COMMUNITY NEWS\Cancer Society acknowledges philanthropist.

Byline: Virginia Gonzalez Daily News Staff Writer

The American Cancer Society's highest award for philanthropy was presented this month to Bette Hamer, wife of the late Lee Hamer, in honor of his support and contributions to the society's anti-cancer efforts.

Bette Hamer was presented with the Excalibur Award, given to donors who contribute at least $10,000 in a year or $100,000 over several years to the society.

Robert G. Randall, the society's regional director of donor relations, said the Hamer family and Hamer Toyota are longtime supporters of the cancer society, both through personal contributions and corporate support for the annual Daffodil Days fund-raiser.

Lee Hamer, who opened a gas station 56 years ago on a country road near the San Fernando Mission and then parlayed it into one of Southern California's largest auto dealerships, died in November at age 83.

A longtime supporter of civic and charitable causes, he was named "Valley Philanthropist of the Year" in 1995 by the Valley chapter of the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives. Among Hamer's legacies, Randall said, are greater awareness and continued support for efforts at combating cancer. Additional information about the society is available from its San Fernando Valley Unit, 4940 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite 301, Sherman Oaks, Calif. 91403, or phone [phone].

Members of the Van Nuys Rotary Club continue to channel energy to new projects involving San Fernando Valley organizations, including a job-training program for developmentally disabled adults and an organization that runs homes for abused and neglected teen-agers.

Rotarians donated $450 to Tierra Del Sol to help pay for the maintenance costs of a vehicle the organization uses to shuttle developmentally disabled adults to their places of employment.

Club members also raised $500 to purchase a microwave oven for each of the three group homes run by Human Services Network, an organization that cares for 18 abused and neglected teen-agers.

Steve Miller, the executive director at Tierra Del Sol, said the Rotarians' support "is extremely helpful and so essential to what we're doing."

"Help like this enables us to be successful in our mission to help people with disabilities so that they can contribute to our community," Miller said.

The Rotary donation will provide six months of mechanical repairs to one of Tierra Del Sol's 12 vehicles, which aid in transporting many of the 350 adults served daily by the organization, Miller said.

A Woodland Hills university science professor is among the seven Los Angeles-area women who have been selected as Silver Achievement Award winners by the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles for their outstanding accomplishments in a variety of fields, said organization spokeswoman Suzanne Lewis.

Margaret Galland Kivelson, a professor at UCLA's Dept. of Earth and Space, was the recipient in the science category; Sherry Lansing, president and CEO of Paramount Pictures won in the corporate category; Patty DeDominic, founder and CEO of PDQ Personnel Services, Inc., in the entrepreneur category and Pat Harvey, KCAL (Channel 9) news anchor, in the communications category.

Vanessa Chang, partner in charge at Corporate Finance Group, KPMG Peat Marwick, was the recipient in the professional category; Eleanor Montano, president of Mothers & Men Against Gang-Support Services, in the community service category; and Dr. Donna Barras, the medical director at the Center for Applied Rehabilitation at Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center, in the public service category.

All will be honored at an awards luncheon on May 3 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles.

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Bette Hamer, center, accepts the American Cancer Society's Excalibur Award in honor of her late husband, Lee Hamer.