Glendale’s Hilton Hotel awards luncheon was full as GCC president Dawn Lindsay received her “Woman of the Year Award” from the Chamber of Commerce on March 25.
It was the Chamber’s 100th anniversary and there were about 600 attendees, the most ever for the awards luncheon. Not a single seat was empty and about 130 of those were filled by Glendale College faculty and staff and other supporters of Lindsay.
The Chamber’s tradition of awarding men and women of the year goes back to 1973.
“I couldn’t be among a more impressive, humbling group of people, and I’m very excited to be accepting this nomination and award at this point in time,” Lindsay said.
Lindsay was chosen for her activity in joining several local organizations and for taking a leading role in the Civic Leaders Roundtable.
Other awards that were handed out during the lunch included centennial awards for the Glendale Fire Department, Glendale Police Department and Glendale Water & Power.
The “Man of the Year Award” was given to Frank Quintero, mayor of the city of Glendale.
“I always like to say its all part of just showing up,” Quintero said. “If you show up in life, sooner or later you’ll get recognized.”
After returning home from combat duty in Vietnam and graduating from college with a degree in political science, Quintero served as a job counselor for veterans in Los Angeles. In 1976, he founded the Alliance for Education and opened an office for the alliance in Glendale.
Another award that was given was the “Lifetime Achievement Award.” It has only been given twice in the last 100 years, one to Bill Holderness in 2007 and the other to John Davitt, past president of GCC, in 2003.
This year it was given to Pat Liddell, a partner in the law firm of Melby & Anderson.
“I have very high standards in organizations that I participate in,” said Liddell. Then he jokingly added, “I have only one rule: you have to feed me.”
Liddell is past Glendale Chamber president, Man of the Year, Chamber’s President’s Award recipient and is currently on the Chamber Board of Directors.
This year’s “President’s Award” was given to Bob McFall, Assistant City Manager of Glendale. He first worked for the city in 1973-75 as an administrative intern in parks and recreation, then was appointed Assistant City Manager in 1987, a position that oversees general operations of 15 departments.
The Glendale Chamber incorporated on Sept. 2, 1910, but it was not until Jan. 1, 1921 when the names of businesses, rather than individuals, first appeared on the membership roster. The 2010 “Enduring Members Award” was given to the Glendale News-Press, J.C. Penney Company, AT&T and the Gas Company, among others.
At the end of the luncheon, Quintero returned to the podium and gave a state of the city address.
The Glendale Chamber, serving more than 1,200 member businesses, is one of the largest Chambers in Los Angeles County. Its concerns are in the following areas: business development and education, community development, government relations, leadership programs and networking opportunities.
It is located on 200 S. Louise St. in Glendale.
