The Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce has recently given its tenth City National Bank Entrepreneur of the Year Award to J. Mario Molina, M.D and his brother John Molina, corporate CEO/president and CFO, respectively, of Molina Healthcare Inc. The brothers are continuing the legacy of Dr. C. David Molina, their father and founder of the corporation, with great passion and pride.

The elder Molina launched Molina Healthcare in 1980 in the form of a small group of Southern California clinics to address the special needs of low-income patients. The organization is one of the largest, most experienced, and most successful of all managed care companies in the United States, and is a pioneer in treating Medicaid patients.

Today, under the stewardship of the Molina brothers, Molina Healthcare carries on its’ mission of improving access to health services for all people through compassionate, quality health care. In June 2006, the organization reached its 1 million- constituent mark. The organization currently serves patients in seven states, with 2,000 employees, and is the largest private tenant in downtown Long Beach.

Both men are proud of the fact that they have built the publicly traded managed- care organization from a small family business. The company currently holds $778 million in assets and expects estimated revenue of $2.6 billion dollars in 2007. But the Molina brothers feel that their greatest achievement is providing health plans that consistently achieve high-quality ratings. For the past two years, U.S. News & World Report in collaboration with the National Committee for Quality Assurance has ranked several of the health plans of Molina Healthcare Inc among the top fifty Medicaid plans in the United States.

“The Chamber felt that both Mario and John are the perfect example of Long Beach entrepreneurs who have been involved in the community, given back to the community, and at the same time have been very successful in their business,” said Randy Gordon, president and CEO of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber indeed has chosen a dynamic entrepreneurial duo. Forbes Magazine recently ranked Molina Healthcare among the 400 best companies in America.

In 2006, Fortune Magazine listed the corporation as number 916 of the 1,000 largest United States corporations. Under the savvy leadership of the Molinas, the company was also ranked as the nation’s fourth-largest Hispanic-owned business in 2006. Business Ethics Magazine named the company among the 100 best corporate citizens in 2006; and in 2005, Time Magazine named Dr. Molina one of the 25 most influential Hispanics in America.

The brothers expressed their gratitude and respect for their father, who passed away in 1996. Mario Molina recalled, “While most other health-care plans focused on large employer groups, [he] focused on low-income immigrants with language issues.”

“Dad always said if you’re going to do something, do it right,” added brother John. “We are doing it right, and the profitability shows; but more importantly, we are doing right by our constituents.”

John Molina related how proud his father would have been of him and his brother for receiving the Chamber award.

“Long Beach meant a lot to our father,” John said. “He taught sixth grade in this city, he started an ICU, trained the first paramedics. He was the Long Beach Police Department’s official surgeon and took great pride in watching the Aquarium being built.”

Both men have followed in their father’s philanthropic footsteps. John currently serves on the board of trustees for the Long Beach Aquarium and Mario serves as chairman on their board of directors.

John Molina resides in Long Beach with his wife and two children, In October 2006, he and his wife Michelle represented Molina Healthcare as the presenting sponsors for the Long Beach Cancer League’s Saddle Baron’s Ball.

Mario Molina currently sits on the board of Homeboy Industries. He resides in Pasadena with his wife and children.

The Long Beach Chamber of Commerce will officially name the Molinas City National Bank Entrepreneurs of the Year at an awards luncheon in April.