Sherman Oaks, California – The Board of Directors of the Fernando Award Foundation is pleased to announce 14 nominees for this year’s awards program honoring volunteer service in the greater San Fernando Valley. One of these nominees will be the recipient of this year’s Fernando award exemplifying outstanding service to the community.
“This year’s nominees are a reflection of the types of community and business leaders who serve the greater San Fernando region,” said Fernando Award Foundation Board Chair Pegi Matsuda.
The 14 nominees are:
- John Ciccarelli, nominated by Granada Hills Chamber of Commerce.
- Armida Colmenares-Stafford, nominated by the United Chambers of Commerce and Carmen Bowen.
- Diana Duenas, nominated by Diana Sanchez and Encino Chamber of Commerce.
- Steve Fazio, nominated by Los Angeles Police Department Valley Bureau Foundation, Matthew Rinnert and Brandon Boeckmann.
- Kathy McIntyre, nominated by Valley Economic Alliance and Kim Manss.
- Saul Mejia, nominated by Ida Alaimo and Vida Ghaffari.
- Sandy Rosenholz, nominated by Rotary Club of Woodland Hills and Dale Surowitz.
- Tammy Scher, nominated by the Kiwanis Club/Entertainment Industry Group and the Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce.
- Kevin Tamaki, nominated by VICA and Matthew Swearman.
- David Tuckman, nominated by Ali Tuckman and Jeremy Sonenschein.
- Sharon Udkoff, nominated by Los Angeles Jewish Health, Los Angeles Valley College and Martin Cooper.
- Donald Weissman, nominated by Jane Skeeter.
- Mel Wilson, nominated by Bob Khalsa, Lee Kanon Alpert and Rich Pisani.
- Dennis Zine, nominated by West Valley/Warner Center Chamber of Commerce, New Directions for Youth and Rickey Gelb.
From this group of nominees, five finalists for the Fernando Award will be announced during a reception in the month of September. The individual award recipient will be announced during the annual gala on November 3rd at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. In addition to honoring the five finalists and announcing the award recipient during the annual gala, the organization will also honor five Valley Heroes. The Valley Hero award recipients will be announced next month.
“Each of these nominees has an impressive record of volunteerism and dedication to helping our community,” said Jason Schaff, Fernando Board Member and Chair of the Finalist Selection Committee. “The committee will have a very tough task selecting five finalists this year.” In addition to Schaff, the other committee members include Fred Gaines (Valley Economic Alliance Board Chair and Former Mayor of Calabasas), Vahid Khorsand (Board of Public Works for City of Los Angeles), David Honda (Honda Construction), Nancy Hoffman Vanyek (President & CEO Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce), Marian Jocz (United Chambers of Commerce) and Mark Villasenor (Fernandeno Tataviam Band of Mission Indians and vice chair of Fernando Awards Foundation). The Fernando Award is considered the highest recognition for community volunteerism bestowed upon an individual in the greater San Fernando Valley region.
Besides recognizing a noteworthy community volunteer each year, The Fernando Award Foundation also awards scholarships to students who have been leaders in volunteerism in their high schools, inspiring a new generation of philanthropy.