Compiled by Roberta Boginis
Dallas-based Centex Homes’ South Coast Division in Irvine was voted “Most Admired Big Builder” by its peers for the second straight year, according to a survey by market tracker Hanley Wood. The survey is given to the residential building industry’s 100 largest companies.
The Southern California Chapter of the American Public Works Association gave Irvine-based RBF Consulting’s Grove Street Reservoir Reconstruction Project in Sierra Madre a Public Works Project of the Year award. RBF provided civil and structural engineering work on the project. Other consultants included DYK Inc., Bucknam & Associates Inc. and SSC Construction Inc.
McLarand, Vasquez, Emsiek & Partners Inc. in Irvine received a Platinum Best in American Living Award in the Urban Smart Growth category for its Fruitvale Transit Village in Oakland; a Gold Award for Enclave at Treasure Island; a Gold Award for The Metropolitan in San Mateo; and a Silver Award for Mariani Square in San Jose. The awards were presented by Professional Builder Magazine and the National Association of Home Builders.
Irvine-based Thomas P. Cox: Architects Inc. re-ceived the Platinum Winner for “Best Rental Develop-ment” for its Prado Town Center apartment community, and the Silver Winner for “Best Smart Growth Community” at the 2004 Best of American Living Awards hosted by the National Association of Home Builders and the International Builders Show.
Mary Anne Foo received the national 2004 “Unsung Heroines” award, sponsored by Mitsubishi Motors USA Foundation, for her work as executive director and founder of the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance.
Orange County United Way presented Ford Motor Co. with the Corporate Responsibility award for its work in the Latino community in Orange County.
The Radio and Television News Association gave a “Best News Special” Golden Mike Award to KOCE-TV’s weeknight news series “Real Orange.”
Karen Walter, an attorney with Costa Mesa’s Rutan & Tucker LLP, received the Emerging Leadership Award from the Orange County Chapter of the American Jewish Committee for her work in the legal field.
Orange honored the city’s Cordelia Knott Center for Wellness, the Breast Care Center and the Oncology Center with an Outstanding Business Award for 2004.
Jim Graham, president at Santa Margarita Ford, was given the 2005 Time magazine Quality Dealer Award.
Flex Your Power, California’s energy efficiency education program, gave the 2004 Energy Efficiency Award to the Orange County Water District and the Orange County Sanitation District.
California State University, Fullerton, won a Distinguished Award in the infrastructure category from the Western Council of Construction Consumers group. The awards recognize engineering, design and construction work.
The Orange County branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the Project of the Year Award to engineers of South County’s Ladera Ranch. Civil engineering companies involved were HFI, Huitt-Zollars Inc. and Hunsaker and Associates Irvine Inc. Consultants were Kurtz and Associates, Goffman, McCormick & Urban Inc., Douglas Bender and Associates, Adams Streeter Civil Engineers Inc., PRP Engineering, Austin-Foust, WPA Traffic Engineering Inc., Rivertech Inc. and Paul Moore & Associates Inc. Ladera Ranch also won an Engineering Project Achievement Award from the Orange County Engineering Council.
The Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 1920 and 2010 Main Plaza, and 17901 Von Karman won regional Office Building of the Year Awards from the Building Owners and Managers Association International.
A 60-member panel of the Southern California bar named Violet P. Wood-house a Southern California Super Lawyer for 2005. Woodhouse is a trial attorney with Newport Beach’s Professional Corp.
Patricia Minassian, vice president of marketing at Merit Cos. in Aliso Viejo, received the Helios Award of Excellence and the Helios Award of Merit from the International Association of Business Communicators.
Les Toques Blanches, a group of professional chefs, awarded Jan Pfeiffer of the Hilton Costa Mesa the Chef of the Year Award for 2004-05.
Richard Chang, founder and chief executive of Richard Chang Associates Inc. in Irvine, was ranked in the top 20 in Executive Excellence Publishing’s “The Excellence 100” list for 2005. The list recognizes those for books, articles and other contributions that focus on the workplace.
Laguna Hills-based Manufactured Housing Educational Trust, a trade group of mobile home owners, gave Jerry Golden of Goldenwest Homes and Harry Karsten of Karsten Homes the Lifetime Achievement Award; Chelu Travieso Earhart the Above and Beyond Award; and Betty A. Miller the Hall of Fame Award.
Sandy Finestone and Crystal Walsh were co-chairs of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation’s Komen Foundation Diversity Conference Committee in March.
The National Academy of Sports Medicine named Lindsey Fernandez as Fitness Professional of the Quarter. Fernandez is a trainer and owner of Rough-Fit Inc. in Santa Ana.
Santa Ana-based Markzware, a software developer for graphic arts and print companies, received the Angel Award for its FlightCheck Professional software from Image Reports, a magazine that focuses on the digital printing industry.
Chris Herman won the Admiral’s Club Award from Newport Beach-based Bayport Yachts Inc. for the highest sales in the company for the past year.
