Packed house for Business Council awards gala

The Business Council of Westchester went Hollywood Thursday night, lauding six business and academic leaders in a festive, Oscars-themed event that attracted 626 persons ”“ more than a sellout ”“ to its annual Business Hall of Fame dinner at Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle.

Celebrity impersonators Marilyn Monroe, George Clooney and Joan Rivers ”“ under the management of Mount Kisco-based Hal Prince Music & Entertainment ”“ enlivened a red-carpet entrance, as did a living sculpture of the Oscar statue. “Joan,” said Business Council President and CEO Marsha Gordon, “you look divine.” Attorney Stephen Jones, Business Council chairman of the board, smiled nearby.

A VIP reception was followed by an open-bar/buffet dinner for everyone.

Honorees were named in five categories:
Ӣ Judy Huntington, president of the College of New Rochelle, took home the Women in Business award for her work at the 5,000-student New Rochelle campus and five satellite campuses. An accountant by training, she has maintained the schoolӪs investment-grade financial rating.

Ӣ Glenn Pacchiana, president and CEO of Briarcliff Manor-based Thalle Industries, a construction and materials supply outfit founded in 1947, was awarded the Family Owned Business award. The company now operates facilities in Fishkill and Elmsford. The family also helped found Yonkers-based Hudson Valley Bank, which now employs 500 regionally between Brooklyn and Fairfield County.

Ӣ Ruth Mahoney, president of KeyBankӪs Hudson Valley/Metro N.Y. district, earned the Corporate Citizen trophy. Among her accomplishments, Mahoney has directed KeyBank Foundation grants to more than 100 regional nonprofits.

Ӣ Mamaroneck-based Murphy Brothers Contracting won the Small Business award. Brothers Christopher and Sean began the company 33 years ago and it now employs 33. In a business where firm handshakes still matter, the companyӪs success hinges on the personal relationships the brothers have built across the decades with designers, architects, craftsmen and trades people.

”¢ The Entrepreneurial Success award was handed to Patrick Vaccarro, who opened the White Plains office of law firm Jackson Lewis in the early 1980s. In praising him, the Business Council said, “His drive, determination and forward thinking have increased the firm”™s annual revenue 98 percent, the number of attorneys by 366 and Jackson Lewis offices by 28.