BRIEFLY IN BUSINESS

Bakery owner named business mother of the year

Newport Beach businesswoman Sondra Ames was named the 2007 MOMS Business Mother of the Year last week from Maternal Outreach Management System, a nonprofit organization aimed at “helping mothers have healthy babies,” according to a release.

Ames, who owns and operates Wonderland Bakery with her daughter Allyson Ames, 21, was nominated by United Way for the award.

She is scheduled to accept the award May 11 at the organization’s luncheon at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

The award was given to Ames for her time and money donated to, not only her daughter, but the community at large. It recognizes her extensive charity work and role as a businesswoman in Newport.

Ames helped found Women’s Philanthropy Fund of the United Way of Orange County, which is for women who invest $10,000 or more in the county every year.

She and her daughter also founded Millions of Cookies Foundation, which donates a percentage of all profits from the Newport Beach bakery to charities.

Irvine Co. awards

deserving students

Eight local students were named Thursday as recipients of The Irvine Co.’s 2007 Investing in Education Student Leadership Awards Program, which is honoring 32 high school seniors in Orange County.

Corona del Mar High School students Caitlin Adams and Thomas Hutchinson; Juan Arellano and Linh Hoang of Costa Mesa High School; Arielle Little and Joshua Smith of Newport Harbor High School and Taylor McClanahan of Estancia High School will all receive at least $2,500 in scholarships from the developer.

The company will give out a total of $120,000 to the local students, who have shown promise of becoming future leaders of the community.

The students were nominated by their high school, had a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 and are college bound.

From the original group of 32, eight semifinalists will be chosen to receive another $2,500. Four will then be named finalists and will be awarded an extra $5,000.

The students will be awarded May 2.

Insurance company recognizes local charities

Newport Beach-based Pacific Life and the Pacific Life Foundation plan to host about 200 nonprofit organizations in the county to recognize over $3.5 million Pacific Life has given in grants to the charities.

At the reception, the company will give out the annual Walter B. Gerken Award to a deserving, but unnamed, agency. Along with the award, the organization will receive $25,000.

For more information about the Pacific Life Foundation, visit www.pacificlife.com.

Pimco announces new managing directors

Newport Beach-based Pimco announced last week its two new managing directors, Daniel Ivascyn and Mark McCray.

Ivascyn joined the fixed-income fund-management company in 1998 and has served as a portfolio manager and on the structured products team.

McCray began at Pimco in 2000 and serves as the chairman of the company’s Shadow Investment Committee and worked as a portfolio manager.