. engineering design companies. RBF is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The magazine, a weekly published by the McGraw-Hill Cos. in New York, ranks companies based on revenue from design services.
Samsung Electronics America’s information technology division in Irvine was recognized by VARBusiness magazine as one of the country’s top information technology companies. Samsung was included in the “Best in Class” feature as having one of the top 10 partner program features and initiatives, as judged by the editors of VARBusiness. The company also received a five-star rating for its channel program.
Assurant Employee Benefits, part of New York-based insurance company Assurant Inc., honored Chris Brno with two national awards for superior sales performance. Brno, sales manager at the company’s OC group sales office, received the President’s Award for submitting more than $3.7 million in new business premiums during 2003. He also received the Product Line Solutions Award in the true group disability category for submitting more than $1.5 million in new business premiums.
Judy B. Rosener, a professor at the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Irvine, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Boardroom Bound, a national group of business, congressional and communication leaders that trains and places people, particularly women and minorities, on corporate and nonprofit boards. Rosener also received the Trailblazer Award at the Forbes Magazine Executive Women’s Forum.
Dan Cooper, professor of pediatrics, and Stanley Bassin, clinical professor of medicine, both of University of California, Irvine, were appointed to the statewide task force on prevention of childhood obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Cooper and Bassin are part of the UCI Center for the Study of Health Effects of Exercise in Children.
KTGY Group Inc., an Irvine-based architecture and planning company, was a finalist in three categories of the 2004 Pillars of the Industry Awards, which is sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders. KTGY’s senior apartment community in Mountain View made the cut in the Best Garden Apartment Community and Best Affordable Apartment Community categories, while its teacher housing community in Santa Clara was a finalist in the Most Creative Financing category.
Bill Dickerson, executive director of the California State University, Fullerton Foundation, was named a trustee on the board of the National Association of College Stores, which is a professional trade association representing the higher education retailing industry. Dickerson has been at his position with the foundation since 1988 and will be the only one in California serving on the association’s board.
The Irvine Company Apartment Communities received 14 awards at the fourth annual South Coast Apartment Association’s Greater Excellence in Management and Maintenance Awards ceremony. The association is the local chapter of the California Apartment Association representing apartment owners. Award categories ranged from individual to team to community.
The Irvine office of Phoenix-based law firm Snell & Wilmer LLP was named Law Firm of the Year by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, Orange County, for its volunteer service with the foundation’s Orange County Mock Trial program. The firm’s attorneys coach and advise mock trial sessions at El Toro High School and also play an advisory role for student jurors at Valley High School.
David Young, member of the board for the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach, received two awards: the Orange County Arts Cultural Legacy Award for Community Visionary, presented by Arts Orange County to honor his role in building many local arts organizations; and the Spirit of Volunteerism award, which was given by the Volunteer Center of Orange County acknowledging Young’s leadership in volunteer service. Young is in his 50th year of volunteer service and has been on the board since 1954.
Luxury Bath Systems of Glendale Heights, Ill., presented Jeff Philpot, the owner of its local franchise, Luxury Bath Renovations in Orange, with the President’s Club Award in recognition of sales exceeding $150,000 in 2003.
Gregg Schwenk, senior vice president and director of market research and analysis for Costa Mesa investment bank RSM EquiCo Inc., received the 2003 Henry W. Bloch National Award for Outstanding Community Service from the H & R; Block Foundation. Schwenk was recognized for his role as executive director and chief executive of the Newport Beach Film Festival. RSM EquiCo is an affiliate of Minneapolis-based accounting firm RSM McGladrey Inc., which is part of H & R; Block Inc. of Kansas City, Mo.
Betty Mower Potalivo and Donna Mulvaney were recognized as Orange County’s Women of Distinction by the Girl Scout Council of Orange County. The awards are given to women whose lives personify the mission, principles and goals of girl scouting.
