Awards, Sep 24, 1998

The following awards have been presented for work in philanthropy, fund raising, volunteerism, and non-profit management:

Arts. The Business Committee for the Arts (New York) and Forbes magazine have announced the recipients of the 1998 Business in the Arts Awards:

— The Founders Award went to the Principal Financial Group (Des Moines) for its long-term commitment and leadership in developing arts alliances.

— The Leadership Award, for business executives who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in encouraging business-arts alliances, went to John H. Bryan, chairman and chief executive officer of the Sara Lee Corporation (Chica go).

— The Commitment Award, for companies that have provided outstanding support to the arts for at least 10 years, went to General Mills (Minneapolis) and Shugoll Research (Bethesda, Md.).

— The Innovation Award, for companies that have developed model arts partnerships, went to Joseph E. Seagram & Sons (New York).

— The New Initiative Award, for large, mid-sized, and small companies that have provided outstanding support to the arts for five years or less, went to Tektronix (Wilsonville, Ore.), CVM Associates (Raleigh, N.C.), and Columbia Bank (Tacoma, Wash.).

The Flintridge Foundation (Pasadena, Cal.) has named the recipients of its inaugural Visual Artists Awards, which recognize outstanding California artists whose careers have spanned two decades or more. Each artist receives a $25,000 award. Following are the winners, their city of residence, and artistic medium: Chris Burden, Topanga, installation and sculpture; John Divola, Venice, photography; Lynn Hershman, San Francisco, film, installation, photography, and video; David Ireland, San Francisco, sculpture and installation; Tom Marioni, San Francisco, sculpture and performance; Ron Nagle, San Francisco, ceramics; Noah Purifoy, Joshua Tree, sculpture and installation; Nancy Rubins, Topanga, sculpture; Betye Saar, Los Angeles, sculpture and installation; Mark Thompson, Orinda, installation and performance; Carlos Villa, San Francisco, painting, performance, and sculpture; and Al Wong, San Francisco, video and installation.

Associations. The American Society of Association Executives (Washington) has presented its 1998 Associations Advance America Awards, which honor association contributions to community service, education, ethics, social services, and other areas. The top winners:

— American Academy of Ophthalmology (San Francisco), for its National Eye Care Project, which has provided more than 2,000 elderly people with eye examinations and treatment.

— American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (Arlington Heights, Ill.), for its Nationwide Asthma Screening Program, which has provided free screenings to children and adults in 100 communities nationwide.

— American Forest and Paper Association (Washington), for its Sustainable Forestry Initiative, which provides training and public education on the responsible use of American forests.

— American Pulpwood Association (Rockville, Md.), for its program through which loggers and wood-supply businesses donate the cash value of a load of logs to non-profit children’s hospitals.

— American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (Arlington Heights, Ill.), for its Breast Reconstruction Public Education Project, which works to dispel the notion that post-mastectomy reconstructive surgery serves purely cosmetic purposes.

— Edison Electric Institute (Washington), for “E Seal,” a certification program for member utilities that insures that they meet high standards for energy efficiency and environmental responsibility.

— Kansas Association of Broadcasters (Topeka), which has broadcast public-service announcements valued at more than $200,000 for the Kansas Adoption Network.

— Los Angeles County Bar Association, for its Dispute Resolution Services Student Mediation Program, which creates dispute-resolution programs at local middle and high schools.

Community service. The Hitachi Foundation (Washington) has presented its 1998 Yoshiyama Awards for Exemplary Service to the Community to 11 high-school seniors. The winners and their hometowns: Christopher Birrer (Locust Valley, N.Y.), Claudia Camacho (Phoenix), Cecilia Nan-Ding (West Roxbury, Mass.), Diego Duran (Silver Spring, Md.), Anthony Garcia (San Juan Pueblo, N.M.), Seth Green (Coral Springs, Fla.), Michael Harris II (Arapaho, Okla.), Brian Hooks (Altadena, Cal.), Sarah Joseph (Kalaheo, Hawaii), Cacie McHugh (Verden, Okla.), and Ann Peirce (Charlotte, N.C.). Each award carries a $5,000 prize.

Corporate community service. The Points of Light Foundation (Washington) has presented its 1998 Awards for Excellence in Corporate Community Service to seven companies: Home Depot (Atlanta), the Samsung Group (Seoul, South Korea), Southwest Gas Corporation (Las Vegas, Nev.), the Timberland Company (Stratham, N.H.), Time Warner (New York), United Technologies Corporation (Hartford, Conn.), and the Yakima Herald-Republic (Wash.).

Direct mail. The Direct Marketing Association’s Non-Profit Council (New York) has given its 1998 Non-Profit Organization of the Year Award to World Vision (Monrovia, Cal.) for that organization’s successful direct-response marketing practices.

Literacy. Laubach Literacy (Syracuse, N.Y.) has given its 1998 Patricia Crail Brown Award for exemplary service as a literacy volunteer to Betty J. Frey of Tucson, Ariz. Tucson Adult Literacy Volunteers, the organization that nominated her, will receive a $5,000 gift.

Public interest. The Stern Family Fund (Arlington, Va.) has presented its 1998 “Public Interest Pioneer” award, which provides $100,000 to start advocacy projects, to Greg LeRoy, a labor consultant and author, who will use the grant to create Good Jobs First, a project of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that will monitor corporate accountability related to tax breaks and subsidies.

Volunteerism. Do Something (New York) has presented its 1998 BRICK Awards for Community Leadership, which identify people under the age of 30 who are building their communities “brick by brick,” to 10 individuals. Nine of the recipients will receive $10,000; one recipient, to be named at a special event later this year, will receive $100,000. The winners:

— Danielle Despathy, 28, director and co-founder of Creative Clay (St. Petersburg, Fla.), which helps people with disabilities and other special needs to express themselves through art and to sell their art works.

— John Farnam, 28, director of the Northern Colorado AIDS Project (Fort Collins), which provides educational, health, and support services to HIV-positive people in an eight-county region of northern Colorado.

— Wai Kiu Lee, 27, executive director of Oakland Asian Students Educational Services (Cal.), which provides mentorship, computer classes, college-preparation courses, and other activities for disadvantaged Asian immigrant youths.

— Mark Levine, 29, co-founder and executive director of Credit Where Credit Is Due (New York), which runs a community-development credit union that serves low-income immigrant families in New York’s upper-Manhattan neighborhoods.

— Dennis Lluy, 25, director of Koo’s Art Center (Santa Ana, Cal.), which steers at-risk young people away from gang activity and toward art education and creative expression.

— Matthew McDermott, 27, policy specialist at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, who has secured nearly $900-million for low-cost housing, preserved 1,000 apartments for low-income people, and arranged a set-aside allowance for future low-cost-housing expenditures in Chicago.

— Kikanza Ramsey, 29, lead organizer and co-founder of the Bus Riders Union (Los Angeles), which has negotiated lower bus fares, the purchase of new clean-fuel buses, and the expansion of bus routes serving low-income Los Angeles neighborhoods.

— Milagros Silva, 27, lead organizer of the ACORN/WEP Workers’ Organizing Committee (New York), which works to secure workplace rights, health and safety protections, and access to child care, transportation, and other services for 40,000 participants in New York’s Work Experience Program.

— Akilah Watkins, 20, co-founder and director of the I Am Corporation (Roosevelt, N.Y.), which educates at-risk young people about entrepreneurship, community service, and alternatives to criminal activity, substance abuse, and other negative behavior.

— Steve Williams, 28, director of People Organized to Win Employment Rights (San Francisco), a membership organization of unemployed and low-income people that protects the rights of “workfare” participants and families moving from welfare to work.