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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

VALLEY NEWSMAKERS

Awards Sue FitzGerald, owner of the Haircut Place, received the Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Moorpark Chamber of Commerce. Recipients are nominated by members of the Chamber and the community. FitzGerald has owned and operated the Haircut Place, located in the Albertson’s Shopping Center in Moorpark, for the last two and a half years. She has been a stylist for 43 years, spent eight years as owner of a hair salon in Northridge, and worked for 12 years in Oregon as district manager for a haircut chain. The Haircut Place has five stylists, all of whom have an average of 15 to 20 years experience. Casa Vega received the 42nd District Small Business of the Year award. The award was presented to restaurant owner Rafael “Ray” Vega as part of the California Small Business Association’s 2009 California Small Business Day in Sacramento. Since opening in 1956, Casa Vega has become a San Fernando Valley landmark serving authentic Vega family recipes. In addition to providing hundreds of jobs in the Valley, Casa Vega has been a consistent supporter of civic events and institutions including chambers of commerce, local schools, and public safety organizations. The following organizations and individuals were honored at the 9th annual Steve Allen “Excellence in Education” awards, presented by The Valley Economic Alliance. Recipients of the 2009 Steve Allen “Excellence in Education” National Recognition Awards include: Dana Stephens LAUSD District 2 vice principal at Colfax Elementary Received The Milken National Educator Award ; Pinecrest Schools Van Nuys “No Child Left Behind” – Blue Ribbon School; Heschel West Day School “No Child Left Behind” – Blue Ribbon School; Stephanie Calix LAUSD District 1 Student at Canoga Park High School Winner of CNN/Time Warner Cable “My First Vote” Video Competition Contest; Grace Chen LAUSD District 2 Student at North Hollywood High School Perfect SAT Score; Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies LAUSD District 1 National Magnet School of Distinction by the national organization Magnet Schools of America; Sarah Morcos LAUSD District 1 – Student at Grover Cleveland High School Won the United Nations Global Issue Award and the United Nations Department of Public Information Award for ‘Petals of Hope’ video; Robert Eisenhart LAUSD District 2 – Educator at Van Nuys High School Received national award from Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation; Los Angeles Valley College Los Angeles Valley Speech Team Won first place in the individual events category at the 2009 Phi Rho Pi Tournament, team members include: Andrea Barrera, Micki Boden, Donna Carroll, Katrina Herrera, LeCoya Lejeune, Annie Leroux, Katie Mongan, Alexis Nalley, Thomas Petersen, Felix Tanandika, Elena Tarsitani, Pariya Tehrani, Patrick Thomson, and Arthur Valenzuela; John A. Sutter Middle School LAUSD District 1- Won the Education League National Math Test Sergio Mares, Xavier Escobar, Danielle Clarke, Clarissa Olivar, Ada Vu and Alejandra Rojas. The 2009 Business Education/Partnership award winner and nominees include: Payless Shoes Burbank F.A.C.T.S. Program – Burbank Unified School District; Albertson’s Agoura Hills High School – Las Virgenes Unified School District; Triunfo YMCA – Agoura Hills High School – Las Virgenes Unified School District; Hollywood Video – Miller Career and Transition Center; Glendale Adventist – Foothill Area Community Transition Services (FACTS). Three “Champions of Education” awards were presented to: Lou Stewart – assistant superintendent, Glendale Unified School District; Victoria Willig mentor teacher, Las Virgenes Unified School District; Gayle Marano Brown special education teacher, Miller Career and Transition Center, LAUSD District 1. Healthcare Kerry Carmody, chief executive of Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, has been named regional chief operations officer for Providence Health & Services in California. Carmody has been with Providence Holy Cross for the past 11 years and is widely credited for bringing national recognition to the Mission Hills hospital. Karen Davis has been named vice president of Administration and Finance at California Lutheran University. She will oversee CLU’s senior financial management and several other departments, including human resources, facilities and security. Manufacturing Lisa Licht, general manager of entertainment and licensing at Hasbro Inc., joined the board of directors of Munchkin, Inc., designer and manufacturer of infant and toddler products. At Hasbro, Licht leads expansion of entertainment opportunities and spearheads the company’s ramp up for a new series of motion pictures, including the next installment of the Transformers story, in collaboration with DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. She manages the company’s worldwide licensing program across a wide array of categories such as soft goods, publishing, hard goods and licensed promotions. Prior to joining Hasbro, Licht held several senior-level posts at Twentieth Century Fox including executive vice president, global marketing partnerships. She also handled all media promotions for theatrical releases and integration in such television events as March Madness, American Idol and the Super Bowl. Licht was vice president of marketing at Mattel, where she managed the worldwide Barbie brand. She began her marketing and toy industry career at Mattel in 1991 as an associate product manager. Steven Dunn, CEO of Munchkin, Inc., designer and manufacturer of innovative infant and pet products, is a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year & #381; 2009 Award in the Greater Los Angeles Area. According to Ernst & Young LLP, the awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Dunn was selected as a finalist from nearly 60 nominations by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced at a special gala event on Tuesday, June 23 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program celebrates its 