Six prominent local business leaders have been selected to receive one of the University of Washington Tacoma’s annual Business Leadership Awards.
The program, hosted by the Milgard School of Business since 2001, recognizes outstanding business leaders in the South Sound region.
“Each of them has made a terrific contribution to the South Sound’s economy and cultural ethos,” said Altaf Merchant, dean of the Milgard School of Business. “The candidates were selected from a pool of 27 nominations by a rigorous selection process involving a total of 10 jurors comprising Puget Sound community and business leaders, UW faculty, and staff. The selection parameters included social impact and leadership, engagement, and mission.”
The winners include:
For-Profit Lifetime Achievement: Herb Simon (Simon Johnson, LLC)
Business Leader of the Year: Don Clark (Sound Credit Union)
Nonprofit Business Leader of the Year: Joe LeRoy (HopeSparks Family Services)
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Community Leadership Award: (two winners) Lua Pritchard (Asia Pacific Cultural Center) and Tafona Ervin (The Foundation for Tacoma Students)
Women’s Leadership Award: Pamela Transue (retired from Tacoma Community College/now a board member for the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation)
“I am delighted to share that each of the awardees represents the values cherished by the Milgard School and the University of Washington,” Merchant said.
The awardees will be celebrated at a ceremony and dinner gala May 10 on the UWT campus. The event will be hosted by Jen Mueller of Root Sports. Visit here for more details.