A business and civic leader, he’s now Turlock’s Citizen of the Year
Surjit Malhi, a business and civic leader, was named Citizen of the Year at the annual Best of Turlock gathering earlier this month.
Malhi was born in Punjab, India, and has lived in the United States for more than 25 years. He is president of the R. Millennium Transport trucking company and a member of the Sikh faith. He has been active in local political campaigns and civic causes.
“Surjit’s many charitable acts include feeding homeless people, highway cleanup, sponsoring 200-plus families affected by the Camp Fire in Butte County, along with supplying his personal transportation for delivery to the victims,” said a PowerPoint display at the event. “Surjit also provides a complementary milk and cookie booth at local community events, along with being a Stanislaus County victim rights supporter, and involved in the local Arrowhead Club.”
The chamber presented the awards over appetizers at the Assyrian American Civic Club. The others:
- Agricultural Leader of the Year: Select Harvest USA, which grows and processes almonds with about 140 employees.
- Business Leader: Jack Wilkey, founder of Wilkey Industries, where about 50 people make processing equipment for agricultural and other customers.
- Educator: Corine Meyer, who works with special needs children as an adaptive physical education teacher for the Turlock Unified School District.
- Humanitarian: The Rev. Jeffrey Woods, who founded the Barnabas Leadership Foundation. It brings together pastors and church staff members in Stanislaus and Merced counties for weekly discussions
- Small Business: Wahl, Willemse & Wilson CPAs, whose partners have provided accounting services in the Turlock area for more than 30 years.
- Youth Citizens of the Year: Noor El-Nounou, student body president at Pitman High School, and Cameran Sherwood, who holds that post at Turlock High School.
Gluten-free advice for moms-to-be
Former Modesto resident Aimee Aristotelous has written a book for pregnant women who need to avoid gluten. “The Whole Pregnancy: A Complete Nutrition Plan for Gluten-Free Moms to Be” is for sale at Barnes & Noble and via Amazon.
Aristotelous is a certified nutritionist who attended Downey High School and Modesto Junior College. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with her husband Richard and 3-year-old son.
Denair product helps build Navy
James Bickford, a former resident of Denair, earned the Civilian of the Year award in the Navy Recruiting District San Antonio. He is a 1988 graduate of Denair High School who went on to retire as a chief petty officer in the Navy.
Bickford now is the executive assistant to the commanding officer and command senior enlisted leader in the recruiting district. It covers about 144,000 square miles of central and southern Texas.
And finally ...
Doctors Medical Center received an Employer of the Year award from San Joaquin Valley College for its work with respiratory therapy students. The Modesto hospital teams with the college’s Salida campus to provide “exceptional clinical rotation experience” and other training for students, a news release said.
Names of Note recognizes people and organizations for their contribution to their communities. Submit items to jholland@modbee.com.
This story was originally published December 22, 2018 at 4:57 PM.
