Miami Lakes residents Carlos E. Fernandez-Guzman, president and CEO of Pacific National Bank, Harry Wayne Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band, and Miami Police Chief Jorge R. Colina were among 14 honorees inducted into Miami-Dade College Alumni Hall of Fame this week for their professional services during a ceremony at the Hilton Miami Downtown.
Fernandez-Guzman was honored for his expertise in the banking industry, Casey was inducted as a music legend and Colina for public safety.
Fernandez-Guzman serves as a member of the board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pacific National Bank, headquartered in Miami. A well-respected banking veteran and community leader in South Florida, Fernandez-Guzman has more than 40 years of private sector and banking industry experience.
He has held various executive management positions and worked with turnaround teams at banks and other enterprises, including Riverdale Farms, XTec, CTI, American Savings of Florida, F.S.B., Consolidated Bank, N.A., and Southeast Services where he began his banking career.
In 2012, Ronald McDonald House Charities Award Committee selected Fernandez-Guzman as one of its “Twelve Good Men” and, in 2007, he was selected for the Leadership Miami Salute to Miami’s Leaders Award in Finance. He is also a founding member of the U.S. Secret Service Secure Document Alliance and member of the Greater Miami Chamber’s President’s Club Hall of Fame. In addition to his studies at Miami Dade College, he attended Florida International University and completed a graduate program at the Louisiana State University’s Graduate School of Banking.
Casey, 67, and his band, KC and The Sunshine Band, is an internationally renowned Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter. The group has been entertaining audiences around the world for more than 40 years and has sold more than 100 million records with a variety of hit singles like “That’s the way I like it,” “Please don’t go” and “Shake your Booty.”
Casey is considered a pioneer of the disco genre of the 1970s.
Casey was honored with the NARAS Governor’s Award in 2001, the highest honor given by a chapter of the academy. He also received the coveted Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2002.
Casey has lived in the Loch Ness community of Miami Lakes for over 20 years.
Colina, 50, was appointed the new police chief of the Miami Police Department in January by new Mayor Francis Suarez.
During his 27 years with the department, he has commanded each of the department’s three divisions – Field Operations, Criminal Investigations and Administration – and served in numerous staff positions.
After his studies at Miami Dade College, Colina attended Andrew Jackson University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Colina has also completed the Leadership in Crisis course at Harvard Business School’s Executive Leadership program, the Command Officers Development course of the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville, and the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management, among other executive leadership and continuing education programs. Colina has received more than 100 awards and commendations during his career.
Colina has lived in Miami Lakes for more than 10 years.