THE FERNANDO AWARD : VALLEY HONOR TO BE GIVEN OUT TONIGHT.

Byline: Mary Beth Alexander Daily News Staff Writer

They are among the San Fernando Valley's most dedicated and generous volunteers, and tonight one of them will walk away with the Fernando Award for their volunteer efforts in the San Fernando Valley.

Nominated this year are Kenneth C. Banks Jr.; Walter W. Mosher Jr.; Nancy L. Schmidt; Benjamin M. Reznik and Philip A. ``Flip'' Smith. All but Smith have been finalists in recent years.

``They're so very diverse in what they've done, yet they've also contributed heavily to the community,'' said Fernando Award President Lee K. Alpert. ``They really all are very, very strong people.''

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan will present the award at a black-tie dinner at the Warner Center Marriott Hotel.

The Fernando has been awarded the last 38 years to Valley community leaders and volunteers. For the first time this year, a $1,000 scholarship also will be presented, to a high school senior who has shown an interest in volunteerism and plans to attend college.

The Fernando winner will choose a school, and a committee will select one student at that school to receive the scholarship, Alpert said. A dinner will be held in February to honor the recipient.

``It was established this year as a means of actually giving more to the community,'' Alpert said.

Following are brief profiles of this year's nominees.

Kenneth C. Banks Jr.: Owner of KB Insurance Services, who has been active in several civic organizations in the east San Fernando Valley and serves on the board of the United Chambers of Commerce and the Valley Economic Alliance. The North Hollywood resident is chairman of the board of the East Valley YMCA. Banks has been a director of the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce since 1980. He helped spearhead the NoHo Arts District concept. He is married, and has three children and five grandchildren.

Walter W. Mosher Jr.: Co-founder and owner of Precision Dynamics Corp. in San Fernando, which manufactures and distributes health care products. A former engineering faculty member at UCLA, he helped establish the Department of Transportation's National Highway Safety Bureau and has written publications on highway safety and traffic flow. He holds a doctorate degree in engineering, and holds several patents in the patient identification field. He is director of the Health Industries Manufacturing Association and serves on the boards of the Valley Industry Commerce Association, the Valley Family Center and the Providence Holy Cross Hospital Foundation.

Benjamin M. Reznik: Attorney for Reznik & Reznik. He has served as chairman of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, and on a variety of task forces and committees dealing with economic issues affecting the region. He frequently represents clients before planning commissions, city councils, and various governmental boards and agencies. He obtained his law degree from USC. He is married and has three children, ages 14, 13 and 9.

Nancy L. Schmidt: American Pacific State Bank headquarters manager. A former schoolteacher, the Chatsworth resident is active in a variety of community groups. She founded the San Fernando Valley Charitable Foundation and has been its president and CEO since 1991. She has been president of the the Universal City-North Hollywood and Sherman Oaks chambers of commerce, and has sat on the boards of the North Hollywood Medical Center, the San Fernando Valley Economic Alliance and the Valley Industry Commerce Association. She was active in the Northridge Earthquake recovery effort, and appointed by then Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky to chair the Community Redevelopment Agency Earthquake Recovery Advisory Committee for Sherman Oaks/Studio City. Schmidt lives in Chatsworth with her daughter, Kristin.

Philip A. ``Flip'' Smith: Owner of Flip's Tire Center in Van Nuys. Active in community affairs, he is the former president of the Van Nuys Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Van Nuys Rotary Club. He has helped initiate programs for youth, disadvantaged and senior citizens throughout the Valley. He helped organize the Sepulveda Boulevard Business Watch, which united 400 businesses to help police gangs, prostitution and other crime problems. Smith has organized trash pickups, curb cleaning and graffiti eradication programs. He is president of the Mid-Valley Community Police Council. Smith is married, has two children and one grandchild.

CAPTION(S):

5 Photos

Photo: (1) Kenneth Banks

(2) Walter Mosher Jr

(3) Benjamin M. Reznik

(4) Nancy L. Schmidt

(5) Philip A. ``Flip'' Smith