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BUSINESSinc
Annual Dinner to Celebrate ‘Hollywood on the Hudson’
Innovators
Honored at Hall
of Fame Dinner
More than 400 business leaders were on hand April 26th for the Business Council of Westchester’s 20th Annual Hall of
Fame Awards Dinner. This year’s program, which was held at the Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle, honored seven innovators who have transformed their industries and added to the economic vitality of the region.
The 2022 award winners are:
• Corporate Citizenship Award: Cross County
Shopping Center.
• Small Business Success Award: Kings Capital
Construction.
• Family Business Success Award: Wallauer Paint
& Design Centers.
• Entrepreneurial Business Success Award: WBP
Development LLC and Griffon Construction LLC
• Minority Business Success Award: Elena Rivera-
Cheek, the founder and owner of Copy & Art.
• Women in Business Success Award: Dr. Belinda
Miles, President of Westchester Community College.
• Chairman’s Recognition Award: Tompkins Community Bank.
Seated, from left, Craig Deitelzweig of Marx Realty; Elena Rivera-Cheek of Copy & Art; William Balter of, WBP Development and Griffon Construction; Dr. Belinda Miles of Westchester Community College; Robert Duncan Jr. of Wallauer Paint & Design Centers. Standing, from left, David Demilia of Tompkins Community Bank; Program Co- Chair James Giangrande of Altium Wealth; BCW President & CEO Marsha Gordon; BCW Chairman Heidi Davidson; Program Co-Chair Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson of Thompson
& Bender; and J.D. Summa of Kings Capital Construction.
IIn keeping with its tradition of featuring renowned leaders
from business,
finance, government, the media and
other aspects of American life, the Business Council of Westchester’s 2022 Annual Dinner on October 12 will be headlined by Robert Halmi, Founder and CEO of Great Point Studios which recently opened a major new film and TV production facility in Yonkers for Lionsgate Studios.
Robert Halmi, Founder & CEO, Great Point Studios
widely viewed as a significant change in the landscape of the New York film and television industry. Joining Lionsgate as tenants at the facility that is part
of the downtown iPark complex are Mediapro and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
“Great Point’s investment and attraction of Lionsgate Studios
is a unique, exciting
Halmi’s keynote
address will focus on the opening of the new studio, the largest modern film and television production facility in the Northeast. The studio has changed the trajectory of economic development
in Westchester’s largest city and the economic landscape of the county, leading to Yonkers being dubbed “Hollywood on the Hudson.”
An Emmy and Golden Globe winner, Halmi is a producer of more than 400 film and television projects and founder of the Hallmark Channel. As President and CEO of Hallmark Entertainment, he transformed the business from a small production company into one of the
first modern studios, producing over 2,000 hours of original content that have garnered 458 Emmy nominations and 133 Emmy Awards. Among his many acclaimed productions is Lonesome Dove, which earned seven Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for best miniseries.
In 2019, Halmi embarked on bringing to life his vision of creating major new film and television production facilities across the U.S with the founding of Great Point Studios. Halmi’s vision became a reality with the opening of Lionsgate Yonkers studios in January. The highly anticipated opening is
and highly impactful economic development investment project not only for Yonkers, but for
Westchester County and the entire region,’’ said Dr. Marsha Gordon, BCW President and CEO. “As a result, other movie production companies are actively pursuing locations in Westchester. In
a real sense, we are emerging as a
film making center. Robert Halmi is a visionary leader, and we are extremely fortunate that he selected Yonkers, Westchester and the Northeast for Great Points’ first studio investment. We are honored to have him as this year’s keynote speaker.”
Mayor Mike Spano said: “Great Point and Lionsgate are a major building block in the transformation of the Yonkers waterfront which is enjoying a renaissance. The studio is generating new jobs for local residents, and our business community will benefit from the more than 1,000 people expected to work there. We cannot overstate the significance of this commitment to the future of our city.”
This year’s dinner will be held at the VIP Country Club in New Rochelle. For information on sponsorships, contact Amanda DePalma at ADepalma@thebcw.org
the business council of westchester