Business awards earned in Southern Arizona

• Green Valley Pecan Co.: Dick Walden, president and CEO of the Green Valley Pecan Co., received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Pecan Shellers Association. The award recognizes an individual’s significant contributions and lasting influence to the pecan industry. Walden was one of two honorees, both of whom were nominated by their peers and approved by the NPSA Board. Green Valley Pecan Co.’s roots date back to 1948, when Walden’s father, R. Keith Walden, acquired the land that is today an expansive pecan orchard. After serving for four years as an Army aviator, Dick Walden returned to the family farm in 1968 and has continued to develop the land into one of the largest irrigated pecan orchards in the world.
• American College of Trial Lawyers: Attorneys JoJene Mills and Jeff Willis have been inducted as Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Mills has practiced for 33 years as a personal injury/medical malpractice attorney in Phoenix and Tucson and has operated her own law firm for the past 14 years. She currently serves on the Attorney Discipline Probable Cause Committee of Arizona and the Development Council of the UA Poetry Center.

Willis has practiced for over 40 years, trying commercial litigation suits in Arizona and the Southwest. He is a senior partner in Snell & Wilmer LLP, based in its Tucson office. Willis is also the current president of the State Bar of Arizona.

• The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain: Forbes recently recognized The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, 15000 N. Secret Springs Drive, as one of the most luxurious hotels in the world. The Marana hotel landed a spot on Forbes’ 2018 list of the world’s most luxurious hotels, which includes 57 other establishments. It also appeared on a separate list of the world’s 30 most luxurious spas.

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The Ritz is one of only eight hotels, and one of only three in the U.S., to be recognized on both lists, which are curated based on a point system from anonymous inspectors who stay at the hotels.

The hotel has more than 250 rooms and 44,000 square feet of event space.