Hudson Valley Newsmakers, 5.12.2014

Most Valuable Partner award winner

The Orange County Partnership has named the Joint Economic Development Initiative (JEDI) of the town and village of Goshen, as the Partnership”™s 2014 Most Valuable Partner.

Three years ago, Goshen municipal leaders, town and village board members, real estate executives, industry leaders, economic development professionals and interested citizens formed the Joint Economic Development Initiative to further foster a business friendly environment in both the town and village of Goshen.

Under the guidance of Phil Dropkin, former chair of the town of Goshen Zoning Board of Appeals and currently deputy chair of the town”™s planning board, and with administrative support from the Orange County Partnership, the group has held monthly meetings to brainstorm and to take steps to support and help stimulate economic development. The JEDI”™s primary goal is attracting new business that would encourage capital investment and job creation to the town and village inventory of commercial land and real estate.

JEDI founder and Chair Phil Dropkin said, “With patience, persistence, focus and a dash of humor, together with the continuing support of the outstanding JEDI members, we are helping to create a more welcoming environment for various commercial and other enterprises. Additionally, JEDI”™s newest initiative is the promotion of the arts in Goshen; not only are the arts uplifting, but they also help to promote economic development.”

The annual MVP Breakfast will be held June 5 at 8 a.m. at Anthony”™s Pier 9 in New Windsor. For reservations, call Norma Byrne at 845-294-3696.

HYTORC selects Focus Media for PR

HYTORC of Mahwah, N.J., a leading industrial bolting company, has appointed Focus Media Inc. as its public relations agency.

HYTORC President Eric Junkers said the agency “will help us continue to build worldwide awareness of our state-of-the-art industrial bolting systems and promote our tradition of global innovation and superlative customer service.”

The builders of the Freedom Tower called upon HYTORC to engineer a plan to employ their bolting system to secure the tower”™s 408-foot spire and its 14 communication rings.

Hospital adds to its board

Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortandt Manor has appointed three new members to its board of directors.

Jim Coleman, director of Westchester County”™s Industrial Development Agency; Raphaelle Sondak, executive director of human resources for Catholic Guardian Services; and Judy Meyer, former HVHC board member and longtime hospital supporter, are the selected directors.

“We could not have found three more perfect candidates to round out our board of directors,”™”™ said John C. Federspiel, president of Hudson Valley Hospital Center. “Each brings tremendous strengths to the board and we look forward to working with them as the hospital enters a new era of growth and expansion.”™”™

Coleman is a businessman and accomplished fundraiser. He has had a long and distinguished career working for a number of large corporations, including PepsiCo, Altria and American Express, where he was responsible for business development, sales, consulting and marketing. He is a member of the Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon and lives in Eastchester.

Sondak is executive director of human resources for Catholic Guardian Services. She was formerly vice president of human resources for the Visiting Nurse Association of Hudson Valley in Tarrytown. A Cortlandt Manor resident, Sondak has a master”™s of science degree in human resources from Mercy College.

Meyer, a Cold Spring resident, taught in the Haldane Central School District for 33 years. She is an active member of the Cold Spring community and has been president of the Julia L. Butterfield Memorial Library Board since 1998. Meyer has rejoined the hospital board following a year”™s hiatus when she remained a member of the hospital”™s Foundation Board.

Park joins ENTA in Middletown

Tarrytown headquartered ENT and Allergy Associates”™ (ENTA) newest team member is allergist and immunologist Joon H. Park, M.D. Park joins ENTA”™s Middletown office. Park expects to begin seeing adult and pediatric patients beginning Aug. 1.

A graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and biology (with distinction) from the University of Virginia, Park received his Doctor of Medicine degree from that university”™s School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and earned his fellowship in allergy and immunology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, where he trained under the direct mentorship of several world-renowned allergists and immunologists. During his fellowship, Park also actively engaged in research focusing on food allergy and primary immunodeficiency, resulting in several publications in highly respected, peer-reviewed journals. He is a member of American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) and Clinical Immunology Society (CIS). Park joins ENTA after practicing for nearly two years at a multispecialty practice in Virginia.