23rd anniversary this year. The program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 135 cities in 50 countries throughout the world. Media Chuck Timpe joined CrowdGather’s board of directors. Timpe has served as a director since 1998 for IPC-The Hospitalist Company (NASDAQ:IPCM) and as an advisor to CrowdGather since October 2008. From June 2003 to November 2008, he served as the chief financial officer of Hythiam, Inc. (NASDAQ:HYTM). Prior to joining Hythiam, he was chief financial officer from 1998 to 2003 of Protocare, Inc., a clinical research and pharmaceutical outsourcing company that merged with Radiant Research, Inc. He was principal in two private healthcare management consulting firms, chief financial officer of National Pain Institute, treasurer and corporate controller for American Medical International, Inc. (now Tenet Healthcare Corp.; NYSE:THC), and a member of Arthur Andersen, LLP’s healthcare practice. Timpe is currently a business consultant. Public Service Jess Duran has been appointed interim acting director of Community Development and Housing for the City of Glendale. He replaces Madalyn Blake, whose last day with the City was June 1. Duran was hired by the City of Glendale as an administrative analyst in 1978, coming from the Los Angeles County Community Redevelopment Agency. As the department grew, he received promotions to senior administrative analyst, executive assistant and eventually assistant director. Some of the key responsibilities he has overseen include: serving as administrator of the Community Development Block Grant Homeless Section; overall planning and management of the department’s budget; overall planning and management of personnel matters; providing support to the section managers during daily operations. Some of his career highlights include: coordination of the Adams Square Revitalization Project; coordination of the Colorado Street Revitalization Project; development of the Adams Square and Colorado Street Fa & #231;ade Improvement Programs; coordination of the $46 million Edison Pacific Project including joint planning, funding and development with the Glendale Unified School District; responsibility for the negotiation and development of the Verdugo Jobs Center. Media The Dohring Company has appointed Rick Wilson as chief operating officer. Wilson will oversee the growth of the company’s programming, hosting, sample and data processing businesses. He brings decades of experience to the job including serving as chief operations officer for Worldwide Panel, Inc., where he was responsible for triple-digit revenue growth. He also held positions at JD Power and Associates, and Diagnostic Research, among other companies. Joining Wilson as vice president of business development is Thyra Lees-Smith, who previously served as director of sales for GMI and director of business development for The A.C. Nielsen Company. At Nielsen, she increased brand tracking products and services. THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) announced that Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of publishing, has resigned to pursue another opportunity. The change is effective immediately. Guthrie had been responsible for overseeing North America sales and distribution, and marketing. Jean-Briac (JB) Perrette has been named President, Digital & Affiliate Distribution and Content Distribution Strategy, NBC Universal. He was previously President, Digital Distribution. His expanded duties will include the strategic and tactical responsibility for NBC Universal’s broadcast distribution relationships. Additionally, Perrette will inform the strategy for NBC Universal’s collective content distribution, which includes all platforms such as TV, Internet and mobile. He was named President, NBC Universal Digital Distribution, in December 2006. In that role, he oversaw the North American distribution of content across the Internet, wireless, set-top devices and other emerging digital platforms. He led NBC Universal’s efforts in the formation of Hulu, NBC Universal’s popular online video venture with News Corp., Providence Equity Partners and Disney, and has led a number of industry leading distribution deals on emerging platforms such as iTunes, Amazon.com and Xbox, and leading wireless deals with partners including AT & T;, Verizon, and FLO TV. He continues to be the primary lead for NBC Universal’s content discussions with Internet sites, mobile carriers and aggregators, and emerging digital companies for a variety of offerings. Perrette serves on the boards of Hulu, Peacock Equity Fund, MSNBC.com and A & E; Television Networks. Technology The Board of Directors of Youbet.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: UBET) has appointed chief operating officer David Goldberg as the company’s new president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. He will succeed Michael Brodsky, who will move into a new role as the company’s executive chairman. Brodsky will be focused on corporate development, investor relations and Youbet’s strategic initiatives. In addition, he will take an active role in legislative affairs specifically, and will be directly involved in the Company’s efforts concerning the recent bill introduced in Congress that would legalize and regulate online gambling in the United States. Goldberg joined Youbet.com from Ticketmaster where he was executive vice president. During his tenure at Ticketmaster, he was one of three executives charged with overall leadership of the business through the office of the CEO, and held global responsibility for all aspects of sales and marketing, mergers and acquisitions and business development. Goldberg also previously served as the Marketing Director for Ticketmaster’s Midwest region in the early 1990s. Travel Sterling Travel of Camarillo appointed Westlake resident Pat Kelly Randall to its team of experts. A 28-year veteran of the travel industry, and fluent in German and French, she has traveled extensively through Europe and Africa and has experienced more than 30 cruises around the world.

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