Norwalk chamber hosts Small Business Awards

Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ed Musante and TD Bank Senior Vice President Maureen Hanley-Bellitto, far right, join winners of the chamber”™s Small Business Awards recently in Norwalk.

The official count for the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce”™s annual Small Business Awards Luncheon at the Norwalk Inn & Conference Center was 180, but a waiter said he thought the number was 200.

Either sum made for a successful afternoon that saw six businesses singled out by the chamber as extraordinary.

Keynote speaker Jeff Warshaw, CEO of Westport-based Connoisseur Media, delivered a lively history of his business life that included a directive to do good. “You can”™t drink Champagne alone,” he said. “Without principles and integrity, it wouldn”™t be any fun.”

Connoisseur owns and operates FM radio stations 95.9 and 99.1 in Fairfield County and stations in New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, South Dakota and Montana.

“One of the most important things I learned was to take a lot of rejection,” he said of a particular 18-month quest for investors. “It”™s not good for the ego and it is not fun. But it was worth it. If success had come easier, it might not have turned out as well as it has with our current group.”

TD Bank was the event sponsor. Rick”™s Main Roofing was the award sponsor, and its principal, Richard Tavella, hosted the awards portion of the luncheon. Chamber President and CEO Edward Musante was the event host and delivered the closing remarks.

Musante said there would never be a shortage of great companies to honor. He praised their community involvement, saying, “We hope that by showcasing them, it spurs others to do the same.”

The winners were William J. Fessler Family Dentistry; Miklos P. Koleszar, Attorney at Law; Live Green CT; Mike”™s Deli; Triple S Carpet & Drapery Cleaners; and Tucci Lumber Bat Co.

Members of the Small Business Council presented the awards and read business biographies. They included Joe Brachfeld, Becki Christopherson, Diane Winston, Eugene Schreiner and Susan Sweitzer.