Compiled by Purnima Mudnal
The University of California, Irvine’s Jack Peltason received the Clark Kerr Medal for distinguished leadership in higher education presented by the University of California, Berk-eley’s division of the Academic Senate. Peltason, a former UCI chancellor and UC system president, got the medal for contributions to higher education.
The UCI Foundation honored Paul Merage, Thomas and Mary Cesario, Walter Fitch and Janice Smith with the UCI Medal for their exceptional support for the university’s mission of teaching, research and public service.
The Forum for Corporate Directors honored outstanding directors for excellence in corporate governance. James Mazzo, Advanced Medical Optics Inc.’s chief executive, and Michael Mussallem, chief executive of Edwards Lifesciences Corp., were among those honored.
Lake Forest-based Johnny Rockets Group Inc. won top spot for Best Veggie Burger in a Chain Restaurant in the PETA 2005 Golden Bun Awards.
Irvine-based Standard Pacific Corp.’s Orange County division won three awards in the 2005 Gold Nugget Competition, and was part of the Grand Awards round in the competition recognizing the Best in the West. The awards were for its work in Ladera Ranch for Best Live/Work Project and Best Single-Family Detached Home 3,001 to 3,300 square feet, Conventional Loft, in Woodbury, Irvine.
Sampson Yang, chief executive of Irvine-based IOGear Inc., and his partner and wife Vanessa Chen were honored with the Taiwan Entrepreneur Award. The award recognizes Taiwanese-owned companies in Taiwan and abroad. IOGear, a unit of Taiwan’s Aten Technology Inc., sells networking products.
Irvine-based accounting firm Haskell & White LLP earned a Distinguished Achieve-ment Award for the fifth year at the 24th annual Business In The Arts ceremony. The event recognizes outstanding commitment of local companies in the region’s cultural organizations and is hosted by Orange County Business Committee for the Arts. Separately, the Santa Ana Boys & Girls Club honored David White, cofounder of Haskell & White, with the DreamMaker Award for 14 years of service.
Irvine-based data storage computer reseller MTI Technology Corp. received the 2005 Top 50 Technology Innovators Award from IT Week magazine.
South Coast Plaza now officially is the “first shopping resort” in the country. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office accepted the Costa Mesa shopping center’s application for trademark registration as The Ultimate Shopping Resort.
UC Irvine presented Lori Munoz-Reiland, director of UC Irvine Extension’s business, management, legal and information technology department, with its 2005 Staff Assembly Excellence in Leadership Award.
Orange-based St. Joseph Hospital won four gold awards from the 2005 Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Association’s Golden Advocate Awards. The hospital’s newsletter Feeling Great won for Best External Newsletter. A robotics commercial won for Best Cable/Television spot. The Women’s Heart Center campaign won for Best Multimedia Campaign. And St. Joseph’s 75th anniversary commemorative book won for Best Collateral Piece.
Irvine-based Sares-Regis Group’s Watermarke luxury condominium development, at Campus Drive and Carlson Avenue, won the ELAN award for “Attached Community of the Year” from the Building Industry Association’s sales and marketing council for the Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura counties chapters. Watermarke also won three other ELAN awards for best newspaper ad, best magazine ad and best landscaping. Sares-Regis’ Seabridge in Huntington Beach won “community of the year.”
Chiara Gratton-Lavoie, director of California State University, Fullerton’s Center of Economic Education received the 2005 Adam Smith award from the California Council on Economic Education. Gratton-Lavoie has been a faculty member of Cal State Fullerton since 1999.
The National Science Foundation honored David Pagni, professor of mathematics at Cal State Fullerton, with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring at the White House. The annual award includes a $10,000 grant for continuing mentoring work and a presidential certificate. UC Irvine was honored as the institutional recipient.
Terryn O’Brien, director of marketing at Irvine’s RBF Consulting, was presented with the Dean’s Outstanding Service Award for her service as an advisory board member for the light construction and development management program at UCI’s Extension program.
The Travel and Tourism Marketing Association awarded Charles Ahlers, president of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau, the 2005 Anastasia K. Mann Leadership Award. Ahlers, a 35-year industry veteran, was the convention sales manager at the bureau for seven years before becoming president.
Gena Reed, president and chief executive of Irvine-based Paragon Biomedical, received the 2005 Remarkable Business Woman of the Year Award from the National Association of Women Business Owners, OC chapter. Paragon Biomedical, a clinical research company, employs more than 200 workers worldwide.
Jim Greth was honored with the California Association of Health Underwriters’ member of the year award at its annual ceremony. Greth works for Orange-based Word & Brown Insurance Administrators Inc. and also was vice president of finance for the Orange County Association of Health Underwriters.
