Joseph Re, a litigation partner at Irvine-based Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP, was named Orange County Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year for 2010 by Best Lawyers. Re focuses on patent cases in the medical devices and healthcare industries.
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Orange County in Tustin honored W. Henry Walker, chief executive of Long Beach-based Farmers & Merchants Bank, at its 45th annual gourmet dinner at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. Walker has been a board member for the past six years and has helped generate support for the group’s programs.
Julie Baird of First American Exchange Co., a unit of Santa Ana-based title insurer First American Corp., was named to the Top 20 Under 40 by the Commercial Real Estate Women Network. Baird is a national counsel for First American Exchange and currently oversees the Northern California reverse exchange department.
Kandy Mink Salas, dean of students at California State University, Fullerton, was honored by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators with its Region VI 2009 Sandra Kuchler Excellence in Mentoring award. The award recognizes individuals for their ability to advocate and advise in administrative, organizational and professional matters while being a role model to others.
The 2009 Anaheim Business Awards Winners are: Peter Ganahl, Lifetime Achievement; Dennis Kuhl, chairman of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Businessman of the Year; Julie Miller-Phipps, chief executive, Kaiser Permanente Orange County, Businesswoman of the Year; Time Warner Cable Inc., Large Business of the Year; New Horizons Learning Center, Small Business of the Year; Pat Mahoney, West Coast Arborists, Business Champion of the Year; Hilton Anaheim, Tourism Business of the Year; Sunny Delight Beverages Co., Manufacturing Business of the Year; KB Home, Construction/Developer of the Year; Corvette Mike, Family-Owned Business of the Year; Epicurean School of Culinary Arts, Woman/Minority-Owned Business of the Year; Anaheim Marriott, Green Business/Practices of the Year; Sares-Regis Group, Green Business/Construction of the Year; Cops 4 Kids and Reaching Youth Through Music Opportunities, Nonprofits of the Year. The businesses were honored at a luncheon held at the Disneyland Hotel. Winners were selected by the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce board, the city of Anaheim, the Small Business Association and other local businesses and groups.
Josh Needle, a student studying real estate and finance and the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine, received the Commercial Real Estate-National Association of Industrial and Office Properties Southern California Fellowship. The award is designed to develop future leaders in the real estate industry and was given by NAIOP SoCal and the Center for Real Estate at UC Irvine’s business school.
Huntington Beach-based Alzheimer’s Family Services Center honored Larry Root and Ron Shenkman at its 10th Annual Gathering of Friends event. Root, who is retired, helped open Alzheimer’s Family Services Center’s local branch. Shenkman has served on the organization’s board for the past seven years and currently is chairman of Huntington Beach-based Rainbow Disposal Co., a waste management and recycling company.
Studio Chameleon of Newport Beach received four awards at the inaugural SoCal Awards, sponsored by the Building Industry Association. The company received a gold award for best sales office for its design at Anaheim’s Harmony at Colony Park, a condominium complex. It also received best team collaboration for its work on Harmony at Colony Park. It was awarded a gold award for best interior of a private resident in Newport Coast and was a silver winner for its work at Astoria in the Central Park West condos in Irvine.
The highest honor awarded by the Orange County Bar Association was presented posthumously to Donald Gray at the Orange County Bar Association’s Judges’ Night and Annual Meeting at the Westin South
Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. Gray was president of the Orange County Bar Association in 1999 and served on numerous committees and task forces. He also was vice president and general counsel of Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. for more than 23 years.
Giulii Kraemer re-ceived the Leaders of Integrity Award from Mission Viejo-based Passkeys Foundation. Kraemer received the award for her nine years of work with Cal State Fullerton’s Guardian Scholars program. The program provides financial support and services to former foster children pursuing college degrees.
