King & King Architects and C. R. Fletcher Associates Win Business of the Year Awards

King & King Architects, LLC and C. R. Fletcher Associates, Inc. received top honors at the 21st Annual Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Awards at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter on Thursday evening, March 11.

Peter King (third from left), managing partner of King & King, Architects LLP, accepts the Chamber’s Business of the Year Award (more than 50 employees). Joining King (from left) are fellow partners, Jim King, Kirk Narburgh, and Dave Johnson, in addition to several members of their team.

C. R. Fletcher Associates, Inc. was selected Business of the Year (less than 50 employees). Carol Fletcher (third from left), president and owner of C. R. Fletcher Associates, Inc., and her husband, Tom Fletcher, COO, display the Stickley clock award on behalf of their staff. Also participating in the awards presentation are Mary Ann Tyszko (far left), chairperson of the Chamber Board, and Darlene Kerr (second from left), president of the Chamber.

After opening remarks from Mayor Stephanie Miner, NYS Senate President Pro Tempore Malcolm A. Smith extended his congratulations to the winners of the Business of the Year awards, and especially to the Chamber and MDA on their merger. Senator Smith told event attendees that the Senate opposes increases in taxes and fees as they work on the state budget. He also reported on recent high speed rail developments in his position as co-chair of the High Speed Rail Task Force of the National Association of State Legislators.

David Moynihan of Testone, Marshall & Discenza, CPAs, Larry Bousquet of Green & Seifter Attorneys, PLLC, and Gail Kinsella of Testone, Marshall & Discenza, CPAs receive the President’s Award from Darlene Kerr, president, Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, and Rob Simpson, president and CEO, Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and CNY, Inc., for their outstanding and largely pro bono work on the feasibility study for the Chamber/MDA merger.

Steven Kern (third from right), executive director of the Everson Museum of Art for Syracuse and Onondaga County, holds the Non-Profit Business of the Year Award, a Stickley clock. It was presented by Chamber President Darlene Kerr (far right) and during the Chamber’s Annual Business of the Year Awards.

Chamber President Darlene Kerr presents John Wakefield, president and CEO of EMPOWER Federal Credit Union, a Stickley clock for being selected Business of the Year for Community Involvement.

Author John Zogby, president of Zogby International, delivers the keynote address highlighting statistics from his New York Times best-selling book, "The Way We’ll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream."

Darlene Kerr, president of the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, reflected on the Chamber’s accomplishments since its founding 121 years ago. She was then joined on stage by Rob Simpson, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Development Assocation of Syracuse and CNY, Inc., to share their vision for the MDA/Chamber partnership. Simpson said, "Combining the unique strengths of our memberships, integrating our expert staffs and aligning our resources in support of a unified agenda will allow us to impove the effectiveness of our economic development and business support programs."

Presidents Kerr and Simpson presented two local companies with the prestigious President’s Award. This award is presented annually at the discretion of the Chamber president to a member, organization or individual who has gone "above and beyond" and made an extraordinary contribution to our community. The 2010 awards were presented to Testone, Marshall & Discenza, CPAs and Green & Seifter Attorneys, PLLC who accepted the awards in thanks for their outstanding work on the due-diligence for the Chamber/MDA partnership.

John Zogby, president of Zogby International, a world renowned polling and marketing research company headquartered in Utica, NY, and The New York Times best-selling author of "The Way We’ll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream," delivered the keynote address to more than 600 attendees. Zogby noted in his research for this book that not only are less people "living the American dream," each year a greater percentage of people are making less than they did before. That fact has forced Americans to redefine the American Dream by replacing materialism with secular spiritualism. This renewed spirit is connected to spiritual fulfillment and leading a genuine and honest life.

The Business of the Year winners were recognized by Kerr and Mary Ann Tyszko, president of SRCTec, Inc. and chairperson of the Chamber Board of Directors. The winners are companies and organizations who have excelled in the areas of growth, staying power, workplace innovation and commitment to community. A highlight video was played as each honoree received their award.

The Non-Profit Business of the Year award was presented to the Everson Museum of Art of Syracuse & Onondaga County. The Community Involvement Business of the Year award went to Empower Federal Credit Union. C. R. Fletcher Associates, Inc. won Business of the Year for a company with fewer than 50 employees. And last but certainly not least, the Business of the Year award for a company or organization with more than 50 employees was King & King Architects, LLC.

NYS Senate President Pro-Tempore Malcolm A. Smith (left) is interviewed by WSYR’s Jim Reith during the Business of the Year Awards.

Doug Logan of Time Warner Sports was the master of ceremonies for the evening. WSYR Radio’s Jim Reith broadcast his show from the event earlier in the day, interviewing Chamber President Darlene Kerr and Senator Malcolm Smith. The Business of the Year Awards are a chance to annually recognize outstanding Chamber members. The Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce is the largest business membership organization in Central New York with nearly 2,100 member organizations employing more that 140,000 individuals.

Thank you to our Presenting Sponsors for this event:

• SRC, SRCTec, Inc.
• Green & Seifter Attorneys, PLLC
• Testone, Marshall & Discenza CPAs

Corporate Sponsors:

• AXA Equitable
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
• C&S Companies
• Contemporary Personnel Staffing, Inc. & Professionals, Inc.
• Rural/Metro Medical Services
• Sensis Corporation
• Stickley, Audi & Companies
• TERACAI
• UPS
• Welch Allyn

Supporting Sponsors:

• Natur-Tyme
• Covanta Energy

Decorating Sponsor: Northeast Decorating & Exhibit Services, Inc.

Media Sponsors included:

• WCNY’s AXXESS Productions
• Clear Channel Radio (the official radio station for the Business of the Year)
• Central New York Business Journal
• Visual Technologies Corporation

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