By Kelly Ryan
TOP STORIES
The Orange County Father’s Day Council awarded four fathers 2007 Father of the Year: Emile Haddad, chief investment officer of Lennar Corp.; Jeffrey Matsen, an attorney at Costa Mesa’s Bohm, Matsen, Kegel & Aguilera LLP; Robert McClellan, president of Newport Beach-based McClellan Nichols Sports Syndicate LLC; and Stephen Tully, president of Quiksilver Inc.’s Women’s Quiksilver Americas. The four men were honored for their ability to balance their personal lives with their successful careers.
Dr. Independent Auto Specialist was awarded the Small Business of the Year award for OC. The award was presented to Dr. Independent at the eighth annual Small Business Conference of OC, sponsored by Orange Coast College. The auto repair and service company promises an extraordinary experience to its customers and specializes in repairing BMW, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo autos.
Visiogen Inc. of Irvine received the Best of Session designation at the 2007 American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Symposium. The company was recognized for two papers focusing on its Synchrony dual optic accommodating intraocular lens. The papers were presented by Doug Koch, Ivan L. Ossma-Gomez and Andrea Galvis. The proprietary Synchrony system is used in cataract and refractive patients.
Rossina Gallegos, Ana Jimenez-Hami and Lane Macy were honored at the National Hispanic Business Women Association’s 10th anniversary in Irvine. Gallegos was recognized with the Corporate Responsibility award and works at Union Bank of California. Jimenez-Hami received the Organizational Entrepreneur award and works at the OC Children’s Therapeutic Arts Center. Macy was awarded for Community Service in Nonprofit/Education and works at Project Access Inc. in Newport Beach.
The American Cancer Society honored Irvine Mayor Beth Krom and City Councilman Steven S. Choi for their leadership in making municipal parks and open spaces smoke-free. Krom’s and Choi’s efforts have ensured that people can enjoy clean air at places like the Great Park. The goal is to cut down on second hand smoke at parks and other public areas.
Irvine-based RealtyTrac Inc. was named Most Innovative Company and vice president of marketing Rick Sharga was recognized as Best Marketing Executive at the 2007 American Business Awards. The American Business Awards featured more than 2,000 entries in more than 40 categories. RealtyTrac publishes the largest database of pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, resale and new homes.
California State Uni-versity, Fullerton, student Kaylene Carr won the university’s Kenneth L. Goodhue-McWilliams Award. The award recognizes outstanding community service in the health profession. She has volunteered at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana and UCI Medical Center in Orange.
Marica Pendjer was recognized as 2006 Volunteer of the Year for her contributions to the OC Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Also receiving honors from Komen were Chris Tannous and Karen Wolett, who each received Cameo Awards. Pendjer recently completed her second term as president of the board and has also worked as chair of entertainment and communications and marketing.
Irvine-based Entrepreneur Media Inc. was named on BtoB magazine’s annual Media Power 50 list. In addition to its 30 years of publishing a magazine, Entrepreneur Media also has a Web site with 6 million monthly visitors and a book division launching more than 100 titles this year. Entrepreneur Media focuses on the small and midsize business community.
Costa Mesa-based Jury Impact was named a finalist in the Most Innovative Company,Up to 100 Employees category for the 2007 American Business Awards. Insight gained from thousands of interviews produced a 95% win rate for cases that went to trial. Hospital Corp. of America, Wal-Mart, Swiss Re and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are all clients of Jury Impact.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County recognized KPMG in Costa Mesa with a Group Service Award. Many KPMG employees volunteer as tutors in the TutorPal program at Remington Elementary School in Santa Ana. Additionally, KPMG was awarded the United Way Community Cornerstone Award for its support of Big Brothers Big Sisters OC. Some employees have also chosen to become Big Brothers and Big Sisters themselves.
Rob Neal was awarded the 2007 Men of Character award by the OC Council of Boy Scouts. Neal is managing partner at Hager Pacific Properties in Newport Beach. Eight men receive this award annually. Neal has been involved in the OC Boy Scouts for 13 years.
