The Board Room for April 3

Announcements

▪ Reading and Beyond announced the appointment of two additions to its Board of Directors. They are James A. Aleru and Antonio Avalos. Reading and Beyond is a nonprofit community-based organization that works with needy populations in Fresno and the region.

Awards

▪ The Lawyers Of Distinction announced that Pamela J. McFarland of Fresno has been selected as a Lawyer of Distinction. The award honors distinguished lawyers who are within the top 10 percent of the attorneys in the United States. The award is based upon objective evaluation of an attorney’s qualifications, license, reputation, experience and disciplinary history.

▪ The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Fresno district office announced that Ron Heskett, CEO and owner of Borga Steel Buildings & Components, a manufacturing small business in Fowler, has been selected as SBA’s 2017 Small Business Person of the Year for Central California and the Central Coast.

▪ The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office is honoring Maribel Tapia with its 2017 Dispatcher of the Year Award. She began her career with the Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office in 2012. She was selected to become a tactical dispatcher in the fall of 2013, working under the SWAT umbrella assigned to the Crisis Negotiations Team.

▪ The California Association for Local Economic Development, a nonprofit organization advocating for economic development in California, has awarded the City of Clovis the award of merit for its Dry Creek Business Park Phase II project.

▪ Blair, Church & Flynn Consulting Engineers, a multi-discipline professional services firm, was recognized as a Supplier of the Year (SOTY) Award winner during the 27th Annual Southern California Chapter of the National Minority Supplier Development Council SOTY Awards Gala.

Donations

▪ Fig Garden Rotary Club provided an international grant of $3,000 to Education Burma Thailand Myanmar for books, desks, blackboards and other educational materials for displaced refugees so they can continue their education.

▪ Lithia Subaru of Fresno presented a check for $25,978 to Down Syndrome Association of Central California. The donation comes from the proceeds of Subaru’s Share the Love Campaign, which took place in December of 2016.

New Faces

▪ Robert Faust joined Central Valley Community Bank as an investment representative. He brings 28 years of sales and marketing experience and 10 years of financial planning to the bank. In his role he will be responsible for managing client relationships with non-deposit investments and developing opportunities to market non-deposit investments, in addition to new business development throughout the Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.

▪ Dr. Balpreet Kaur is now offering dental services at Family HealthCare Network’s Porterville Dental Center. She completed her Bachelor of Dental Surgery at the Punjab Government Dental College and Hospital in Amritsar, Punjab, India and received her Doctor of Dental Surgery at New York University College of Dentistry in New York, NY. She is fluent in English, Hindi and Punjabi.

Promotions

▪ Hiren Patel was promoted to vice president, assistant controller for Central Valley Community Bank. He joined the bank in 2009, most recently serving as an account manager. He has over seven years of banking accounting experience. In his new role he is responsible for overseeing company regulatory and management reporting, financial analysis, compliance and general accounting functions.

▪ Jonathan Schlundt has been promoted to partner at TETER, LLP. His diverse experience as a licensed mechanical engineer, mechanical contractor and project manager allows him to fulfill clients’ every need during design and construction.

This story was originally published April 2, 2017 at 3:00 PM with the headline "The Board Room for April 3."