The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Three named Al Award recipients
MIDDLETOWN — Common Councilman Phil Pessina, Legal Attorney Jammie Middleton, and Forest City Marketing Owner Lauren Middleton have been named the recipients of the Al Award, given out annually by the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce Central Business Bureau.
It is named for Middlesex Chamber Downtown Events Liaison and retired Middletown Fire Marshal Al Santostefano, who has been a member of the Central Business Bureau for over 34 years. The award is given to a member of the CBB who provides service above and beyond what is required or expected.
“Phil Pessina and the Middletons are outstanding businesspeople and Middletown is lucky to have them. We appreciate their support of our Central Business Bureau and congratulate them on this prestigious award,” Chamber President Larry McHugh said in a prepared statement.
Pessina is serving his fourth term as a member of the Middletown Common Council and on many commissions, including public safety, public works and facilities and economic development. Pessina worked for the Middletown Police Department for 33½ years, retiring as a deputy chief of police. He also earned the Chamber’s Michael L. Green Award in 2014 for his community service as a member of the police and his service to the chamber, according to a press release.
After his retirement, Pessina continues to serve on various chamber steering committees, including Middletown Motorcycle Mania and Cruise Night on Main. He is also a longtime member of the Business After Work Auction, and the Taste of Downtown and Holiday on Main Street committees.
Jammie Middleton is an attorney at Middleton Legal and graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he earned his juris doctorate and received the CALI award for Future Excellence in Alternative Risk Management in his final year. He provides legal counseling in the areas of child protection, probate matters and civil litigation, according to the release.
He has been a presenter at both the Understanding the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children and Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children to the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services in 2014. He is also very active in the chamber, where he enjoys networking and serving on various committees, such as the Young Professionals Alliance and Taste of Downtown Committee, as well as Holiday on Main Street.
Lauren Middleton is the owner of a consulting business that helps small business owners achieve with social media management, email marketing, web design, search engine management, graphic design, blogging, public relations, marketing plans and strategy. Middleton is very active in the chamber, where she enjoys networking and serves on various committees, such as The Women’s Business Alliance, Young Professionals Alliance, and the Taste of Downtown Committee and Holiday on Main Street.
Past Al Award recipients include:
⏩ Mary Ann Perrotti of Liberty Bank in 2011
⏩ Frank Kuan of Wesleyan University in 2012
⏩ Rich Greco of Nationwide Investments in 2013
⏩ Sarah Sponzo and Daniel Ostrow of Tat Wong Kung Fu Academy in 2014
⏩ Phil Ouellette of Eli Cannon’s Tap Room in 2015
⏩ Marc Levin of Malloves Jewelers in 2016