(September 4, 2008) – Some of California State University, Fresno’s most-accomplished alumni will be in the spotlight Oct. 10 for the annual Top Dog Alumni Awards Gala at the Save Mart Center.

Nat DiBuduo (Class of 1972), president of Allied Grape Growers, will receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award and Dr. Arnold Gazarian and Dianne Gazarian will receive the Arthur Safstrom Service Award for their many contributions to the university.

DiBuduo has been an active volunteer since he attended Fresno State and was elected student vice president. His alma mater has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of DiBuduo’s community service, including membership on the boards of the Ag One Foundation and Fresno State Alumni Association. And DiBuduo counts more than 50 relatives who have attended Fresno State since the 1940s.

The Gazarians’ philanthropy has included gifts to Fresno State’s Smittcamp Alumni House, the Friends of the Madden Library, the President’s Fund and the Craig School of Business to establish the Arnold and Dianne Gazarian Real Estate Center. They also provided incentives to attract others’ gifts for the Haig and Isabel Berberian Endowed Chair in Armenian Studies. Arnold Gazarian is an alumnus of Fresno State.

Their generosity doesn’t stop on campus. The Gazarians are benefactors of the Berberian Community Hospice Patient Services Center and Homeless and Transitional Living Center in Modesto.

Top Dog Outstanding Alumni Awards will be presented the same evening to the following, who represent the university’s colleges, schools and divisions:

College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology – Dr. Robert C. Cannell (1986), who is the supply chain director for McDonald’s USA (NYSE: MCD), responsible for the quality and safety of the restaurant chain’s beef and pork.

College of Arts and Humanities – Brad Lewis (1980), a Pixar Animation Studios producer, whose “Ratatouille” received Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy and Clio awards. Pixar is a division of the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS).

Athletics – Kerri Donis (1991), a Bulldog softball star who played for two national titles and now is deputy chief for the Fresno Fire Department.

Craig School of Business – Steve Heinrichs (1968), managing partner of Bulldog Capital Partners, a venture fund that invests in new business ideas and companies with potential to contribute to the central San Joaquin Valley economy.

Kremen School of Education and Human Development – Darlene Spano (1969), an elementary school teacher in Fresno for 32 years, who embraced computer technology early and helped her students and teaching colleagues learn.

College of Engineering – Dr. Vida Ilderem (1982), vice president of physical and digital realization research at Motorola Laboratories, the applied research arm of Motorola (NYSE: MOT).

Division of Graduate Studies – Mabelle Selland (1950, 1972), whose community service includes preservation of the old Administration Building at Fresno City College, the Veterans Memorial Auditorium restoration and active participation in numerous organizations.

College of Health and Human Services – Pamela A. Loewen (1966), who has followed a career in military and public health nursing with extensive service to the university’s Department of Nursing as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Henry Madden Library – Kendall Manock (1951), an attorney who has been instrumental in obtaining materials for the Library’s Central Valley Political Archive and on many other library initiatives.

College of Science and Mathematics – Dr. Roy James Shlemon (1958), who has a consulting geological practice focusing on sites for nuclear power plants and waste facilities, large dams and residential developments throughout the world.

College of Social Sciences – Thomas L. Williams (1970), chairman and CEO of Universal Parks & Resorts, part of the NBC Universal division of GE (NYSE: GE).

Division of Student Affairs – Ambassador Phillip V. Sanchez (1957, 1972), retired as a newspaper publisher after government service including two ambassadorships and directing the War on Poverty as the nation’s highest-ranking Latino government official.

The Top Dog Alumni Awards ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 10 with a no-host reception, followed by dinner at 6:30 and the presentation at 7:30. Fresno County Superior Court Judge Robert Oliver (1966) will emcee the event.

Tickets to the gala are $100 each and sponsorship options ranging from $500 to $5,000 are available through Sept. 8.

Related link:
https://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/CAF/events/CAF2160817.html