Ed. Note: The following is a news release courtesy of the Valley Industry Association. 

The Valley Industry Association has announced the nominees for its 2015 VIA Awards, which will be presented at this year’s VIA Bash, Sept. 25 at the Hyatt Regency Valencia.

The awards are presented annually to VIA members that stand out in the organization and the community, and include Volunteer of the Year, Business of the Year and the Rising Star.

“There are some fantastic nominees for this year’s awards,” VIA President and CEO Kathy Norris said. “The dedication of each of these nominees truly reflects VIA’s mission to both enhance the business community and have a positive impact on the whole Santa Clarita Valley.”

The awards will be presented during the 2015 VIA Bash, a black-tie event that helps raise funds for the VIA Education Foundation. The Education Foundation heads up the annual Connecting to Success workforce-readiness program that serves students of the William S. Hart Union High School District. This year’s Bash theme is “The Magic of VIA” and will include dinner, live magicians and music. Tickets are available for the event by calling the VIA office at (661) 294-8088 or emailing admin@via.org.

Volunteer of the Year

To be nominated as VIA’s Volunteer of the Year, an individual needs to have been a member in good standing for at least two years. The award is targeted at those VIA members who have supported the organization through avenues including committee involvement or chairmanship, member recruitment, fundraising or efforts for increased visibility of VIA. The 2014 recipient was Chris Schrage of LBW Insurance & Financial Services.

The 2015 Volunteer of the Year nominees include:

* Andrew Galbraith, visualFX

* Diana Meyer, Logix Federal Credit Union

* J.C. Burnett, Courier-Messenger Inc.

* Terry Mayfield, Landsberg

* Laura Kirchhoff

* Connie McCoy, California Bank & Trust

* Ed Masterson, SOS Entertainment

* Hillary Broadwater, QM Design Group

* Nicole Boyer

Business of the Year

Focused on VIA members of at least five years, the Business of the Year award is presented to a member that has continued to show support for the organization, the business community and the Santa Clarita Valley community as a whole. The 2014 award was presented to two businesses, Logix Federal Credit Union and SOS Entertainment.

The Business of the Year nominees include:

* Storm Water Resources

* Mellady Direct Marketing

* Signal Multimedia

* American Business Machines

* College of the Canyons

* Castaic Lake Water Agency

* SCVTV

* Nola Aronson’s Advanced Audiology

* Southern California Edison

* City of Santa Clarita

Rising Star

The Rising Star award focuses on VIA members of at least 12 months that have shown substantial new growth through development and launch of new products or services, increases in job creation or building expansion. The 2014 Rising Star was Storm Water Resources.

The Rising Star nominees for this year include:

* SCV Relocation Services

* American Family Funding

* Comfort Keepers

* Printer Solutions

* Home Care Services Santa Clarita

* Wolf Creek Brewery

About the Valley Industry Association

The Valley Industry Association of Santa Clarita represents business interests throughout the Santa Clarita Valley, providing members the opportunity to network and collaborate on a broad range of business issues. More information about VIA is available at the website.