“Since its inception in 1958, the Fernando Award is considered the highest recognition for community volunteerism given to an individual in the greater San Fernando Valley,” said Fernando Award Foundation Interim Chair Vahid Khorsand. “Each year, we look forward to recognizing nominees for their community involvement. The list is narrowed to five finalists and culminates with the selection of one distinguished individual at the annual gala.”
Since its first awards gala, 64 Valley community and business leaders have been named Fernando recipients.
“Each year, community organizations and businesses nominate outstanding individuals to be considered for this lifetime achievement award,” explained Khorsand. “Nominees are evaluated based on their volunteer engagement, length and number of years of volunteer service, volunteer leadership roles, fundraising success and volunteer mentorship. The confidential ballot process is managed by an outside CPA firm.”
The five finalists will be announced Friday, September 27th at a reception hosted by Galpin Motors. The 66th annual Fernando Foundation gala reception and dinner will be held at Skirball Cultural Center on Friday, November 8th.
Information on tickets and sponsorships can be found at https://fernandoawards.org/2024-event/ The deadline for program advertising and sponsorships is Thursday, October 24th.
The 14 nominees are:
- Armida Colmenares-Stafford – Nominated by Dale Surowitz and the United Chambers of Commerce
- Dennis DeYoung – Nominated by Rickey Gelb and California State University, Northridge
- Susan Du Brin – Nominated by One Generation and Lee & Arlene Alpert
- Horace H. Heidt – Nominated by Sherry Keowen and Kathleen Sterling
- Albert Hernandez – Nominated by Alex Parajon and Barry Bussow
- Tisha Janigan – Nominated by Timber Rose and Wren Sarrow
- Sang Lee – Nominated by Casa Esperanza and the Western Los Angeles County Council, Boy Scouts
- Jorge E. Rabaso – Nominated by Alejandro-Guerrero and Soledad Maurizio
- Sandy Rosenholz – Nominated by Rotary Club of Woodland Hills and Diana Williams
- Tammy Scher – Nominated by the Sherman Oaks/Encino Chamber of Commerce and Kiwanis Club of the Entertainment Industry Group
- David Tuckman – Nominated by Alison Tuckman and Jeremy Sonenschein
- Sharon Udkoff – Nominated by Los Angeles Jewish Health and Los Angeles Valley College
- Gustavo Valdespino – Nominated by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Mid Valley YMCA
- Dennis P. Zine – Nominated by New Directions for Youth and Arthur Pfefferman
“The process to narrow down this group of deserving nominees to five will be a difficult challenge,” said Marian Jocz, executive director of the United Chambers of Commerce and one of seven members of the finalist selection committee. Previous Fernando honoree Diana Sanchez chaired the 2024 nominating committee and the selection committee includes previous recipients David Honda, Mark Levinson, 2023 Fernando honoree Mel Wilson as well as Fred Gaines and Sarah Horvet.
The gala dinner committee, chaired by former Fernando Foundation board chair Pegi Matsuda, is comprised of Diana Duenas, Jason Schaff, Seta Javor, Tim Vints and Waltona Manion.
In addition to honoring the five finalists and announcing the award recipient at the annual gala, the organization will also honor three Impact Award honorees, selected for their service to the community.
Besides recognizing a noteworthy community volunteer each year, The Fernando Award organization also presents scholarships to students who have been role models for volunteerism in their schools, inspiring a new generation of philanthropy.
The 2024 Fernando board members include Interim Chair Vahid Khorsand, David Honda, Marian Jocz, Don Larson, Mark Levinson, Pegi Matsuda, Bruce Miller, Diana Sanchez and Mel Wilson.