HTH student earns ‘Spirit of Leadership’ award A host of young ladies — including one from High Tech High in Point Loma — were honored with distinction on Nov. 3 during the annual Jenna Druck Foundation “Spirit of Leadership” awards gala and leadership conference. Among the recipients will be Jessica Coyne of High Tech High. Each year, hundreds of extraordinary San Diego County middle school and high school-age girls are nominated by the community to receive the “Spirit of Leadership” award. Nominations came to a close on Oct. 12. Among the awards to be handed out are those in the areas of community leadership, student leadership, academic leadership, creative leadership, athletic leadership, family leadership, personal integrity and the “undiscovered leader.” The Spirit of Leadership Conference is one of the highlights of this year-round program, and just one of many ways in which the center gives back to the young girls in our community. For more information on the Jenna Druck Foundation, visit www.jennadruckcenter.org.   Brown wins honors for small-business support Shannon Brown, founder of Brown Marketing Strategies, was among six individuals and organizations recognized with honors during the 22nd annual South County Economic Development Council (SCEDC) Summit recently. Brown, a Point Loma resident whose company is based in Ocean Beach was named the winner of the Corky McMillin Companies/Best of South County Award during the summit. The summit was held to discuss some of the San Diego South Bay and Baja region’s latest business development and economic outlook news. The Corky McMillin/Best of South County Award, sponsored by the Corky McMillin Companies, is presented to a business that has a history of consistent excellence in products/services, customer satisfaction and overall performance. Brown Marketing Strategies was also recently named as the Ocean Beach Business Improvement District business of the year. She has worked in both volunteer roles and strategic business development roles to support the growth of numerous South Bay businesses including Neighborhood National Bank, Kid Ventures and the Border View YMCA, to name a few. Point Loman elected to head local ASID chapter Point Loma resident Robin Wilson Carrier has been elected president of the San Diego chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) for the 2012-13 term. Carrier, principal of Robin Wilson Interior Design of San Diego, is an award-winning interior designer who specializes in the design of custom residences, restaurants and clubhouses. Before establishing her own firm in 1995, she enhanced her expertise by working at an architectural firm, model home and residential design firms, and a hospitality design firm. Her work has been published in numerous national, regional and local publications, including Better Homes & Gardens, Forbes.com, Log & Timber Style, Luxe Interiors + Design, Professional Builder, Ranch & Coast, San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles, San Diego Magazine, and UT San Diego. Carrier has been honored with seven ASID Design Excellence Awards, including one unprecedented Grand Award, which was created for her renovation of the historic Point Loma home she shares with her architect husband, Gordon Carrier, FAIA. She also won the People’s Choice Award for Best Interior Design at the Tour d’Elegance, and the Best of Las Vegas Award for the Allegro at La Entrada Clubhouse. For more information, visit ASIDSanDiego.org, or call (858) 274-3345. Local attorney presented with State Bar award Point Loma business and real-estate attorney Whitney Skala was presented the “Spirit of CEB” award at the State Bar’s annual convention on Oct. 11 in Monterey. The award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions as an author and editor of articles and books published by Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), a joint venture between the University of California and the State Bar of California. Skala was the only San Diegan to receive the award this year. Skala’s first article (of several) for CEB was in 1995, when he authored, “Ten (or More) Pitfalls in Incorporating a Business.” Since then, he has authored and annually updated a chapter on the formation of S and C Corporations in CEB’s two-volume series, “Selecting and Forming Business Entities.” Skala is the reviewing author of two other chapters in that book, making him the only author in the publication to contribute to three chapters. Additionally, Mr. Skala is the reviewing author of a chapter on corporate buy-sell agreements in CEB’s book, “Business Buy-Sell Agreements.” Point Loman cast in ‘The Nutcracker’ ballet Britt Marin Heramb, a 14-year-old from Point Loma, will dance the role of Clara when the San Diego Ballet Company (SDB) launches its presentation of “The Nutcracker” beginning Dec. 1. Heramb, who attends Point Loma High School, has been dancing with the SDB for 10 years. “I have been a ginger snap, a Russian bear, a candy cane, almost every other role. And finally I get to dance Clara!,” said Heramb. “I am deeply honored to have been selected for the role of Clara and I am very excited that I will get this opportunity to fulfill this long-time dream.” Heramb will share the role with Sabina Schaffer, 15, of La Jolla. The San Diego Ballet’s Nutcracker features an international cast from China, Japan, Russia, South Africa and Mexico as well as San Diego School of Ballet’s children from all over San Diego County. The SDB is located on Truxtun Road in Liberty Station. Performances are: Dec. 1 (7:30 p.m.) and Dec. 2 (2:30 p.m.) at the Birch North Park Theater and Dec. 16 (2:30 p.m.) and Dec. 21 (7:30 p.m.) at the Mandeville Auditorium in La Jolla. For tickets and information, call (619) 294-7378, email [email protected], or visit www.-sandiegoballet.org. Kim of Liberty Station earns academic honors Thomas Kim, a sophomore boarding student at St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School, was recently named to the Tennessee school’s Honors List. Thomas is the daughter of Sue Na of San Diego. In addition to his outstanding academic achievement, Thomas is a member of the school’s varsity football team, which is currently ranked first in its division. St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School is a private college preparatory day and boarding school in Sewanee, Tenn. For more information about St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School visit www.sasweb.org.   Point Loma’s Forster joins Peace Corps in Romania Kelly Anne Forster, a 2005 graduate of Point Loma High School, joined the Peace Corps in Romania over a year ago and is making contributions in a big way. After her graduation from PLHS, Forster went on to the University of California, Irvine, where she graduated in 2009.  Forster moved to Alaska’s northern most point, Barrow, where she ran a middle school library for two years. But one of her life objectives was to serve in the Peace Corps, and she left her good-paying job in the spring of 2011 to volunteer to teach English at an elementary school while living in a small remote rural community called Focuri.  Having worked in a library, and being the daughter of a librarian, she noticed the sad state of the school library collection in Focuri. She decided to do something about it. Through months of effort and weaving through the bureaucracies of both Romania and Peace Corps, she set up a fund jointly financed by members of her Romanian community and contributions from outside to buy books.   To support this tax-deductable effort, visit donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=403-144.