 | | | | Alumni and Business Partners RecognizedThe College of Business at Oregon State University honored leading alumni and business partners at their 2005 Alumni and Business Partner Awards dinner held in downtown Portland.
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2005 Alumni and Business Partner Award winners include (left to right): Bob Sznewajs, Harley Smith, Pam Garcia, George Puentes, Scott Burri and Larry L. Brown. Not pictured is Jon Masterson. | The Hall of Fame Award, which honors OSU graduates who have made sustained and meritorious business contributions throughout their careers, was presented to Jon Masterson, a 1961 OSU graduate and CEO of Wallboard Tool Company; and Harley Smith, a 1959 graduate, investor and real estate broker.
Masterson is a member of the College's Business Advisory Council and, in addition to his tenure with Wallboard Tool Company, has a long record of community service in Long Beach, California. He is president of the Symphony Foundation and board member of the Museum of Art Foundation and Memorial Medical Center Foundation. He has also won awards for his involvement with the Boys and Girls Club and Public Corporation for the Arts.
Smith founded Harley Smith Investments, a private real estate brokerage, taught courses in California in real estate, taxation and corporate finance, and wrote a book on Real Estate Exchanges. Smith is past vice-president of the OSU student body and helped write the resolution to change the name from Oregon State College to Oregon State University. He is a previous member and past chair of the College's Business Advisory Council and is a trustee of the OSU Foundation. Smith also is the sponsor of the annual COB Harley and Brigitte Smith Lifetime Financial Planning Contest.
OSU alumni Larry Brown, a 1975 graduate and PricewaterhouseCoopers partner, and Pam Garcia, a 1981 graduate and NW Supermarket Holdings president, received the Distinguished Business Professionals Award, which honors mid-career Oregon State graduates who are still practicing their profession and have demonstrated "sustained distinguished contributions to his or her profession, field, OSU or society at large."
Brown has been a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers since 1983. He currently serves on the complaints committee of the Oregon State Board of Accountancy and on the College's Business Advisory Council. He has been an active supporter of the accounting program making numerous presentations at Beta Alpha Psi meetings and recruiting at OSU. He received the 2004 Outstanding Accounting Alumni award. Brown is also a supporter of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program. He has been involved with many nonprofit organizations. Brown met his wife at OSU, now married for almost 30 years, and one of his daughters is currently a sophomore at OSU.
Garcia, in her 16 years with NW Supermarket Holdings, a private supermarket and real estate holding company, built the portfolio of 14 different companies. She is also chairman of the board for Pinnacle Bank. Garcia has been active in the College's Business Advisory Council, Portland Business Roundtable and is a supporter of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program. Her daughter graduated from OSU.
Scott Burri, a 1986 graduate and founder of Huntington Ventures, received the Distinguished Early Career Business Professionals Award, which recognizes alumni with less than 20 years of experience.
Burri founded Huntington Ventures in 2000 and has raised $34 million for venture investing. For the past 13 years, he has worked closely with early stage technology companies. He has been active in the College of Business as a guest lecturer and Austin Entrepreneurship Program supporter.
Two Distinguished Business Partners Awards were made, honoring non-alumni or companies who have distinguished themselves through professional practice and service to the OSU College of Business, the profession or society. Recipients of these awards are George Puentes, Puentes Brothers Inc./Don Pancho Mexican Foods president, and Bob Sznewajs, West Coast Bank CEO.
Puentes serves on the College's Business Advisory Council and has hosted students from the OSU-, UO- and PSU-sponsored OEMBA program. Puentes Brothers is currently listed in the top 500 list of Hispanic owned companies by Hispanic Business magazine. Puentes has been active in civic activities including the Salem City Council, Salem Chamber of Commerce and numerous boards and has won personal and business awards. Both Puentes' sons graduated from OSU.
Sznewajs leads West Coast Bank, a Northwest bank holding company with $1.7 billion in assets. Sznewajs has more than 30 years experience in the banking industry, previously as vice chairman of U.S. Bank. He serves on many boards including the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and the Oregon Bankers Association. More than a half dozen of West Cost Bank's board and senior officers are OSU graduates!West Coast Bank is the lead sponsor of the College's Austin Family Business Program, one of the nation's oldest family business programs. Through West Coast Bank's participation, the AFBP is able to serve family businesses throughout the region with online resources, workshops, seminars and recognition programs. West Coast Bank also sponsors several football games and events including the "Beaver Huddle" luncheons featuring Coach Riley.
During the awards program, student entrepreneurs and members of the College's Austin Entrepreneurship Program Blake Heiss and Dylan Boye showcased their multimedia business, Epoch Media, with a "Year in Review" video.
The College of Business educates students for success in managing and developing sustainable enterprises. With strong graduate and undergraduate programs, its Austin Entrepreneurship Program, its Austin Family Business Program and its Business Solution Group, the college helps students and businesses succeed. For more information on the OSU College of Business, see http://www.bus.oregonstate.edu/. |