The Orange County Business Accelerator (OCBA) has been certified as a New York State Business Incubator.

The OCBA was one of just 10 incubators to be awarded certification this year, marking it as one of the most promising business development organizations in the state. Each designated incubator will receive up to $125,000 annually in state funding to expand its business support services to young firms. To qualify for certification, members were required to display the proven success of their operational models, as well as the future sustainability of their organization”™s current rate of success. Certification was only granted to those organizations that proved to be the most promising and which aligned with the state of New York”™s regional developmental and economic goals.

“The Orange County Business Accelerator has distinguished itself as a focal point of entrepreneurial activity and support in the mid-Hudson Valley,” said David Hochman, of the Business Incubator Association of New York State. “We congratulate OCBA on its designation by New York State, which validates the quality of its incubation program, and I expect continued success over the coming years.”

Firefighters honored 40 years after bridge fire

The Walkway Over the Hudson organization hosted an event honoring local emergency response squads May 8 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the devastating fire that crippled the former Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge.

The event was held at the East Overlook of Walkway Over the Hudson State Park, and served as an “acknowledgement of the unwavering vigilance and dedication of emergency responders, past and present,” said Walkway Executive Director Elizabeth Waldstein-Hart.

The organization honored the Highland Fire District, the city of Poughkeepsie Fire Department, Mobile Life Support Services Inc. as well as the New York State Park Police during the ceremony. Some of the firefighters who responded to and fought the 1974 fire that forced the closing of the historic railroad bridge were in attendance.

The Walkway Over the Hudson organization has hired Ashley Arias to serve as the Poughkeepsie-based nonprofit”™s new marketing and communications assistant.

Arias, a Wappingers Falls resident, will serve as Walkway”™s marketing and communications assistant aiding in the implementation of the organization”™s marketing efforts. Before joining Walkway, Arias worked at Gold”™s Gym Dutchess County as a fitness consultant where her responsibilities included membership sales, as well as membership and corporate outreach/retention. Prior to Gold”™s Gym, she served as assistant manager at The Pastry Garden Bakery. Arias attended Dutchess Community College and the State University of New York at New Paltz. She has an associate degree in commercial arts/advertising and a Bachelor of Science degree in business marketing.

Simone Stein, RN, manager of The Bone and Joint Center at Orange Regional Medical Center in Middletown, will be honored with the Outstanding Orthopaedic Nurse Practice Award at the opening ceremony of the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses (NAON) 2014 Annual Congress in Las Vegas May 17.

The Outstanding Orthopaedic Nurse Practice Award recognizes a NAON member who has provided high-quality health care to the orthopaedic patient and has made outstanding contributions over his/her career to the field of orthopaedic nursing.

“I can”™t think of anyone more deserving of this award. Simone”™s dedication to the continual improvement of patient care is evidenced by her efforts in researching and implementing best practices, policy development, promoting education and awareness of the orthopaedic nurse”™s role in the delivery of care,” said Jonathan Schiller, Orange Regional”™s COO.

Realtor top producers honored

The Women”™s Council of Realtors Dutchess County Chapter (WCR) and the Dutchess County Association of Realtors (DCAR), Poughkeepsie, held their annual Red Carpet and Eye Opener Awards Breakfast at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel April 22. WCR presented awards recognizing the top-producing real estate salespersons in Dutchess County for 2013. DCAR presented awards to members singled out and voted upon by their peers. The criteria to qualify for a Red Carpet award are Dutchess County sales transactions with a sales dollar volume above $3 million and a minimum of 10 transactions. Forty-seven salespersons were honored with the Red Carpet Award and 16 recipients of the Eye Opener Award. The Eye Opener award criteria are based upon Realtor DCAR members that make a difference for the better in the community and within the industry. The events sponsors included Chase, Cutco, First Call Home Inspection, Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, M&T Bank, Mid- Hudson Multiple Listing Service, Toll Brothers and Wells Fargo.

Information for these features has been submitted by the subjects or their delegates.