New marketing director at The Ritz
DANA COOPER was welcomed by The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester in White Plains recently as director of sales and marketing. Cooper comes directly from The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta, and The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead, where she served as director of sales for three years.
“We are very fortunate to welcome a highly experienced executive with an extensive background in sales and hospitality,” said Jeff Dziak, general manager of the hotel. “Ms. Cooper has a longstanding history with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. ”¦ We are confident that her background in sales and marketing will help us grow our distinguished reputation in the region.”
In this position, Cooper will direct the hotel”™s strategic public relations and marketing efforts in addition to heading up the sales team. Cooper had spent 11 years with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. serving as senior sales manager at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, and The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch; director of sales at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, and The Ritz-Carlton Hotels of Atlanta.
Cooper graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989.
Holiday cheer
LINDSEY FELNER raised $1,000 two years ago for CEREBRAL PALSY OF WESTCHESTER”™S David G. Osterer Center in Rye Brook. In her search for a way to stay in touch with her uncle, David, who is one of the residents living in residential programming, Felner planned to have her dance company, THE WESTPORT DANCE CENTER perform a special holiday recital. So on Dec. 6, the dance company performed three numbers at the holiday party.
Midwife joins medical group
REBECCA L. MCCRACKEN of Ossining, a certified nurse midwife, has joined the Sleepy Hollow Medical Group, a Phelps Medical Associates practice on the Phelps Memorial Hospital Center campus in Sleepy Hollow. She provides prenatal care and delivery for normal pregnancies, routine gynecology and family-planning services.
McCracken served most recently as a midwife at Nyack Hospital and at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. Prior to that, she worked as a registered nurse at Lenox Hill Hospital and New York University Medical Center.
McCracken holds a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from the University of Rochester and a Master of Science degree in midwifery from New York University. She is certified in basic life support and as a neonatal resuscitation provider . She is a member of the American College of Nurse Midwives, Midwives Alliance of North America and the New York State Association of Licensed Midwives.
Bank names loan officer
PETER ABT has been names commercial loan officer for the Westchester County region of GREATER HUDSON BANK N.A.
Abt”™s responsibilities include creating new business opportunities in the Westchester County area as well as assisting in the overall growth of the bank with regard to commercial loans and deposits.
Having worked in the banking industry for more than 10 years, Abt was most recently with Mahopac National Bank as a regional vice president, commercial lender. Prior to that position, he was at Provident Bank (now Sterling National Bank) as a vice president, commercial lender. He also has years of experience working for Andover Brokerage as an equities trader.
Active in the local community as board member and chairman of the administrative committee for The United Way of Westchester and Putnam County Abt says, “At Greater Hudson Bank, I am looking forward to hitting the ground running. I intend to help the organization grow, especially in Westchester County where I live and have worked for years. I plan to use my banking experience to work with a true community bank that has the best interest of clients in mind.”
Giving back
A.G. WILLIAMS PAINTING CO. donated nearly $2,100 to Support Connection by participating in the nonprofit”™s 19th Annual Support-A-Walk at FDR State Park in Yorktown as part of its commitment to give back to the communities it serves.
Support Connection provides numerous free services to those affected by ovarian and breast cancer, including one-on-one peer counseling, support groups for men and women and classes targeted toward emotional and spiritual healing.
Paul Viggiano, director of business administration and marketing, represented A.G. Williams, walking for the third consecutive year and receiving a company donation plus personal contributions from company President and CEO George P. Williams.
“We are so proud of Paul and his dedication to Support Connection,” Williams said. “He exemplifies our company”™s long history of giving back to our local communities.”
Two join parks board
Friends of Westchester County Parks has announced the election of two business leaders to its board ”“ Harrison Councilwoman Marlane Amelio and John P. Sullivan, president of Sullivan Architecture,.
“We are pleased to welcome these distinguished individuals to our board. Their expertise and insight will greatly enhance our efforts to keep the county”™s 50 parks beautiful and programming available and running smoothly,” said Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson, chairperson, Friends of Westchester County Parks.
Amelio has served as councilwoman since 2011 and has more than 20 years of experience working in Westchester County. She is a liaison for the Harrison Ambulance Corps, Food Pantry, and Citizen”™s Committee for Downtown Revitalization. She also supervises the clinical staff for New York Medicaid Services for SWBOCES (UDO) and sits on the Beautification Committee and International Horse Fund.
