Four business execs named Fathers of the Year

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) office serving Riverside and San Bernardino counties recently honored four local business executives with 2013 Father of the Year awards. The four award recipients included: Gordon Bourns, chairman/CEO, Bourns, Inc.; Bob Hemborg, president and founder, Hemborg Ford; James A. Robinson, CEO, Security Bank of California; and, Mike Vasquez, founder, Miguel’s Restaurants.  

Bourns and wife Jill, married in 1979, have four daughters, one son and one grandchild. Hemborg and wife Linda, married in 1958, have two children, four grandchildren and one great grandson. Robinson and wife Barbara, married in 1986, have two children and three grandchildren. Vasquez and wife Mary, married in 1964 have four children and three grandchildren.  

The four were honored by their family members, along with 300 attendees, at a dinner held May 30 at the Riverside Auditorium & Events Center. The ADA said the event generated more than $190,000 in donations for diabetes research and programs and services for people with diabetes.  

The ADA said the four 2013 recipients were selected based on their commitment to community and family.  “We were proud to honor men who have achieved a high-level of success in their careers while finding the time to be exemplary fathers,” said Elizabeth Jinks, American Diabetes Association associate director. “These men deserved recognition not only as fathers and community leaders, but for the thousands of dollars they have helped raise to stop diabetes.”  

Also attending the May 30 dinners were 10 previous Father of the Year honorees, including (year for receiving the award appears in parenthesis): John Gless, founder and owner  of Gless Ranch (2010); Ramon Alvarez, president, Alvarez Lincoln, Alvarez Jaguar (2010); Nick Goldware, executive vice president, HUB International (2011); Mark Rubin, president, Regional Properties, Inc. (2011); Joe Tavaglione, president, Tavaglione Construction & Development, Inc. (2011); Jacques Yeager, partner, Yeager Brothers (2011); Bill Johnson, president, Johnson Machinery (2012); Bud Luppino, president/CEO, Bud’s Tire & Wheel (2012); Dell Roberts, community leader (2012); and, Bobby Spiegel, president/CEO, Greater Corona Valley Chamber of Commerce (2012).  

The Father of the Year Awards program, now in its fourth year, honors fathers who have demonstrated the ability to balance their personal lives, serve as role models of strength, commitment and love for their children and help make positive contributions to their communities. The New York-based Father’s Day Council, which began the awards program in 1942, designated the ADA as its charity partner in 1999. The Riverside ADA chapter began its Father of the Year awards in 2010.