Valley Business Awards to honor Stan Oken, others in February
The Fresno Chamber of Commerce will celebrate honorees at the 2016 Valley Business Awards and Installation Luncheon on Feb. 10.
The event is from noon to 2 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton at 2233 Ventura St. Tickets range from $55 to $440 for a table of eight. Sponsorships are available from $1,500 to $2,500.
Winner of the Leon S. Peters award, Stan Oken, will be the guest of honor.
Oken, 87, served in the U.S. Army in World War II, and after the war earned a bachelor of science degree at California State University, Los Angeles. He became a teacher and coached sports at the high school and junior college levels for about 19 years in the Los Angeles area.
In about 1967, he and two fellow coaches started a children’s camp in Three Rivers, in Tulare County. When the lease on the property ended, he bought out his partners and in 1973 bought what was Wonder Valley Dude Ranch, in the Fresno County foothills south of Pine Flat Reservoir, to relocate the camp.
In the 43 years since, the Oken family has built a modest dude ranch into a full-service resort and conference center that each summer hosts hundreds of children at youth camps, including a Champ Camp for burned children who have survived fires.
The Peters award, established in 1984, is named for the former owner of Valley Foundry and Machine Works. Peters was a noted philanthropist in Fresno and the central San Joaquin Valley. The award recognizes business success and leadership as well as public service, contributions and investments in the Fresno area.
Other locals will be honored as well.
▪ Agnes Saghatelian of Valley Lahvosh will receive the Harold Zinkin Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
▪ Tyler Turk of Date in a Crate will receive the College Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
▪ Chanelle Ojieh of Zola Apparel will receive the High School Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Registration for the luncheon can be done online. For more information, contact the chamber at 559-495-4800.
This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 8:56 AM with the headline "Valley Business Awards to honor Stan Oken, others in February."