WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Steven Jolly and Robert G. Farmer, independent financial advisors at Ford Financial Group in Fresno, have been awarded the Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies®, the standards-setting body for Fi360. The AIF designation signifies specialized knowledge of fiduciary responsibility and the ability to implement policies and procedures that meet a defined standard of care. Jolly has over 30 years of experience helping happy clients become jolly clients. Farmer, a resident of Fresno, specializes in helping individuals and companies cultivate, grow, and harvest their wealth like a good farmer.

AGRICULTURE

The California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) announced the hiring of Courtney Razor as its new director of member services and communications. Razor comes to the Association after serving as the chief operations officer for the Fresno County Farm Bureau for the last six and a half years. Razor grew up in Sanger and is the daughter of third-generation fresh fruit farmer Craig Sorensen. She is a graduate of California State University, Fresno where she earned her bachelor’s degree in mass communications and journalism along with a certificate in marketing. Her first day at the Association will be Sept. 3.

REAL ESTATE

London Properties, Ltd. is pleased to announce the arrival of the following residential salespeople: Jesus Valencia formerly of Exit Realty, joining the Sanger office; Carlos Castaneda joining the Fresno office; Evelyn Zepeda, formerly of Universal Lending and Real Estate, joining the Fresno office; Jagandeep Mokha joining the Atwater office; Kristen McIntosh, formerly of 559 Realty, joining the Fresno office; Samantha Zinzun, formerly of 559 Realty, joining the Fresno office; Stephanie Guinaugh, formerly of Lion Real Estate, joining the Fresno office; and John Hirschmann joining the Fresno office.

EDUCATION

Michael C. Burke has been named head of school at San Joaquin Memorial High School in Fresno following a national search. Burke most recently served as president of Melbourne Central Catholic High School (MCC) in Melbourne, Florida for the past nine years. Burke has spent more than 35 years working in the Catholic school profession as an administrator, teacher and coach. In addition to his leadership role at MCC, Burke served as headmaster of Subiaco Academy, a boys Catholic Benedictine boarding school located in Subiaco, Arkansas; president of St. Joseph Catholic School System in Bryan, Texas; and founder of two Catholic high schools in Alabama, St. Bernard Preparatory School in Cullman and Holy Spirit in Tuscaloosa, where he served as their first administrators. Burke’s visionary leadership skills have led to the implementation of a variety of innovative programs at MCC as well as at other schools where he has served as administrator.

Affordability, including tuition and how much a university gives in financial awards, is one of three factors used by Money Magazine to measure the nation’s top performing schools. Combined with quality of education and outcomes, Fresno State once again showed that it is among the best ranking No. 35 among 744 four-year colleges analyzed in the magazine’s Best Public College rankings for 2019, up from No. 41 last year. This is the fourth time it has ranked in the magazine’s annual list of the top colleges in the country. Fresno State also ranked No. 11 for most transformative college described by Money Magazine as a school “where students beat the odds by doing better than would be expected from their academic and economic backgrounds.”

West Hills College Coalinga Psychiatric Technician Program will award certificates to 29 students on Aug. 22 during a graduation and pinning ceremony. The ceremony will take place in the WHCC theater and will begin at 5:00 p.m. The ceremony will feature comments from faculty speaker Rhonda Mayer and student speakers Tracy Landixwoods and Austin Thomas.

Golden 1 Credit Union (Golden 1) announced $400,000 in college scholarships has been awarded to 46 students throughout California. Fresno resident Benjamin Smith is among this year’s recipients. Fresno resident Smith has a passion for helping others. After his first year in college, he took two years off to go South Texas to support victims of Hurricane Harvey. While there, he encouraged people to overcome emotional and mental obstacles they faced as a result of the storm so they could rebuild their lives. Smith is using that same tenacity to pursue a career as a pharmacist. He will be the first in his family to graduate from college, and he says this scholarship makes it easier for him to reach that goal. Smith will be a junior this fall at University of California, Santa Cruz.

SERVICE CLUBS

Fresno Rotary is pleased to announce new board members for the 2019-20 year: President Todd Sheller, President-Elect Ryan Jacobsen, Vice President/ Past President Al Smith, Secretary Mona Cummings, and Treasurer Dick Herrinton. Directors named: Sharon Ashida, John Baerg, Steve Canfield, Joe Denham, Dean Eller, Jim Ford, Jane Fortune, Nicole Linder, John Marshall, and Jeff Rickels.

CONSTRUCTION

Building Design+Construction (BD+C), a national trade publication, ranked TETER in the top 100 Architecture+Engineering firms in their 2019 GIANTS 300 Report. The annual GIANTS 300 Report ranks the nation’s largest architecture/engineering/construction (A/E/C) firms in commercial construction, by revenue. TETER is proud to represent and promote the San Joaquin Valley as the ONLY local A/E/C firm headquartered and founded in Central California. Ranking among the nation’s top A/E/C firms reinforces TETER’s mission of “Building A Better Central Valley.”

STAFFING

Joshua Torres has been promoted to branch manager for Robert Half in Visalia. He is returning to Visalia after a successful tenure for Robert Half in San Jose. Torres will oversee Robert Half’s OfficeTeam and Accountemps staffing divisions.