2024 Evening of Honors
The LIA's Evening of Honors, an annual event held by the Long Island Association where the business community gathers to recognize the significant impact companies and their employees have had on our region’s economy.
The Honorees included:
Medal of Honor: Catholic Health
The Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award for Community Service: Optimum
Lifetime Achievement Award: Gene Bernstein, Northville Industries
Key to the Island: Dr. Timothy Sams, President SUNY Old Westbury
Pictured (L to R) - Gene Bernstein, Northville Industries (Lifetime Achievement Award) - Dr. Timothy Sams, President of SUNY Old Westbury (Key to the Island) - LIA Chairman Larry Waldman - LIA President & CEO Matt Cohen - Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman - Dr. Patrick O'Shaughnessy President of Catholic Health (Medal of Honor) - Salvatore F. Sodano Chairman of Catholic Health Board of Directors - Andrew Rainone Senior Vice President of Business Sales of Optimum Business (The Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award for Community Service).
Medal of Honor Award: Catholic Health
The Medal of Honor is the LIA’s most prestigious award. Catholic Health is the region’s second-largest private employer, with approximately 16,000 employees, six acute care hospitals, three nursing homes, a home health service, hospice, and a network of physician practices. Under the sponsorship of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Catholic Health serves hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders each year, providing care that extends from the beginning of life to helping people live their final years in comfort, grace, and dignity. Its facilities have been nationally recognized for excellence, including St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center, which has been rated among the top 10 hospitals in the region by S. News & World Report.
The Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award for Community Service: Optimum
Jen Chapin, Harry and Sandra Chapin’s daughter, joined the LIA in recognizing Optimum for their widespread community support and treated the audience to a musical performance. Optimum is one of the largest broadband communications and video services providers in the United States, with offices on Long Island. Their commitment to our region’s communities includes support of FIRST Long Island Robotics and the Optimum Innovator Awards and their long-standing relationship with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Recently, Optimum Business teamed up with the LIA Foundation (the LIA’s charitable arm), Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, and Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to launch the L.O.C.A.L. Small Business Grants program that awarded $250,000 in direct financial support to 50 small businesses in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
Key to the Island: Dr. Timothy Sams, President of the State University of New York at Old Westbury
The Key to the Island recognizes someone who may not have been born on Long Island but has now become an adopted son or daughter of the region. Timothy Sams was raised by his paternal grandparents on the South Side of Syracuse and attended Union College in Schenectady, New York, SUNY Albany, and Temple University in Philadelphia for his PhD in African American Studies. Immediately prior to Old Westbury, Dr. Sams served as Vice President of Student Affairs for Prairie View A&M University in Texas. Dr. Sams was appointed President of SUNY Old Westbury in January 2021, and his notable accomplishments include leading the institution to university status, expanding opportunities for students through a partnership with Brookhaven National Laboratory, and contributing to Long Island’s efforts to train the next generation of employees and make sure they stay in our region.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Gene Bernstein
Gene Bernstein served on the LIA Board of Directors for many years in his capacity as Chairman of Northville Industries Corp. and also was a Co-Chair of the LIA Energy and Environment Committee. Gene’s career started as a Professor at the University of Arizona and University of Notre Dame, but he came back to Long Island to join Northville Industries as a 3rd generation family member. Together with his brother Jay, Gene helped lead Northville’s highly successful wholesale, storage, pipeline transportation, and refined products trading businesses. Gene has actively participated on numerous philanthropic and civic boards, chairing many, including the Alfred University Board of Trustees, Advisory Board of The Energeia Program at Molloy University, and the First Tee of Metropolitan New York. Gene and his family started “The Northville Long Island Classic Champions Tour” golf tournament in 1987, which has raised more than $1 million for Cohen’s Children’s Hospital.
2023 Evening of Honors
The Long Island Association held its annual Evening of Honors event, where more than 500 members of the business community celebrated the achievements of innovative companies, employees, and business leaders who have made significant impacts on Long Island’s economy. The event was held at the Crest Hollow Country Club.
Read the LIA Press Release
The Honorees included:
- Medal of Honor Award: Billy Haugland II, CEO & the Employees of the Haugland Group LLC
- The Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award for Community Service: Dylan Skolnick & Charlotte Sky and Co-Directors & the Employees of Cinema Arts Centre
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Henry Holley, President & CEO, The Holley Group, Inc.
- Key to the Island: Jon Ledecky, Co-Owner On behalf of The New York Islanders "Celebrating 50 Years on LI "
2022 Evening of Honors
The Long Island Association held its first annual Evening of Honors event in 2022, where more than 500 members of the business community celebrated the achievements of innovative companies, employees, and business leaders who have made significant impacts on Long Island’s economy. The event was held at the Crest Hollow Country Club.
The Honorees included:
- Medal of Honor: David Hardy, CEO and the Employees of Ørsted; Joe Nolan, President & CEO and the Employees of Eversource Energy
- The Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award for Community Service: Stanley Bergman, Chairman & CEO and the Employees of Henry Schein, Inc.
- COVID Hero Award: Hamid Erfanian, CEO; Barry Weiner, President and the Employees of Enzo Biochem, Inc.
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Mitchell Pally, CEO, Long Island Builders Institute; Phyllis Hill Slater, CEO, Hill Slater Group