The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Foundation, homeless coalition, others to be honored
Others to be recognized: CT Lighting’s David Director, Charles IT’s Joe Santaniello
MIDDLETOWN>> Here at the Middlesex United Way, we love to celebrate the key supporters who played a significant role in shaping 2016’s success by hosting our annual meeting to honor them. We will not only share our gratitude for our beautiful community but we will recognize two wonderful individuals and two local nonprofits, bid farewell to any outgoing board and committee members and elect new members to our board.
We are proud to recognize David Director with the Middlesex United Way’s highest volunteer honor, the Community Service Award. The award honors volunteer service to Middlesex United Way, considering length and continuity of duty. Director’s involvement with the Middlesex United Way is far-reaching. He has served on our Board of Directors since 2005 and was a founding member of our Community Impact Council, beginning in 2003. To say Director is an involved community member would be an understatement. He is involved in a wide range of community activities and serves on several boards. He is a corporator of Middlesex Community College and Middlesex Hospital, serves as the cochair for the Rushford Center’s Golf Tournament and is the founder and cochair of the Interfaith Golf Tournament.
Director is president of Connecticut Lighting Center in Hartford and Southington and Restoration Lighting Gallery in Hartford. He is responsible for leading a team of motivated and highly trained employees who believe in the Director family’s philosophy that “the customer is the boss!” Aside from overseeing his two companies, Director has served as an advocate on national energy conservation issues.
We are also excited to announce that Joe Santaniello of Charles IT will receive the Community Leadership Award, recognizing his leadership in strengthening communities. Santaniello has proven his leadership skills through serving as a mentor for young students with the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce School Mentor program and being a founding member of the Middlesex United Way Young Leader’s Society. He presently serves on the board of MARC Community Resources Inc. and was a member of St Luke’s Eldercare Services board — both are Middlesex United Way funding partners.
The Community Foundation of Middlesex County will receive this year’s Tocqueville Society Philanthropy Award. The Community Foundation was founded in 1997 by community leaders who shared the same mission to work with charitable-minded individuals and groups to support local nonprofit organizations. Through the years, The Community Foundation has provided 1,815 grants totaling more than $5.4 million to nonprofit organizations for programs in the arts; cultural and heritage programs, educational activities, environmental conditions and health and human services. The Community Foundation of Middlesex County commits to bettering the well-being of all in Middlesex County and helps provide residents with a sense of community.
The recipient of our Community Impact Award is The Coalition for Housing and Homelessness, in recognition of the organization’s outstanding commitment to improving lives and community conditions. The Coalition for Housing and Homelessness was formed in 2008 to implement the Middlesex County Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness. The coalition is made up of representatives from a wide range of backgrounds, including service providers, businesses, state organizations, elected officials and more.
Recently, the coalition announced that as of Oct. 11, all chronically homeless people on the waiting list had been matched with housing. This accomplishment is a milestone not only for Middlesex County but the entire state, and a reflection of the endless and tireless work the coalition has put into matching chronically homeless with housing.
We hope you will join us in recognizing these fine people and organizations for their work providing opportunities for a better life in Middlesex County.
The Middlesex United Way annual meeting will be held Jan. 26 at the Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station. Tickets are $20. A full hot breakfast will be served at 8 a.m. and the program will begin at 8:30 a.m. To attend, visit middlesexunitedway.org or email sheryl.dougherty@middlesexunitedway.org.