IEEP announce 2014 Award Winners
The Inland Empire Economic Partnership (IEEP) is pleased to announce its annual honorees for 2014. These are individuals and organizations that have demonstrated exemplary leadership in furthering the cause of economic development and a better quality of life for all of the Inland Empire. By using their talents, expertise and influence, these honorees stand out among those who make the area a better place to live for the 4.3 million people in the region.
The 2014 winners are:
Loma Linda University Medical Center will receive the Business of the Year Award. The institution has been a leader within the IEEP’s Healthcare Council, which promotes better educational and workforce development opportunities for area residents. Loma Linda University Medical Center recently broke ground for a new facility in San Bernardino, increasing its capability to provide medical care for more people in the Inland Empire.
California Emerging Technology Fund has been named co-recipient of the Nonprofit of the Year Award. The organization is a statewide organization with the mission of closing the digital divide by accelerating the deployment and adoption of broadband coverage for everyone in the state.
Ontario-Montclair Promise Scholars has also been named co-recipient of the Nonprofit of the Year Award. This is a program that identifies students in the fifth grade and puts them on specified tracks to college and includes two years of free post-secondary education at Chaffey College. The program increased college participation from these school districts from 29 percent to 56 percent.
Dr. Tomas Morales and Dr. Kim Wilcox will be honored as co-recipients of our Educators of the Year Award. Dr. Morales, President of California State University San Bernardino and Dr. Wilcox, Chancellor of the University of California Riverside, have taken active roles in helping to ensure that quality higher education is accessible to all who need in in the Inland Empire. They co-chair the IEEP Education Council and have led the push for an Inland Empire submission for the Governor’s Innovation Award.
Eugene Montanez, the Mayor of Corona, is the winner of the Public Partner of the Year Award. Eugene has been an active member of the IEEP’s Board of Directors, and his efforts toward making his city an attractive location for business opportunity shows and exemplary attitude toward bettering the economic life of his city’s residents.
Pamela Clute is being honored with the President’s Award. A mathematics educator at UCR for more than 40 years and the school’s assistant vice chancellor of educational and community engagement, Dr. Clute is retiring from her position at the school. But it has not slowed down her efforts to explore paths to better educational achievement in the Inland Empire.
Jennifer Johnson, formerly of Watson Land Company and now with Southern California Edison, is the recipient of this year’s Chairman’s Award. Over the last few years she has offered a wealth of knowledge and experience in helping the IEEP and others in the region network with key political leaders in Sacramento and Washington, helping us gain the influence that will improve the lives of countless Inland residents.
The winners will be recognized at the Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner for the IEEP, which will take place on January 29, 2015 at the Victoria Club in Riverside.
The IEEP Executive Board for 2015 will be comprised of: Chairman of the Board Brett Guge of California Steel Industries; First Vice Chairman Marco Robles of Cardenas Markets; Second Vice Chairman Peter Villegas of the Coca Cola Company; Treasurer Dan Byrnes of United Parcel Service; and Secretary Paul Granillo of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership.
“The people we are honoring contribute every day to the effort to make the Inland Empire a better place to live and a better place for businesses to thrive. It has been a pleasure to work with all of them and, on behalf of everyone in the region, we at the IEEP are looking forward to another year of progress,” said Paul Granillo, the IEEP’s CEO and President
