Chamber award winners named

KILLINGLY — The Northeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce annual award winners have been named.

Civic Achievement Award - An award given to an individual or group for their broad-based involvement with clubs, civic groups, charities etc. over a long period of time: Dick and Arlene Baril of Brooklyn 

The contributions that Richard and Arlene Baril have made to civic organizations throughout northeastern Connecticut have literally, spanned decades.  From the late 1970s, they have worked tirelessly together to support numerous organizations throughout the region.  They have both served in leadership roles in fund-raising efforts for cancer treatment, polio, historical preservation, and local firefighting.  

Both Dick and Arlene have served the Brooklyn Historical Society for many years and in many roles… volunteering their time as museum curators and in numerous other ways to raise funds to support the organization.  Over the years, they have raised thousands of dollars for the American Cancer Society and in more recent years for the Rose Bove LaRose Oncology Unit at Day Kimball Hospital.  Dick’s and Arlene’s efforts in helping to make the Autumn Nights Dinner Dance, a fund-raiser to combat cancer, have been extraordinary in making this such a successful event.  Since its inception, the dinner dance has raised $500,000.

Arlene is a former Teacher of the Year in the Woodstock school system and a Girl Scout leader.  She has been a very active member of the Women’s Board of Day Kimball Hospital and is a co-founder of the Brooklyn Garden Club, in which both of the Barils remain very involved.

Richard has served as the President of the Danielson Rotary Club and became a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow for 

his support of the Polio Plus campaign to eliminate Polio and other diseases in the world.  This is the highest award attainable in Rotary International.

In addition to the organizations already noted, the Barils participate in the annual Canterbury Fourth of July Parade with their antique cars, the Holiday Dazzle Light Parade in Putnam, and the Finnish American Heritage Society in Canterbury.

George J. Racine, Sr. Humanitarian Award-An award given to a person in recognition of their dedicated involvement with a specific cause or activity; that which promotes concern for human welfare: Allan Rawson of Putnam 

Through Allan Rawson’s time as a soccer coach and as a founder and president of NECONN soccer, he saw a growing need in our northeastern CT communities that was the result of an increasing number of children who could not participate in youth sports, often due to the lack of financial support.  Knowing the positive impact that sports can have on children, including teamwork, discipline and purpose, Allan was inspired to do his best to fulfill that need and founded an organization in 2011 that he called Northeast Opportunities for Wellness, Inc. (NOW).

In just a few short years, this non- profit organization has provided scholarship funds to thousands of children ages 3-14, guaranteeing that all children have access to sports, fitness, and nutrition, regardless of their financial resources.  In addition, NOW provides various clinics for children and families throughout the year to focus on healthy cooking and a variety of sports like football, soccer, and running.  

One of Allan’s proudest accomplishments in the NOW organization has been the construction of two sports fields, Blackwell Field in Canterbury, and the NOW Fields at Logee Park, E. Putnam. With a combined total of 18 acres, these fields have provided space for local children to play, with many area teams and leagues utilizing the fields throughout the year.  The goal of Northeast Opportunities for Wellness, through programing, scholarships, and the two NOW fields, is to continue reaching out to children at an early age, providing a foundation for them to succeed as athletes and citizens of our community.

 

In short, Allan Rawson is committed to making a positive impact on the lives of the youth in Northeast Connecticut.  He has invested an incredible amount of time and energy in improving access to sports, fitness and nutrition education for local children and adolescents.  Allan has served on the Putnam Board of Finance and currently sits as Chair of the Putnam Facilities Committee.  As a lifelong resident of Northeast Connecticut, Allan has proven himself to be a responsible and dedicated citizen who cares about the future of his community.  After a lifetime of service to the northeastern CT community and as a result of the many, many lives of children and their families that he has touched through the Northeast Opportunities for Wellness (NOW), Allan’s contributions are being recognized as the Award Committee’s choice for the George J. Racine, Sr. Humanitarian Award.

