Cllick to download the 2013 graduation awards - Bishop O'Dowd ...

THE COR UNUM AWARDThe Cor Unum Award, named for the school’s motto, “One Heart in Christ,” is Bishop O’DowdHigh School’s highest honor. It is presented each year to select members of the O’Dowd community,whose lives and work embody the core values of leadership, service, social justice, and intellectualcompetence expressed in the school’s Mission.The 2013 recipient of Bishop O’Dowd High School’s Cor Unum Award is Joseph Raphel ’70.There’s building houses and then there’s building communities. As president of San FranciscoBay Area homebuilder Braddock & Logan, Joseph Raphel ’70 takes pride in the factthat his company is committed to building communities that offer architectural excellence,superb locations and innovative planning.His company has met the green building standards of the nonprofit organization Build itGreen and the U.S. Government’s ENERGY STAR®program.“We do things that we think are appropriate and good for the community,” he said.With over 39 years in the real estate development field, Raphel has personally beenresponsible for the acquisition, development or construction of more than 20,000 residentialunits. Among his major accomplishments are a master planned community of 3,000units in Rio Vista, which included a water treatment plant, sewer plant and pump station,major highway renovations, a championship 18-hole golf course and a 10,000-squarefootclub house and pool; a 454 unit project in Concord, which included a fire station andwater tank; and construction of approximately 100,000 square feet of commercial/officespace, development and build-out of an industrial park and the construction of a newautomobile sales and maintenance facility and an assisted care facility.However, the project most near and dear to Raphel’s heart was the construction of the AllWars Memorial at Oak Hill Park in Danville. “We enjoyed working with the local vets indeveloping that project,” he said. “It was quite an accomplishment.”Raphel learned the ropes about the real estate business at a young age from his late father,Edwin, who operated his own commercial development and sales company.10