Business leaders enter chamber hall of fame

Andrew Glazer

COSTA MESA -- The Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce and South Coast Metro

Alliance honored two local executives and a business in its inaugural

Hall of Fame awards luncheon Thursday.

Gary Gray, owner of Costa Mesa AMC-Jeep, won the Individual Achievement

Award. He was lauded for his leadership role in bringing the city’s auto

dealers together to successfully promote Harbor Boulevard as a

destination for the region’s auto buyers.

Gray was also recognized for his work with local charities and his

church.

“I’ve enjoyed giving back to the community what we’ve taken as a

business,” Gray said between artichoke ravioli and Chef Jeff Everts’

Chocolate Trio Creation at the Westin South Coast Plaza, where the awards

luncheon was held.

Costa Mesa City Manager Allan Roeder presented David Petratis, president

and general manager of MGE UPS Systems, Inc., the Corporate Growth Award.

In the early 1990s, Petratis helped bring profits to the company after it

lost money for several consecutive years.

MGE UPS is the world’s second largest manufacturer of power protectors,

which allow Internet service providers to continue running when

electrical service is interrupted.

Petratis, who considered closing the business during its dry spell, said

Costa Mesa’s population helped turn it around.

“The diversity of this community has been a huge asset in allowing the

company to extend to a worldwide arena,” he said.

Robert Grant, a managing partner at Deloitte and Touche, accepted the

Community Spirit Award on behalf of his company. The company was given

the award for helping support 60 local nonprofit agencies. The groups it

supports are dedicated to art appreciation, education, business

development, child development, mentoring, human rights and medical

research.

“This is a company that gets it done,” Roeder said.