Four of San Diego’s outstanding nonprofit organizations and their leaders were saluted for their excellence and thousands of individuals in San Diego nonprofit community were celebrated this year at Salute to Excellence, Nonprofit Management Solutions' annual luncheon recognizing nonprofit innovaztion and excellence.

Executive Leadership, Organizational Innovation, and Technology Solutions—together with the NMS Legacy Award, were this year’s award categories. Honorees were selected from field a of candidates who applied in October for the award. In addition to the public recognition for excellence, NMS is pleased to have presented the organization that each recipient represents with a cash award of $4,000. This year’s NMS Legacy Award recipient received $5,000 for his organization.

Nonprofit Management Solutions joins signature sponsor Sempra Energy Foundation,and all of our event sponsors in congratulating this year’s honorees. We salute you for your excellence!

Executive Leadership

Joanne Pastula, President and CEO of Junior Achievement of San Diego and Imperial Counties, was honored for her Executive Leadership. In presenting the award, Corrine Brindley of Sea World, an event sponsor, noted that Joanne brings a perfect combination of core business skills, education and experience to her work as the CEO & President of Junior Achievement. Joanne has deftly applied all of those skills in leading efforts to build San Diego’s first experimental economic education facility…JA Biztown-- where the students are in charge! 

Biztown is a mini city where our future generations of entrepreneurs, business leaders, and nonprofit practitioners learn how to become ethically and financially responsible citizens.  Biztown is the crown jewel in the Junior Achievement portfolio of services designed to inspire and support the development of students.

Verna Griffin-Tabor of the Center for Community Solutions and Sharon Delphenich of Casa de Amparo received honorable mentions for Executive Leadership.

Organizational Innovation

Top honor for Organizational Innovation went to Barrio Logan College Institute.  The founders of the Barrio Logan College Institute had a vision that by supporting students with enrichment activities that build and improve reading and math skills and promote positive self-esteem, students would learn to envision college as an attainable goal. 

While the goal to send program alumni to four-year universities and to ensure they maintained continuous enrollment proved to be an enormous challenge, the organizations board and staff were up to the challenge. 

After completing a comprehensive analysis of existing research on college retention and completion, the organization’s leadership strategically added staff positions (like a College Success Coordinator to work one-on-one with program seniors), launched a College Readiness Camp,  and engaged  Institute student scholarship recipients in a “pay it forward” strategy where they serve as role models for younger students.   All of these innovative moves have produced a model program that works!

Far more than a drop-in tutoring or mentoring center, the Institute takes college-prep and graduation as its primary mission and measures of success.  More than 125 students in grades 3 through 12 participate in the Institute.  100% of the students will be the first in their families to attend college; most will be the first in their families to graduate from high school. 

Steve Hermes representing Salute to Excellence sponsor CBIZ|MHM, LLC presented the award.

Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute and South Bay Community Services received honorable mentions for Organizational Innovation.

Technology Solutions

San Diego Futures Foundation received top honors for Technology Solutions.  Created to establish accessibility to information technology resources, increase computer literacy, and provide training to enable a broader range of citizens to cross the digital divide, the San Diego Futures Foundation sees it mission as providing opportunities to use technology as a tool to enhance and change lives.  To that end, the Foundation has refurbished and donated more than 17,000 computers to San Diego schools, low-income families with school age children, disabled individuals seeking employment and community groups and organizations.  Students of all ages have opportunities to gain experience by participating as interns working with Foundation staff in the donation and refurbishing processes.  

In saluting their excellence, Scott Collins of Social Solutions acknowledged the organization for using technology in leveraging the power of technology to build the capacity of our community.

211 San Diego and Kids Included Together received honorable mentions for Technology Solutions.

Legacy Award

Maestro Jung Ho Pak, artistic director and conductor of the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, accepted the 2008 NMS Legacy Award, presented by NMS advisor, Bernie Kulchin representing Salute to Excellence sponsor, Cubic Corporation. 

The NMS Legacy Award honors unique individuals with San Diego ties whose actions have established a significant legacy for our community, leaving an indelible footprint on our shared future. 

Jung-Ho has built a unique legacy of great and unforgettable music-making in our San Diego community by creating musical experiences that are truly magical.  Pak was recognized for a “new vision for classical music” in San Diego by creating a joyous, emotional, and dramatic musical experience that is attracting new audiences to classical music.”

In accepting the award, Jung Ho punctuated his remarks with brief performances from four orchestra members who accompanied him, resulting in a spell-bound audience of more than two hundred and fifty people who came together at the Bahia Hotel to celebrate excellence in San Diego’s nonprofit community. He concluded his remarks by saying, “The ancient Chinese curse--May you live in interesting times--seems more apropos than ever, however, I do know this is an opportunity for all us to be more powerful and more meaningful in all that we do.”

To read more of Maestro Jung Ho Pak's luncheon address, click here.