The following is a list of achievements by businesses and individuals in the Ann Arbor area:

• The board of directors and staff of the Ypsilanti Area Chamber of Commerce will acknowledge several award winners at its annual meeting and awards dinner May 6. The ATHENA Award will be presented to Michelle Richards, executive director of the Center for Empowerment & Economic Development. Richards is a founding board member and executive director of CEED since its inception in 1984. A Small Business Award will be presented to Rebecca Johnston of Ann Arbor Insurance Centre. And finally, a Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Dr. James Hawkins, former superintendent of the Ypsilanti Area Schools.

• ­Employees of Allegra Print & Imaging of Saline recently received the International Gold, Silver and Top Ten International Sales Performer awards from the Allegra Network franchise system. The awards are presented annually and are based on sales volume and providing an outstanding level of client service. Kelly Parkinson of Pinckney received the International Gold Milestone and Top Ten International Sales Performer awards. Jane Dillard, Michael LaBeau and Wes Siegrist received the International Silver Milestone awards.

• Cindy Guindon, the assistant director of Visiting Angels in Ann Arbor
has been chosen by the National Senior Living Providers Network to receive the Angel of Mercy Award for providing exceptional care.

• The shareholders of CSB Bancorp Inc. and Chelsea State Bank elected James R. Breining Sr. to the board of directors for both entities at an April 13 board meeting. Breining owns and operates both G&C Sales LLC and Jackson Machine Too LLC. Breining is also the former president, chief operating officer and director of Ann Arbor Machine.

• Hile Design LLC has been hired by Creative Automation to redesign the Creative Automation Web site. Headquartered in Ypsilanti, Creative Automation is a turnkey supplier for complete automation systems, providing custom-engineered industry solutions.

• Five current and one retired University of Michigan professors were among 180 winners of the Guggenheim Fellowships, which are awarded annually for distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment. The U-M fellows and their projects were David Caron, professor of French and women's studies, "Tact and HIV disclosure"; Holly Hughes, associate professor of art and design, theater and drama, and women's studies, "Let Them Eat Cake"; Shinobu Kitayama, professor of psychology, "Cultural Neuroscience: Bridging Natural and Social Sciences"; Tomoko Masuzawa, professor of history and comparative literature; "A history of biblical studies and the 19th-century academy"'; Elizabeth Sears, the George H. Forsyth Jr. collegiate professor of history of art, "Warburg Circles: Towards a Cultural-historical History of Art, 1929-64"; and Richard Tillinghast, professor emeritus of English; Carrick-on-Suir, Ireland: poetry.

• The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation has awarded the Washtenaw Community College Foundation $13,350 to help address the needs of residents in Ypsilanti’s Parkridge Community Center neighborhood. With the grant, WCC, in collaboration with the City of Ypsilanti, Eastern Michigan University and several other partners, will be able to fund a part-time community center supervisor to oversee expanded programming and provide direct service on a day-to-day basis.

• The National Kidney Foundation of Michigan has elected Gregg D. Rasmussen to its board of directors. Rasmussen is vice president of car business North America for SKF USA Inc. and is a resident of Saline.

• Michigan Radio, the public radio service from the University of Michigan, received 11 awards from the Michigan Associated Press for news coverage in 2009, including nine “Best Of” awards, one Honorable Mention and the award for General Excellence in the Non-Commercial Radio category. Michigan Radio's Best of Awards were in the following categories:Best News Documentary, Best Spot News, Best Individual Reporting, Best Newscast, Best Feature Story, Best Enterprise/Investigative Reporting, Best Continuing Coverage, Best Natural Sound and Best Website.

• The Chelsea Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, awarded $25,000 (over two years) to the Chelsea Center for the Arts and $6,275 to Faith in Action Inc. The grant to Chelsea Center for the Arts will support the expansion of artistic initiatives, including the artist-in-residence program and the related Midwest Literary Walk and songwriting workshops. The grant to Faith in Action Inc. will support a community garden project.

• Three Michigan companies recently received a combined total of $115,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program: Detroit-based CYJ Enterprises, Ann Arbor-based Ix Innovations and Detroit-based NextCAT, received the funding to support commercialization of their core products.

• E-mail items for People, Achievements and Paparazzi to business@annarbor.com . Sign up for the weekly Business Review email newsletter here.