The Sacramento Metro Chamber will recognize 12 of the region’s leading individuals and organizations during the 114th Annual Dinner & Business Awards, set for Friday, Jan. 30th, at the Sacramento Hyatt Regency.

Headlining the awards event honoring outstanding business achievement and community service is former president and CEO of River City Bank, Jeanne Reaves. Reaves, the first woman to head a locally-owned bank, has been named the 2008 Sacramentan of the Year – the Metro Chamber’s highest annual honor.

“In a time when running a business takes concentrated focus to succeed, it’s also a time to honor best practices,” said Matthew R. Mahood, Metro Chamber President & CEO. “The award recipients demonstrate the ‘new era of responsibility.’ The Metro Chamber believes that beyond the bottom line, business success is measured in how owners and employees engage in the community through volunteer service and support of regional goals.”

This year’s winners include:

Sacramentan of the Year—Jeanne Reaves
As the first woman to head a locally-owned bank, former president and CEO of River City Bank Jeanne Reaves is recognized as 2008 Sacramentan of the Year for creating and cultivating an industry-respected business culture focused on family and civic engagement while expanding the bank’s size and performance. Through her example, the bank has become an admired leader in Sacramento’s philanthropic community.

The Sacramentan of the Year award is given annually to a person contributing significantly to the well-being of our region over a lifetime in the community. Reaves embodies the spirit of this award through proven business acumen that grew River City Bank’s staff of full-time employees by 23 percent and doubled total assets to more than $780 million, as well as a philosophy that “a happy business is a healthy business.” Her values and commitment created a corporate and philanthropic success for Sacramento and the Metro Chamber is delighted to honor her with this award.

Businesswoman of the Year—Jan Schori
The Businesswoman of the Year award recognizes the contributions of an individual to the growth of her enterprise. Under the stewardship of former General Manager Jan Schori, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) earned high ratings nationally in customer appreciation while electricity rates remained among the lowest in California.

In 14 years of service, Schori reinvented the way SMUD provided service to its customers, pioneered the use of solar and wind for customers and raised the power system’s reliability performance. Thanks to Schori’s dedication and ingenuity, JD Power & Associates has ranked SMUD nationally among the best in customer satisfaction surveys in both the residential and commercial sectors.

Businessman of the Year—Larry Kelley
Using experience derived from more than 30 years in the real estate industry, McClellan Business Park CEO Larry Kelley helped transform 16 million square feet of a shuttered air force base into a job-generating high-tech and public safety center – helping to revitalize an aging, industrial and commercial quadrant of Sacramento. Now, with 14,000 employees and more than 200 tenants, the 2,880-acre McClellan Park has become a center of economic activity. This entrepreneurial success, along with Kelley’s talent and experience have earned him the honor of 2008 Businessman of the Year.

Small Business of the Year—Griselda’s Ventures
Combining competence with strong beliefs, Griselda Barajas is the consummate small business entrepreneur, earning her the 2008 Small Business of the Year Award. As a 21-year-old, Griselda Barajas opened the Texas Mexican Restaurant, using borrowed money and her mother’ recipes. With business savvy, she grew the enterprise into Griselda’s Ventures and with her husband, chef and partner, Michael Keolanui, the business now operates other cafes and caters for events, weddings and aviation.

Care for employees, combined with a strong advocacy for small business owners, community issues and volunteer support of numerous nonprofits make Griselda’s Ventures an exemplary small business and worthy of the Metro Chamber’s Small Business of the Year award.

Centennial Business Hall of Fame—UC Davis
On the 100th anniversary of the University California, Davis, the Metro Chamber created the Centennial Business Hall of Fame to celebrate a century of all-around service. Contributing more than $3 billion each year to the California economy, UC Davis returns $5 for every state dollar received. The Metro Chamber recognizes that this level of economic impact and significant contribution to the well-being of the region and the world establishes UC Davis as the ideal inaugural member of the Centennial Business Hall of Fame.

