Mathematician, hotel winners of 2023 Cupertino Bridge Awards
They’ll be honored Feb. 2 at a Lunar New Year luncheon.
This year’s Cupertino Bridge Award winners include a longtime high school board member and a business that not only stayed open but helped those in need during the pandemic.
The 2023 Bridge Awards will be presented Feb. 2 at a Lunar New Year luncheon celebrating the Year of the Rabbit. The Cupertino Chamber of Commerce Bridge Award recognizes individuals and organizations that have helped build trust, respect and dialogue within the community.
Bill Wilson, 2023 Bridge Award for Individual Service
In 2006 Wilson was elected to the Fremont Union High School District board. He has served for 16 years, including four years as board president.
Wilson started his career as a mathematics professor at a four-year college in Massachusetts before moving on to a career in cybersecurity as a researcher and entrepreneur. He founded Arca Systems, one of the first companies focused on information security, and served as its CEO until its acquisition by Exodus Communications.
In 2015 Wilson joined the De Anza College mathematics department as a part-time instructor. He has taught courses in pre-calculus and calculus sequences, discrete mathematics, linear algebra and differential equations.
Bill has been active in Cupertino Rotary, serving as a board member and treasurer for its endowment foundation. He recently joined the board of the Foothill-De Anza Foundation.
Cupertino Hotel, 2023 Bridge Award for Outstanding Business of the Year
The Cupertino Hotel, formerly known as the Cupertino Inn, opened its doors in 1987 and was the first hotel in the city.
During the height of the pandemic, the Cupertino Hotel was one of the only hotels open in the city. In collaboration with the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce, the hotel provided thousands of meals to families in need and backpacks filled with school supplies for students.
“As a community of immigrants and innovators, Cupertino is a hub of cultural exchange and business. More often than not, the Cupertino Hotel is the center of that hub,” reads a statement from the Chamber. “Under the leadership of accomplished hotelier Claudio Bono, the hotel continues to set the highest standard for generosity and support in all parts of the Cupertino community. Mr. Bono has managed the hotel for nearly 10 years and was nominated as one of the top three hotel general managers In California by the California Hotel and Lodging Association.
“The ownership, management and staff of the Cupertino Hotel have come to represent the very best of Cupertino business as an active, generous and gracious purveyor of tangible help to both the local and global community.”
The Lunar New Year luncheon and awards presentation are set for Thursday, Feb. 2, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., in the Cupertino Room of the Quinlan Community Center. For event information and to register, visit: https://bit.ly/2023LNYL.