COMMUNITY NEWS : BUSINESSMAN RECEIVES AWARD FOR VOLUNTEERISM, COMMITMENT.

Byline: Virginia Gonzalez Daily News Staff Writer

Walter W. Mosher Jr. has been selected as the 1996 recipient of the Nelle Reagan Award for distinguished community service, presented by the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center Foundation.

Mosher, 61, is an engineer with a doctorate from UCLA and is the founder and president of Precision Dynamics Corp. in Pacoima.

He best exemplified the spirit of volunteerism and commitment by giving more than 25,000 hours of personal service to numerous San Fernando Valley charities, civic organizations, committees and task forces, said Beverly Froelich of the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center Foundation, the award sponsor.

Among Mosher's affiliations are membership in the Mayor's Mobility Action Committee; the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (he's chairman of the executive committee and a board member); the Health Industry Business Communications Council; the Health Industries Manufacturing Association Economic Alliance; and various other community organizations.

Mosher is the 10th recipient of the Nelle Reagan Award. Previous recipients include LAPD Cmdr. Tim McBride in 1995; philanthropist Jim Winstead in 1994; and actor Beau Bridges in 1993.

The Nelle Reagan Award is named in honor of former President Reagan's mother. The award seeks to recognize an outstanding individual who exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism and commitment on behalf of the community.

TreePeople is branching out into the community by providing educational programs such as tree planting training and related workshops for interested volunteers.

People who would like to help the nonprofit organization supervise tree plantings throughout the San Fernando Valley are invited to attend a free workshop at Telfair Elementary School from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. April 20.

A 21-tree planting will follow on the school campus at 10975 Telfair Ave. in Pacoima. Parents, students, teachers and other volunteers will plant camphor and carrotwood trees from 9 a.m. to about 1 p.m., said Kate Hahn, a TreePeople public relations associate.

The group also will offer a two-hour tree and shrub fertilization workshop to be held at 10 a.m. April 27 at Coldwater Canyon Park.

Arborist Nick Mook will discuss soil pH, understanding climate for maximum fertilization, vertical and surface mulching, and other related subjects. There is a $10 fee per person and reservations are required for this workshop.

Coldwater Canyon Park is at 12601 Mulholland Drive in Studio City.

More information about both events can be obtained by calling [phone].

Van Nuys High School has been selected as one of eight host sites in the nation to conduct a Teachers Teaching With Technology pilot program using the newest technology to teach mathematics.

Van Nuys, a mathematics and science magnet school, will receive a $4,000 grant from the University of Texas at Arlington and Texas Instruments to conduct the training for 40 high school teachers in Advanced Placement calculus to be held June 24-28 on campus, school officials said.

The grant will help educators learn to use the TI-92 graphics calculator, designed especially for teaching and learning mathematics.

Calculus teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District or private schools who are interested in attending the training workshops should contact Jenny Pacho at Van Nuys High School, [phone].

The owner of a Northridge Mall photography shop is trying to match pre-Northridge Earthquake customers with photographs they never picked up.

Jerry Howard's U.S. Photo shop, which was located on the first level of the Northridge Fashion Center before the temblor, didn't reopen due to the shop's substantial losses and Howard's fear of another vicious quake. However, he was able to pluck customer picture packets out of the ravaged shop - located near Sear's on the mall's south end.

Howard's quest to locate owners who entrusted their ``photographic memories'' with his shop has lingered.

``Pictures are sentimental, they are important to people,'' Howard said.

``They're photographic memories.''

Figuring that his former customers have had time to put their lives back together, Howard is certain that reuniting them with photographs taken of their weddings, Disneyland vacations and Christmas activities among many other special occasions will be a therapeutic experience following the catastrophic event.

Former customers are urged to call Howard's home office at [phone] to make arrangements for pickup.

MEMO: Do you have news in your neighborhood? If so, please send the information to Virginia Gonzalez, Daily News Editorial Department, P.O. Box 4200, Woodland Hills, CA 91365-4200. FAX: [phone].