Construction
[caption id="attachment_77036" align="alignright" width="144"] Woody Bell[/caption]
Blu Homes, Inc., named Woody Bell senior vice president of operations, overseeing manufacturing and the supply chain for Blu’s state-of-the-art 250,000-square-foot Vallejo factory in the former Mare Island naval shipyard. Previously, he was vice president of operations at Nationwide Homes after 15 years at Palm Harbor Homes.Media & Advertising
[caption id="attachment_77042" align="alignleft" width="180"] Tara McGoldrick Walsh[/caption]
Tara McGoldrick Walsh joined PD Media Lab, part of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, as a content editor. Previously, she was an editor for O’Reilly Media and has also been a consultant for numerous web startups, nonprofits and publishers.
[caption id="attachment_77038" align="alignright" width="180"] Crystal Jackson[/caption]
Crystal Jackson joined PD Media Lab as a social media optimization specialist. She has over 10 years of experience in sales, marketing and brand development, including working in the wine industry as a tasting room and wine club manager.Nonprofits
Several employees Bank of Marin joined the boards of local organizations in Marin and Napa counties. In Marin, they are: Alan Burr, commercial banking officer in Novato, has joined the board of the Conservation Corps North Bay, and will serve as treasurer. Veronika Johnson, compensation and benefits officer at Bank of Marin in Novato, has joined the North Bay Children’s Center Board. Melanie Rempe, commercial banking officer in Novato, has joined the Marin Young Professionals Network board. Jaime Ortiz, San Rafael branch manager, has joined the board for the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce. In Napa, Jeanne Szmidt, commercial loan officer for Napa, has joined the board of Community Resources for Children in Napa.
Donna Zapata, business development officer for Redwood Credit Union, was recently honored at the 25th anniversary Sonoma County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce scholarship gala for her years of service to the chamber, for her development of its leadership program and commitment to creating professional opportunities for Hispanic youth. Ms. Zapata previously served as executive director for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for four years before joining RCU earlier this year to help develop partnerships and promote financial literacy initiatives in the Hispanic community.
Petaluma People Services Center named David Short board president. He is assistant vice president for Bank of Marin. The 39-year-old nonprofit also named Linda Morgan of Kaiser Permanente as vice president, Jackie Taylor-Meadows of Sonoma Bank as treasurer and Mark Ferguson of Bank of Marin as secretary.
[caption id="attachment_77040" align="alignright" width="180"] Josh Leonard[/caption]
Sunny Hills Services promoted Josh Leonard to the new chief program officer position. He formerly was executive director of Sunny Hills Services’ East Bay division. He served there for more than 20 years, starting as a counselor in one of its group homes then serving in various positions before becoming executive director in 2002. He is on the boards of directors of the California Alliance for Child and Family Services and the Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance. Residential Real Estate
[caption id="attachment_77041" align="alignleft" width="180"] James Madison[/caption]
James Madison, a top-producing agent in Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Santa Rosa office, again ranked among the top 1,000 Realtors in the U.S. for transactions last year in a new report by The Wall Street Journal and REAL Trends. The annual ranking listed the top 250 agents and teams in four separate categories: individual sales volume, individual transaction sides, team sales volume and team transaction sides. Mr. Madison ranked 232nd among the top 250 Realtors for transaction sides completed last year. During 2012, he was responsible for 134 transaction sides, according to The Wall Street Journal and REAL Trends, a national communications and real estate consulting company that compiled the figures.Wine
Miljenko "Mike" Grgich, 90, proprietor of Rutherford-based Grghich Hills Estate and a Vintner Hall of Fame inductee, was presented with the National Federation of Croatian Americans Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is in recognition of not only his acclaim as a winemaker in the 1973 Judgment of Paris tasting that put California wines on the world map and in a Smithsonian museum exhibit, success as a businessman, and his strong and continued support of Croatian culture and causes.
