Those who have had a positive impact on the Putnam County business community are about to be recognized for their efforts.
And that includes quite a few.
The Putnam County Chambers of Commerce will present its 2013 Trailblazer Awards to 35 individual professionals and organizations during a Jan. 31 ceremony in Mahopac.
The fourth annual awards are broad in reach ”“ and recognition, said Jennifer Maher, chairwoman of the chamber organization.
“They don”™t have to be members,” she said. “It”™s really just celebrating Putnam County businesses.”
And the awards, she noted, indeed honor those across the business board.
“We mix it up,” she said. “In the past we have done entrepreneurial spirits, and we”™ve also done ”˜40 under 40.”™”
This year, recipients represent financial companies and restaurants, construction companies and law offices, boutiques and arts organizations, nonprofits and entertainment venues.
The awards, she said, also serve to raise the profiles of the businesses these honorees represent.
“That”™s a struggle here in the county,” she said, getting the word out about the diversity of businesses in operation. The awards, she added, reflect the work of the chamber itself, which is all about “promoting or raising awareness of all the types of businesses in the county.”
Maher says the countywide organization has some 40 “direct members,” but with “every member of every chamber” considered an affiliate, the organization represents close to 900.
“We actually don”™t do any of the things typical chambers do,” she said. There are no monthly meetings, for example. “We focus on advocacy, promoting Putnam business as a whole.”
The chamber, she said, is designed to advocate for the needs of the business community and to be sure those needs reach the ears of those in government.
She notes the chamber group actively works with the Economic Development Association and is also involved in Putnam County transportation issues that directly impact local business.
“They”™ve given us a position on the transportation advisory board,” Maher said. “We basically have earned a seat at the county table.”
Tickets for the ceremony, to be held at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at Villa Barone Hilltop Manor in Mahopac, are $75. Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell and Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith will serve as the event”™s masters-of-ceremony. For more, or to buy tickets, visit putnamchamberny.org.
HONOREES:
Emerging Trailblazer ”“Â Candice Sciarrillo, theater manager, Carmel Cinema; Shelley Kilcoyne, director of business development, Halston Media L.L.C., Mahopac; Andrew and Samantha Lutzer, owners, Cold Spring Coffee Pantry/On the Fly; and Scott G. Weiss, certified financial planner, Weiss Financial Group, Mahopac.
Environmentally Engaged ”“Â Shelley Boris, partner, Fresh Company L.L.C., Garrison; Ava C. Bynum, manager, The Cold Spring Farmers”™ Market; Michael Maegerle, senior site operations manager, Groundwater & Environmental Services, Inc., Patterson; and Thomas J. McDermott, Assoc. AIA. LEED AP, LEED Project Administrator, Architectural Visions P.L.L.C., Mahopac;
Established Trailblazer ”“Â Chip Allemann, general manager, The Garrison; Marc Anthony, owner, The South Side Inn of Mahopac; Darrell Babbonni, president, Honey Do Men, Carmel; Daniel J. De Filippis, senior graphic designer, Rev Design, Inc., Patterson; and K. David McCarthy, SVP/GM, Tightrope Interactive, Cold Spring;
Mature Trailblazer ”“ Vincent Bellissimo, president, Salem Fence Co. Inc., Baldwin Place; Cathryn Fadde, owner, Cathryn”™s Tuscan Grill, Cold Spring; Laurie Lee Ford, director, Kidz Country Day Care, Mahopac; Gary Guerrazzi, owner, Lou”™s Restaurant, Carmel; Barry Haitoff, CEO, Medical Management Corporation of America, Brewster; George Hartshorn, owner, George Hartshorn Paving, Carmel; Marilyn Heberling, owner, Art to Wear Too, Cold Spring; Robert Lomino, owner, Robert”™s Total Care Salon, Cold Spring; Jim Matero, owner, Jaymark Jewelers, Cold Spring; David Radovich, president, Radovich & Dean Music, Carmel; Joseph J. Tock, owner, Law Offices of Joseph J. Tock, Mahopac; Stacey Tompkins, president, Tompkins Landscaping, Putnam Valley; John M. Watson, P.E., vice president, Insite Engineering, Surveying & Landscape Architecture, P.C., Carmel; and Michael Weber, owner, Weber”™s Lawn Care Inc., Mahopac.
Socially Conscious ”“Â Marisa O”™Leary, assistant director, Putnam Community Action Program (CAP), Brewster; Putnam ARC, Susan Limongello and staff, Brewster; Putnam Hospital Center, Jeffrey Kellogg, Carmel; Louise LoMeli, partner, Animal Rescue Ark, Patterson; James Shearwood, executive director, Arts on the Lake, Kent Lakes; Carinda Swann, executive director, Garrison Art Center; Peter West, resource development associate, United Way of Westchester & Putnam, Mahopac; and Joseph Whalen, executive director, Green Chimneys, Brewster.
