Economic award renamed after the O’Callaghans

Kevin Rademacher

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005 | 10:56 a.m.

Hundreds of economic development and business leaders paused Wednesday evening during the sixth annual Henderson Economic Development Awards to honor the contributions of former Governor and Las Vegas Sun Executive Editor Mike O'Callaghan and his wife, Carolyn.

The O'Callaghan's, both of whom passed away in 2004, were longtime Henderson residents and were credited at the event for seeing the promise of the Las Vegas suburb before it became obvious.

"Two of Nevada's greatest citizens and best humanitarians passed away this past year," said Bob Cooper, Henderson's economic development manager.

A video tribute highlighting their years in Southern Nevada was shown to the crowd, which included several members of the O'Callaghan family.

In honor of the O'Callaghans, the city renamed its annual award for the top individual public-sector contribution to the community as the O'Callaghan Public Service Award for Economic Development.

The couple's son, Tim O'Callaghan, said all the attention would have made "Gov. Mike," as he was widely known, uncomfortable.

"He wouldn't have liked it at all," he said, smiling. "He just wasn't much about fanfare for himself. He was about helping other people."

No one at the event was short on praise for the O'Callaghans.

"You are really no better than your foundation, and Mike helped us see that early on in his career," said Henderson Mayor James Gibson.

Jerry Sandstrom, deputy director of the Nevada Commission on Economic Development, recalled a hot July afternoon when the aging former governor was climbing rough hills in an undeveloped Henderson area pointing out the attributes of the plot to a prospective new company.

"That's the way he was," Sandstrom said, again pointing out that O'Callaghan's vision is now reality. "You can see the evidence everywhere."

Debra Solt, site administrator for the Community College of Southern Nevada's Advanced Technology Center, received the O'Callaghan Public Service Award.

Harry Rosenberg, president of the University of Southern Nevada, received the Private Sector Person of the Year award.

Also receiving awards were a series of companies that relocated to Henderson in 2004. The 20 new companies created 726 jobs and were credited with an economic impact of $174.5 million. Additionally, the event singled out 10 companies that expanded in Henderson creating an additional 479 jobs and $26.2 million in economic impact.

Another focus of the event was the development of 11 new commercial and industrial real estate projects totalling 692,000 square feet.