Feting First American Corp.

Front & Center Event Salutes Company With Orange County Titan Award

December 23, 2008

By Valerie Orleans

First American Corp. will be honored Feb. 28 when Cal State Fullerton recognizes the company with its Orange County Titan Award during the 14th annual Front & Center gala featuring Reba McEntire.

The award is presented to an individual or organization that has made a positive difference in Orange County.

Founded in 1889, First American Corp. is one of the county’s oldest and largest real estate-related financial and information institutions. Headquartered in Santa Ana, the company operates five primary business lines, including title insurance and services, specialty insurance, mortgage services, property information, risk mitigation and business solutions.

Parker Kennedy, chairman and chief executive officer of First American Corp., will accept the award on behalf of the organization. Kennedy is the son of Donald P. Kennedy, chairman emeritus of the company, and the great-grandson of company founder, C.E. Parker. In 2003, he was recognized as one of America's top chief executives on Forbes Magazine's prestigious list of “Best Performing Bosses.” Ranked No. 5, Kennedy was one of 10 executives from the nation’s 500 largest companies to receive an A+ grade in efficiency for pay versus performance.

Cal State Fullerton has been the beneficiary of many of First American Corp.’s family of companies philanthropic efforts. Over the years, gifts have been allocated to the athletic program, alumni golf tournament, Front & Center, the history alumni association, Orange County History Conference and Schweitzer Fund for the Future (through the Osher Lifelong Learning Center). The company recently received the Bronze Legacy Award at the university's Legends & Legacies donor recognition gala for cumulative giving in excess of $100,000.

In addition to Cal State Fullerton, First American Corp. supports a number of Orange County-based nonprofit organizations, including Goodwill of Orange County, Human Options, Hoag Hospital Foundation, Bowers Museum, the Pacific Chorale and the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Ana. Its charitable contributions in the last three years have exceeded $5.5 million.

Previous Orange County Titan Award honorees include Robert and Marie Gray of St. John Knits; Jim and Patti Edwards of Edwards Theatres; Orange County Teachers Federal Credit Union; Anaheim Angels; Paul Folino, executive chairman of Emulex; Rick Muth, president of ORCO Block Co.; Orange County Register; and Orangewood Children’s Foundation.

For more information about Front & Center, visit www.fullerton.edu/frontandcenter.

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