The Board Room for April 25

Announcements

▪ The UC Merced Small Business Development Center received full reaccreditation by the Association of Small Business Development Centers, a national accrediting agency. The accreditation standards are based on the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence.

In addition, it also met the technology accreditation standards, as developed and deployed in cooperation with the agency’s federal funding partner, the SBA.

The result positions the UC Merced network as one of only 12 out of 63 state and regional programs awarded the “T” designation for technology. It is one of only three such programs in California.

▪ Blue Shield of California has named Saint Agnes Medical Center as a Blue Distinction Center in Knee and Hip Replacement and a Blue Distinction Center for Spine Surgery, as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.

Hospitals designated by the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program by Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are shown to deliver improved safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community. Designated hospitals must also maintain national accreditation.

Awards

▪ The Fresno County Office of Education honored three employees at its annual 2016 Pillar Awards. The winners were: Shoufie Nakamura, Employee of the Year; Darla Beeson, Administrator of the Year; and Maria Falcon, Teacher of the Year.

▪ First 5 Tulare County presented its annual Hands-On Heroes awards to local people and organizations for their support of children ages 0 to 5.

The Hands-On Heroes are: Community Advocate, Deborah Lagomarsino; Early Care and Education, Anita Eidschun; Development Center Exceptional Volunteer, Krystal Marie Bartley; Health & Wellness, Paula Serpa; Parent Education/Strong Families, Sharlene Woupio; Behavioral Health, Nikki Cardoza; and Outstanding First-5 Provider, Save the Children – Early Steps to School Success.

▪ John P. Dussich, Fresno State professor emeritus of criminology, received the Ronald Wilson Reagan Public Policy Award at the National Crime Victims’ Service Awards ceremony for his work in victimology and victim services.

The awards are presented by the Office for Victims of Crime to recognize individuals and organizations that demonstrate outstanding service in supporting victims and victim services. The award recipients are selected from public nominations in 11 categories.

▪ The Fresno County Office of Education Regional Occupational Program recognized the recipients of the 26th annual William F. Noli Award at the annual Advisory Committee Night. The recipients were: Gary, Mike and Jim Scelzi of Scelzi Enterprises Inc.; Cynthia Dondero of iLovetoCreate; Gale Dunham, retired teacher; Officer Lee Ness of the Kerman Police Department; and Daniel Barrows of Barrows Training and Education Physical Therapy.

▪ The American Institute of Architects’ San Joaquin Chapter Design Awards recognized excellence in architecture. The 2016 AIA Award Recipients were:

Paul Halajian Architects, Design Awards for Adaptive Reuse and Renovations, Award of Honor, Betty Rodriguez Regional Library; Design Awards for Civic Design, Award of Merit, College Community Church Mennonite Brethren;

Darden Architects Inc., Design Awards for Educational Design, Award of Merit, Phillip J. Patiño School of Entrepreneurship; Award of Honor: Rutherford B. Gaston Sr. Middle School; Award of Excellence, Edison High School Academic Building; Awards for Craftsmanship, Award of Honor, Garden Trellis and Canopy; Award of Excellence, Fawcett House Entry Gate; Design Awards for Lived Well, Lived Well Award, Chaffee Zoo South American Rainforest;

Arthur Dyson Architects, Design Awards for Preservation and Historic Building, Award of Excellence, Fawcett House; Design Awards for Residential, Housing and Shelter, Award of Merit, Lapp Residence; Award of Merit, Hilton Residence; Design Awards for Lived Well, Lived Well Award, Bedwell Residence;

Dyson Siegrist Janzen Architects Inc., Awards for Interiors, Award of Merit, Architectural Office; Award of Merit, Huron Library Renovations.

New Faces

▪ Guarantee Real Estate hired the following agents to its sales staff: Kathy Guraro, Heather Winslow and Christopher Hensley, Willow/Nees​ office; Dorinda Lehman, West/Herndon office; Timothy Thatcher, flex office; Lawrence Steinberg and Jackie Sterios, Woodward Park office; Greg Judd, Ralph Coleman and Nancy McKee, Shaver Lake office.

This story was originally published April 24, 2016 at 8:00 AM with the headline "The Board Room for April 25."