BCW Announces 2017 Hall of Fame Winners on HOF’s 15th Anniversary

Celebrating 15 years of recognizing some of the county’s top business leaders, the Business Council of Westchester this week announced the winners of its 2017 Hall of Fame Awards. The winners will be honored at the 2017 Business Hall of Fame Awards Dinner on Tuesday, April 25 at the Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle.

The winners in their respective categories are:

Corporate Citizenship– Montefiore Health System;

Entrepreneurial Success– Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate/Rand Realty;

Family Owned Business– Levitt-Fuirst Associates LTD;

Small Business Success– Leason Ellis, LLP;

Women in Business– Valerie Wilson, Valerie Wilson Travel;

Chairman’s Recognition– DeCicco & Sons

“Selecting the winners for this esteemed award is never easy because we have so many worthy candidates,’’ said Marsha Gordon, President and CEO of the Business Council of Westchester. “We have had many outstanding nominees over the past 15 years and this year is no exception. It just goes to show the caliber of our Westchester businesses and the contributions they have made to the economic health of this county,” she added.

Since its inception, the Business Hall of Fame has inducted over 60 business leaders.

 Profiles of this year’s winners:

 Montefiore Health System
As the academic medical center and University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center is nationally recognized for clinical excellence—breaking new ground in research, training the next generation of healthcare leaders, and delivering science-driven, patient-centered care. Montefiore is ranked among the top hospitals nationally and regionally by U.S. News & World Report. For more than 100 years we have been innovating new treatments, new procedures and new approaches to patient care, producing stellar outcomes and raising the bar for medical centers in the region and around the world.
Better Homes and Gardens/Rand Realty
Thirty years ago, Marsha Rand opened her first real estate brokerage in a small office on Main Street in a small town in the Hudson Valley. From that one tiny office, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate® — Rand Realty has now grown to become the premier real estate broker in New York City’s northern suburbs, comprising 25 offices, over 800 agents, and closing over $1.5 billion in real estate sales every year in Westchester, the Hudson Valley, and Northern New Jersey. Moreover, what was a small residential real estate company now offers professional commercial real estate brokerage through Rand Commercial.

Levitt-Fuirst Associates, Ltd.
Levitt-Fuirst was founded by V. David Levitt (1936 – 2006) and Alan J. Fuirst (Retired), two law school friends. David and Alan each joined their fathers’ respective insurance businesses following graduation from NYU Law School. In 1969, they combined their offices and formed Levitt-Fuirst Associates, Ltd. in Mt. Vernon, NY. The Levitt and Fuirst families grew our firm into one of New York’s most respected middle market independent insurance agencies. The company’s clients now range from large worldwide manufacturers to local businesses, each with their own unique insurance needs. 

Leason Ellis LLP
Located in White Plains, just outside New York City, Leason Ellis manages global patent, trademark and copyright portfolios and litigates intellectual property disputes for clients of all sizes, including Fortune 100 corporations. Founded in 2008 by David Leason and partner Edward Ellis, Leason Ellis is now among the largest intellectual property law firms in New York State located outside New York City. The firm has been ranked as one of the nation’s leading IP law firms by IP Today, IAM Patent 1000 and World Trademark Review, and several of its lawyers have been recognized by Super Lawyers and Who’s Who Legal.

Valerie Wilson Travel
After living and traveling internationally, Valerie Ann Wilson decided to open a travel consulting firm to offer what she believed was lacking in the industry… first-hand knowledge and dedicated service. In the past 35+ years, her small consulting firm has flourished and prospered to become one of today’s largest private, women-owned, debt free and family managed travel consulting firms in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, with an international client base, the company currently has 15 offices located in the Northeast and Southeast corridors, in the Midwest and on the West Coast.

DeCicco & Sons
John DeCicco, Sr., Joe DeCicco, Sr., and Frank DeCicco, Sr. opened their first supermarket 40 years ago – 1977 — in Pelham based upon providing their customers the best quality foods with impeccable service. Since then, John DeCicco Sr.’s son, John DeCicco, Jr. and Chris DeCicco and Joseph Sr.’s son Joe DeCicco Jr. have assumed responsibilities of the company’s leadership as President and Vice Presidents, spearheading the opening of its last three stores in Armonk, Larchmont and Millwood while retaining its mission statement of “Quality First” and its core values of superior quality products and services.

For more information about sponsorship opportunities for the Business Hall of Fame Awards Dinner, please call (914) 948-2110 or visit www.thebcw.org