Business Hall of Fame—Frank Fat’s and Vision Service Plan (VSP)

Frank Fat’s
Induction into the Business Hall of Fame is based upon 50 years of significant contribution to the economic and civic growth of the community. Frank Fat’s epitomizes these hallmarks as the Capital City’s oldest eating establishment. Frank Fat opened his namesake restaurant in 1939 and quickly became the state’s “Third House,” a place where landmark bills were drafted on napkins in back booths. For this and many other significant contributions to the region, the Metro Chamber applauds Frank Fat’s induction into the Business Hall of Fame as one of the region’s leading enterprises.

VSP
In recognition of pioneering business acumen and community service, the Metro Chamber inducts Vision Service Plan into the Business Hall of Fame. Since 1968, VSP has been headquartered in the Sacramento area and is now a major employer, with gross revenue topping $2 billion in 2004. For seven consecutive years, VSP has been voted one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in the United States.

Al Geiger Memorial Award—Derrell Roberts, Co-Founder and CEO, Roberts Family Development Center
Established in 2001 by community leaders Derrell and Tina Roberts, the Roberts Family Development Center serves the North Sacramento community with a goal to nurture personal growth, strengthen families and enhance community development and civic involvement.

By improving the lives of children and families through services in early childhood and family education, economic empowerment and technology, the Roberts Family Development Center honors the ideals of the memorial award named after the late Al Geiger, a former chair of the Black Chamber.

Peter McCuen Award for Civic Entrepreneurs—John E. Frisch, Managing Partner, Cornish & Carey Commercial
The Peter McCuen Award is named after the late Sacramento developer and high-tech innovator Peter McCuen for his entrepreneurial skills and civic engagement. John E. Frisch exemplifies the award’s ideals as he is one of the region’s top real estate agents at Cornish & Carey Commercial Real Estate, as well as one of our most prominent volunteers.

Over his 27-year career, Frisch has negotiated more than 800 transactions, representing in excess of 10 million square feet of office space. As a highly engaged volunteer who evokes the civic entrepreneur status of the Peter McCuen Award, Frisch has been recognized four times as the real estate professional who “gives back” to the community. Moreover, the Sacramento Metro Chamber honored Frisch in 2005 as the Volunteer of the Year and he received the Salvation Army’s Humanitarian Award in a 2007 event that generated more than $300,000 for the Salvation Army.

Volunteers of the Year—Tim Murphy and Cheryl Marcell
Cheryl Marcell and Tim Murphy are recognized as the Metro Chamber Volunteers of the Year for their enthusiasm and energy guiding the Leadership Sacramento program. Marcell is the Sacramento County Airport System deputy director for marketing and public relations, and Murphy is GenCorp Realty Investments pubic affairs director. Over the past two years, they have co-chaired the annual Leadership Sacramento program. Besides the month-to-month work required, both were instrumental in setting up a succession plan for the chair and co-chair positions.

The Metro Chamber award also recognizes the depth of their volunteer service. In the spirit of true volunteers, they are being honored for multiple commitments. As 2008 Study Mission Chair, Marcell led a group of business and community leaders to San Antonio, Texas, to examine important economic development strategies. Murphy also helped establish a scholarship for the annual Study Mission program, helped establish the Leadership Sacramento Advisory Council and significantly supported the Cap-to-Cap transportation team chair.

Ambassador of the Year—Burnie Lenau
The Ambassador of the Year recognizes a member of the Metro Chamber’s prime volunteer group—the award is based upon points accumulated for visiting Metro Chamber members and attending chamber events. For the second year in a row, Burnie Lenau, owner of Lawnman, Inc., has visited more members and attended more events than anyone on the committee. In 2008, he was the Ambassador Chair, helping restructure the group, and he served as a Cap-to-Cap team captain. His service to the Metro Chamber makes him an outstanding Ambassador of the Year.