George Sawyer, a nutrition services assistant with Modesto City Schools, is one of five people to be named a California School Employees Association 2012 Member of the Year.
Sawyer joined the district in 2005 and is part of the nutrition services team at Davis High School, where he staffs a taco/ snack cart during student breaks and lunches. He came to the district after spending 23 years as route driver for Frito-Lay.
He also is a union shop steward and member of the constitution and bylaws committee.
Outside work, he coaches two soccer teams and youth football. Sawyer is originally from Lawton, Okla., and is proud of his American Indian heritage as a member of the Kiowa tribe.
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Former Stanislaus County Supervisor Jeff Grover recently took over as the chairman of the Alliance board. He'll serve a two-year term.
Grover served two terms as the District 4 supervisor beginning in 2003. He will oversee the affairs of the Alliance and the Alliance Worknet, supervise the activities of the Alliance board of directors and its officers, and work with the Alliance team on economic development and work force development issues.
Other board members are Jeff Foster, vice chairman; Bill O'Brien, secretary; Paul Van Konynenburg, treasurer; and Sean Carroll, past chairman.
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Frank Clark of Oakdale attended the Commandants National Security Program last week at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.
The Army annually selects 50 civilians nationwide to attend and participate in the educational program for military officers. People are selected based on their business experience, community involvement and service to their country. Clark, a retired E.&J. Gallo Winery vice president, offered a civilian perspective to help future military leaders understand and properly influence strategy and policy.
Clark is president of the Oakdale Irrigation District and the Tri Dam Power Authority. He served with the State Department in Vietnam from 1969-71.
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Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Stanislaus County District 2 Supervisor Vito Chiesa to the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley. Chiesa, 47, also is on the county's Agricultural Advisory Board, California State Association of Counties board of directors and Stanislaus County Fish and Wildlife Committee. He serves as chairman of the San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Chiesa is a Republican.
The governor also appointed Michael Navarro, 57, of Modesto to the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley. Navarro has served as a partner at Pires Lipomi and Navarro Architects since 2012 and was a principal architect at Lionakis from 1986-2012. He is a member of the Stanislaus County Planning Commission and the Modesto Redevelopment Advisory Commission.
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Tuolumne County earned the California State Fair gold medal for best visitor experience for the fifth time in six years. San Joaquin County earned the gold for base agricultural presentation, and Stanislaus County took home a silver.
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Randy Harless of Oakdale completed the 27-week cadet course to become a California Highway Patrol officer. He has been assigned to the CHP's Garberville area office in Humboldt County.
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Steve Herum of Herum Crabtree Attorneys has been named a Northern California Super Lawyer by Law & Politics Magazine. It is the eighth time he's received the distinction.
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The San Joaquin Valley Air District Pollution Control District received the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Award for its low-income vehicle emissions repair program. The award is given by the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance.
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