Black Chamber of Commerce Honors 8 : Minorities: Disney executives get Distinguished Service Award. Western Digital’s chief cited for economic development aiding minority businesses.
Eight people, including corporate executives, a minority hiring advocate and elected officials were honored Friday evening at an annual awards presentation of the Orange County Black Chamber of Commerce.
Two top Walt Disney Co. executives, corporate President Frank Wells and Disneyland President Jack Lindquist, received the Distinguished Service Award for contributing to “the elevation of blacks and other minorities.”
At the event, held at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Wells was praised for helping minority-owned businesses through a million-dollar loan program set up by Disney and administered by the First AME Church. Lindquist was thanked for agreeing to provide more than 200 jobs at Disneyland for youths from South Los Angeles.
Another Disney employee, Arnice Lamb, the company’s minority business advocate, received the President’s Award for introducing Southern California black and other minority firms to the Disney employee recruitment process.
The Economic Development Award went to Roger Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of Western Digital Corp., for establishing the Orange County Jobs Project that has “brought minority and small businesses together with major corporations to learn of each others manufacturing and purchasing needs and capabilities” and has created more than 200 new jobs, the chamber said. Johnson is also President Clinton’s nominee to become director of the federal General Services Administration.
County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez received the chamber’s Community Service Award by “being in the forefront of helping improve the quality of life for minorities, not only through his vigilance of ordinances which affect minorities, but also through his pronouncements on Orange County’s economic future resting with its growing diverse population,” the chamber said.
Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Harriett M. Wieder, received the Community Leadership Award for her role in the establishment of Partnership 2010, a coalition of business, education and government leaders attempting to develop an economic strategy for the county, and for ensuring “that Orange County’s diverse business population was represented.”
The Business Person of the Year award went to Mattie Jordan Gaye for working as a leader within the Black Chamber while managing a State Farm Insurance agency. The Elijah Lovejoy Award went to Hollis Smith, president of the Southern California Regional Purchasing Council, an organization of 220 large Orange County corporations with minority purchasing programs.
Webster Guillory, Orange County deputy assessor, received the Civic Service Award “by carrying out his agency’s commitment to equal opportunity” and through his work as chairman of the National Organization of Black County Officials.