Sullivan has more than 28 years of experience operating his own firm and designing numerous building types, including master-planned small- and large-scale residential developments. Currently, he is the vice chairman of the New York State Department of Education Board of Architecture and serves on the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, Licensure Task Force Committee. His firm has been the recipient of 12 Design Awards from the American Institute of Architects, including civic and recognition awards.
“We strive to have the widest possible range of businesses and organizations represented on our board,” commented Joe Stout, executive director, Friends of Westchester County Parks. “We look forward to working together with these two new members as we continue to promote our county”™s park system and ensure that it remains vibrant, green and integral to county life.”
O”™Callaghan joins HVEDC board
CHRIS O”™CALLAGHAN, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc., has joined the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp. (HVEDC) board of directors.
Currently responsible for commercial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle”™s (JLL) Westchester County offices, O”™Callaghan, a former senior director at Cushman & Wakefield, has been one of the most active commercial office brokers in the tristate region for more than 27 years. He joins the ranks of more than 40 fellow HVEDC board members and industry leaders.
“We are thrilled to have Chris O”™Callaghan join our board of directors,” said Laurence P. Gottlieb, president and CEO of HVEDC. “I have personally known Chris for many years and with his incredible expertise and deep knowledge of the commercial real estate marketplace regionally and abroad, he will be a powerful asset to HVEDC in helping to advance our mission of promoting strong economic development here in the Hudson Valley.”
O”™Callaghan has negotiated a number of significant real estate transactions in the region involving such companies as AT&T, Snapple, Ameritech, Waterhouse Securities, Hitachi and others. In addition, he is the former chairman of the board of The Business Council of Westchester County and also served as chairman of the Westchester Economic Development Business Coalition.
“This is a great opportunity for me to leverage my career experience to benefit the HVEDC board,” O”™Callaghan said. “JLL is also in the business of promoting economic development across the globe. We represent some of the world”™s largest corporations and private occupiers of real estate and inform businesses of regions ”“ such as the Hudson Valley ”“ that are focused on helping companies do business. We partner with economic development professionals, providing statistics and economic information that helps real estate directors evaluate opportunities for their companies. The work of JLL and HVEDC really go hand in hand.”
Cole Communications ready for new clients
SUSAN COLE, president of Cole Communications PR & Marketing, recently announced that her company is taking on new clients after a two-year hiatus.
“I started working with some of my former New York metro area clients about 18 months after my husband and business partner, Bob Cole, died in 2011,” Cole said.
“Now Cole Communications is actively offering our proprietary ”˜Cole Calling,”™ publicity, strategic communications planning and Internet writing services to new clients, especially successful small and medium-size businesses in the area.”
Cole was a managing director at Ogilvy & Mather in New York City and head of its corporate/special issues group before founding Cole Communications in 1994. Since its inception, her firm”™s clients have included large corporations, business-to-business companies and not-for-profit organizations.
Honors and awards have included recognition from The Business Council of Westchester for exemplary service on its board of directors, selection for the first “WOW Working Women of Westchester” and the Gallagher Award from the Association of Development Officers, where she served as president.
Banking on Caramoor
CARAMOOR CENTER FOR MUSIC & THE ARTS has been awarded a $5,000 grant from First Niagara Foundation. The funds are specifically for the center”™s Underserved Youth Arts Initiative.
“First Niagara recognized that for many children in our community this education program may well be the only opportunity they have to experience the beauty, culture and art of Caramoor,” said Cathie Schaffer, president of First Niagara”™s tristate region. “We are happy to support an important initiative.”
Through its Underserved Youth Arts Initiative, Caramoor offers arts-in-education programs to schools from under-resourced communities, in particular schools in Yonkers such as Casimir Pulaski School and the Scholastic Academy for Academic Excellence. The initiative includes scheduling priority, fee reductions or waivers and transportation underwriting.
“We are grateful for First Niagara Foundation”™s support of our education program,” said Jeff Haydon, CEO, Caramoor Center for Music & The Arts. “Their investment helps children discover how music and creativity improve their mastery of history, math, science and other core subjects.”
The program will take place throughout the 2013-2014 academic years with 30 program days running through mid-June 2014.
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