Earlier this month, Alpha Fire & Security Alarm Corporation founder and CEO Frank Rheinisch passed away after battling brain cancer.

In his honor, the Alpha Fire & Security Alarm Corporation is commemorating its 20th year in business servicing San Luis Obispo and the surrounding counties, with an eye toward a strong future.

The company wants to express, as its clients and associates already know, that Frank’s dedication to the business community of San Luis Obispo County and to his business partners was of utmost importance to him. Alpha’s many years of success in the community are owed to esteemed partners and colleagues, and the values behind this are firmly ensconced in the company’s ethos.

On the heels of this sad news, however, Alpha Fire is proud to announce that Frank’s son, Erik Rheinisch, has taken over the management of the Alpha Fire & Security Alarm Corporation.

Transitions Mental Health Association, a non-profit organization that helps children and adults live, work and grow in the San Luis Obispo area, has received a $10,000 grant from the Dunin Opportunity Fund at the San Luis Obispo County Community Foundation (SLOCCF).

This grant will buy household goods such as beds, linens, kitchenware, phones, cleaning supplies and utility connections for formerly-homeless residents who are transitioning to their permanent home.

The process of cooling the body can limit potential damage to the brain, tissue and other organs. By adding new technology, French Hospital Medical Center (FHMC) joins an elite group of hospitals around the world that are adopting this life-saving technology.

FHMC has added the Thermogard XP for Intravascular Temperature Management (IVTM), a state-of-the-art medical device that regulates the core body temperature by precisely cooling and warming critically ill patients suffering from cardiac arrest.

Today, major medical societies recommend temperature management as the standard of care in the treatment of many critically ill patients.

This technology, is accordance with the American Heart Association Guidelines, is a treatment for patients who have suffered cardiac arrest. Clinical studies have shown that ITVM in patients resuscitated after cardiac arrest helps to prevent neurological damage and improve outcomes.  

Cal Poly will receive two best practice awards and an honorable mention for energy efficiency in June at the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference. The three awards are the most of any CSU awarded.

The university received top honors for its Student Sustainability Program called Green Campus and HVAC Design/Retrofit on the Recreation Center renovation, and honorable mention for Lighting Design/Retrofit for the Recreation Center renovation.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance of the Central Coast (GALA) has received a $980 grant from the San Luis Obispo County Community Foundation (SLOCCF).

The grant will be used to produce an educational exhibit to be displayed at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art as well as during San Luis Obispo’s 14th annual Pride Festival.  

The educational exhibit, Voices of Pride depicts how perseverance and dedication to equal rights can create a movement as large and powerful as the Prides demonstrated across the country. 

Local marketing firm, Whizbang, won four Communicator Awards for their creative excellence in print and interactive media in a competition that receives over 9,000 awards internationally. 

The 16th Annual Communicator Awards received entries from agencies of all sizes from around the world, making it the largest awards of its kind.

Whizbang won the gold Award of Excellence for their Professional Mixer Flyer in the marketing and promotional flyer category, as well as an award for their work on Rosie's Workwear online advertising and marketing through social media.  They also won two silver awards for their work with Solarponics and ewoodart.com. 

The Award of Excellence, the highest honor, is given to entries "whose ability to communicate puts them among the best in the field."

Mainstream Energy Corporation, one of North America’s leading suppliers of solar electric equipment and systems, has appointed Kam Mofid to the position of President.

In this capacity Kam Mofid will be responsible for charting and implementing the company’s strategic growth initiatives, including the overall management of its two business units, REC Solar in San Luis Obispo and AEE Solar.

REC Solar is a leading provider of residential and commercial solar electric systems with more solar systems installed in the country in 2009 than any other company. AEE Solar is one of the oldest and largest renewable energy wholesale distributors in the United States.