 

Business Leader of The Year Award - An award presented to an individual for outstanding business leadership and active participation in community organizations: Mary Jane Burke of Dayville

After the tragic death of her husband in 2001, Mary Jane Davis (at the time) could have taken down the BGR Radiator sign, folded up shop and walked away.  Not one person would have ever questioned or blamed her for doing that.  But as many of us know, that is “not” Mary Jane!  Giving up and walking away is not in her nature.  Facing the adversity of the cards she was dealt, she did the opposite of what many thought would have been the expected behavior of anyone who may have been in her shoes.

In fact, Mary Jane, now the president of BGR Radiator, has worked to build and drive her company to new heights year after year.  With her company now providing industrial sales and service of power generators, BGR’s market has become international, serving customers in Africa, St. Kitt’s in the French Virgin Islands, Toronto, Canada and has even been called to repair radiators on an American military base in Sicily, Italy.  After Katrina devastated New Orleans, Mary Jane’s company was called in to install radiators on the Super Dome to ensure that they would have power if another disaster was to strike. 

Under her guidance as a vibrant, growing company, BGR has expanded its business and its facility as it now occupies a large space in the Plainfield Industrial Park.  With BGR’s expanding customer base, Mary Jane has seen and responded to the need to expand her company and her workforce as she satisfies the needs of her customers. 

From how she runs her business, anyone can see that Mary Jane is a very determined, knowledgeable, and experienced business leader.  But that is only the beginning of the story.  In addition to being an extremely well-respected business leader in our community, she also somehow finds ad incredible amount of time to give back to the community in many, many ways.

Since the passing of her late husband Michael, Mary Jane has organized an annual golf tournament to raise funds for a scholarship that is given in his name to an engineering student at Killingly High School.  She does this with love and devotion to keep his memory alive.

In June of last year, Mary Jane was presented with the Paul Harris Fellow Award from the Danielson Rotary Club as someone who exemplifies the Rotary motto of service above self.  Mary Jane is a past president of Danielson Rotary, she serves on its Board of Directors, and on various committees in the club.  She also volunteers her time to various Rotary events such as the Dictionary Project, The Amber Alert Project, the annual golf tournament, and a Prom Night for individuals with life affecting disabilities.

She is an active member of the Day Kimball Hospital Women’s Board and of the Danielson Elks Lodge 1706.  Mary Jane is a member of the QVCC Foundation board of directors and is in line to become the President of the Foundation in the not too distant future.  She is a member of the board of directors of Westcott-Wilcox Retirement facility serving as their treasurer, is a proud Corporator of Jewett City Savings Bank, and as we all know, is a member of the Northeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce board of directors, serving on the golf and legislative affairs committees.

Gold Key Award - An award presented to an individual or business for their outstanding service to the Northeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce: Warren P. Scholl.

As he was as the president of CorePlus Credit Union, Warren Scholl has been the driving force of the Northeastern CT Chamber of Commerce for the past two years.  As a member of the Chamber since 2008, Warren has been an active member of its Board of Directors and Executive Committee and has given an incredible amount of time and effort toward the advancement and success of the northeastern CT business community.  With Warren being one of only a handful of Chamber Presidents to serve in that role for two consecutive terms, he distinguishes himself as someone who is totally committed to making the Northeastern CT Chamber an organization that any business can look to for a partner in making their business successful. 

In addition to his good natured way of working with Chamber members and overseeing the activities of the Chamber, Warren has had a mission during his tenure as president.  That mission was to find the Chamber a home of its own… a location in the northeastern CT area that would be a convenient location for Chamber members to meet and for visitors to the region to find a center for information about our quiet corner and the businesses that work very hard to make up the economy of our region of the State.  

Well, Warren’s mission to find the Chamber a home was realized through his determination and efforts in 2015.  The Northeastern CT Chamber of Commerce is now located in its new home on Westcott Rd. in Danielson in a building that is centralized in the area that is served by the Chamber and will satisfy  its needs for a number of years to come.

Warren Scholl has been an advocate for the businesses of northeastern CT and the Northeastern CT Chamber of Commerce for a number of years.  Combining that with his accomplishments as the President of the Chamber for the past two years, the Awards Committee’s choice for the 2016 Golden Key Award is a very obvious one… Warren Scholl. 

 

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