Meet the Hartford Business Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award winners for 2015.
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Great leaders are selfless and community oriented.
They don't simply care about what happens within their own organization or sphere of influence. They have a broader purpose in life to improve the community at large.
That's a common theme that links Hartford Business Journal's 2015 Lifetime Achievement Awards winners, who are being honored in this special section.
Take Richard Sugarman, for example, who recently left The Connecticut Forum, the successful annual speaker series he founded in 1992, to lead a new Hartford nonprofit that will provide college scholarships and mentoring to inner-city students. Sugarman led both organizations to sate his inner desire to make the community a better place by expanding Hartford children's college opportunities and creating an entertainment venue that allows residents to participate in a shared experience.
Then there's Ted May, who leveraged his success as a founding partner of a Glastonbury insurance agency to found and chair The First Tee of Connecticut. The nonprofit allows children who normally couldn't afford it to play golf. It also teaches kids important life and social skills and has touched the lives of thousands of children across the state.
Sisters Maureen Faenza and Theresa Fonti have dedicated their lives to helping feed and comfort the poor. They co-founded and steer a $1.5 million-a-year nonprofit, The House of Bread, that feeds, shelters, educates and uplifts children and adults. For those in need, the sisters and their organization are a beacon of light and dignity.
Finally, Webster Bank President Joe Savage's “down-home” style makes him a beloved figure at the Waterbury-based regional lender. But besides making important decisions that steer a $23.6 billion financial institution, he finds ways to give back to the community including chairing the United Way Campaign for the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut.
In our sixth installment of the Lifetime Achievement Awards our winners come from both the private and nonprofit sectors. They each demonstrate how hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence and the community can translate into professional and personal success.
As you read their individual profiles join us in congratulating them for their many accomplishments. We'll celebrate their success Thursday, Nov. 5 at a breakfast at the Bond Hotel in Hartford. Ted Sergi, former president and CEO of the Connecticut Science Center, will moderate the event, during which the winners will be asked to share their “secrets” of success.
We'd like to thank our judges — John M. Horak, of Reid and Riege P.C.; Anne L. Elvgren, of Elvgren Associates; and Gene Sheehan, of Sullivan & LeShane Public Relations — who helped us identify our four winners this year. Their choices were tough as many worthy candidates were nominated.
And as we congratulate this year's Life Achievement class, please remember that we'll be back next year looking for the next group of winners. We encourage all of our readers to nominate worthy candidates.
— Greg Bordonaro, Editor, Hartford Business Journal
Edwin H. "Ted" May III
May, Bonee & Walsh; First Tee Connecticut
Joe Savage
Webster Bank
Richard Sugarman
Hartford Promise
Maureen Faenza and Theresa Fonti
The House of Bread Inc.
View the Lifetime Achievement Awards digital edition
